"A former TV ‘Gladiator’ has warned of the dangers caused by punishing fitness regimes as he revealed he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.
Michael “Cobra” Willson, 55, said he fell seriously ill after putting his body through years of “tough workouts” which had taken its toll on his health."
A shame to see how this panned out for him.
Cobra was never intended to be a gladiator. He was there to be a contestant until just before the first show they realised they needed 2 more gladiators.
There were tons of injuries along the way in the many series.
Jet hung up her leotard and left the show after hurting her back in an unaired episode at the end of series four. The game Pyramid was later cancelled from the show.
Panther sustained a serious neck and back injury after falling head first during the Tilt event. I’m guessing may remember that episode and her horrific fall !
Zodiac suffered a serious fall on Pole Axe in 1996
Amazon (Sharron Davies) severely injured her knee during training and had to retire from the show
and so it went on.
Anyone remember the game Powerball, where gladiators/contestants were put inside huge mesh balls like hamsters and when Warrior pushed so hard he popped is knee socked out ?!
It has also been suggested that Long and ultra-long distance runners cause damage to the heart in later life…I don’t know where they got that idea from…
Sorry Floydy,I think you have taken the information from a poster personally,…imho,…there is nothing wrong in exercise,but when it’s to the excess,like these silly gladiators have done,yes I believe it was for entertainment ,…and money,only they didn’t seem to realise the damage they were doing to their bodies at the time,for some if you are hungry enough for fame,many will just about do anything,Imo,I had a lovely personal trainer,who ran every day,on the pavement,…she has had nothing but knee problems,also her doctor told her,that if she kept it up,she would end up in a wheelchair,…imo,our bodies are not built to take that physical amount of exercise,…I would never run long distance either,it’s a mugs game,but that is just my opinion.
Also I would just like to add,some of the guys at the gym,love the attention their muscles get from the girls,which is fine.same with the girls,they love the attention their toned bodies and bums get from the meni should know,I used to be one of them,
Edit to add,sorry to hear about the guy in hospital ,I sincerely hope he recovers soon.
Errmmmm! Sorry Pauline, but I’ve just passed the forty year mark being a long and ultra long distance runner…And at sixty eight there’s nowt’ wrong with me…
Still going strong…
According to The Sun he also suffered a massive rupture in his shoulder and can’t raise his arm.
Plus
“He was rushed to hospital before Christmas with severe acute pancreatitis - a cripplingly painful condition where your pancreas swells up - and needs two new hips”
Also says he’s knacked his immune system which would explain the lung infections:
“Michael, who lives in St Mary’s Bay, Kent, described how he “destroyed” his immune system with arthritis after taking on brutal workouts.”
Oh That!..
Yes you are quite correct Pauline, back in 2004 after a career of long and Ultra-long distance running my training was interrupted by an untimely Heart Attack…I actually flatlined twice as I was rushed to hospital. Within six weeks I was back on the road again doing short slow jogging, and after having stents fitted later that year I resumed full training and returned to running Half Marathons. Unfortunately, due to family pressure (an attempt to keep me alive) I was banned from running full marathons and forty mile fell runs…
Due to a faulty stent I suffered a further Heart Attack in 2014, but returned to running later that same year, however! I’ve now been banned from running half marathons… So ten miles is my maximum distance these days.
I’ve always run three times per week with a long run on Sunday, in my marathon running days it would consist of an eight miler on Tuesdays, a ten miler on Thursdays and fifteen or twenty miles on Sundays, but this would be increased when training for a long fell running event…
Recently because I’ve reduced my mileage to five miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ve put an extra five miler in on Fridays and continue running up to ten miles on Sundays…
Hi Realist, when at 53 years old, I was admitted to hospital during my first Heart Attack I had low blood pressure, slow heart rate, cholesterol of 5.5 and weighed just ten stones.
My Dad had also suffered a heart attack when he was young, so hereditary connections were suggested. I had also been a smoker for thirty five years prior to my attack. After an angiogram revealed that just one small group of arteries were responsible, and the rest were in very good condition, they said it was the years of running that had saved my life, and I would make a good recovery, which I have.
Needless to say, I haven’t smoked one cigarette since that Sunday morning back in May 2004 and although several previous attempts to stop smoking failed, I have never even given it a second thought since…A recent full body medical scanning has revealed that I have indeed got the body of a 53 year old…
Thank you OGF,…I am so happy to see that you survived those heart attacks,as for flat lining,that must have been very scarey for your family,…
I jog about a mile maybe two,could never manage what you do,…I do believe it is very important to keep fit and exercise,…but not the punishing training regimes,…just my opinion of course…
It seems the level of fitness and strength attained by the Gladiators was ultimately not good for them but I think it is good to do at least some regular exercise that pushes the boundaries.
I’m not certain this prolongs life because we hear about fairly young and fit people who die despite keeping in shape one way or another. However, keeping fit certainly makes you feel better while still here.
I’ve seen so many people who rely on steroids to build their bodies and when they overdo it or still use those drugs later in life when they are basically ‘past it’ for bodybuilding, it’s all very silly and pointless.
I never touched them and was never interested, preferring to be completely natural except for protein shakes and various supplements you can buy legally from stores such as Holland & Barrett.
At the end of the day it’s having a good diet and training like a beast which builds (and keeps) the body muscular, which at 54 I still am able to retain. I’m 16.5 stone, well-muscled but not bulky with it and with only a little blubber round the middle these days. It’s just my energy levels which suffer because of my night work.
So ten miles is my maximum distance these days.