Today’s Colin Timberlake Training Inspiration is a man who authored one of the greatest stories of perseverance and overcoming the odds in professional sports.

When Bobby Clarke was trying to break into the NHL in the early 1970s, teams were fearful of giving him a chance due to the fact that he suffered from diabetes. He had been told that, despite a legendary junior hockey career – he led the league in scoring in each of his final three seasons, totaling 488 points in 162 games – he would never be able to play in the pros.

Well, Bobby Clarke proved the medical advisers wrong and went on to a career that saw him inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and also saw him achieve pretty much everything that could possibly be done in the game.

Over a 15-year NHL career, Clarke scored 1210 points in 1144 games, and his career scoring and games marks still stand as Philadelphia Flyers records. The same goes for his 119 points in 136 playoff games.

Clarke accumulated more hardware than almost any hockey player before him, winning the Selke Trophy in 1983, as the league’s best defensive forward. This actually helped establish the creation of a new league role, in which an aging offensive superstar alters his approach and becomes one of the league’s best checkers.

Clarke also won the Hart Trophy as league MVP three times (1973, 1975, 1976), the Lester B. Pearson award as league MVP (voted by the players) and two Stanley Cups, among numerous other honors.

Perhaps most notably, Bobby Clarke was instrumental in Canada’s tournament victory over the Soviet Union in the legendary eight-game 1972 Summit Series.

TODAY: ABS and CARDIO

ABS
Crunches x 60
Supine Single Leg Raises x 60

CARDIO
5K Run (Outside): 24:27

TRAINING NOTES

Total Sets (Abs): 2

Well, I found a way to outdo the uselessness of my previous ab workout! I honestly should have rounded this down to a day off but anyway.

I was feeling pretty sick all day and there wasn’t much to achieve. I ran the 5K in the morning before I ate anything to cut up a little extra but also just to see where I stand with my 5K since it’s been so long since I ran one. I didn’t push myself to the limit at all during this run, but it was pretty tiring nonetheless so even if I had gone balls to the ball, I really wouldn’t have taken too much time off. I’m certainly nowhere near my peak a few months ago in terms of time, but that’s no surprise as I’ve also packed back on a lot of the muscle that I had lost from the running.

INSPIRATIONAL CLIP

The following clip features some highlights from the Game 4 of the legendary eight-game 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, a sporting event that took the Cold War and placed it on ice.

BACK TO Index of Inspirational Role Models for Training

©2010 colintimberlake.com. All Rights Reserved.