Adrian Peterson is on the cover of the October 2008 issue of Muscle & Fitness. The Minnesota Vikings running back reveals his impressive, tattooed physique, and details his typical training day diet and workout.

Adrian was born on March 21, 1985, in Palestine, Texas, a small town between Houston and Dallas, to a sprinter and long jumper mother and a collegiate basketball shooting guard father. He played his junior and senior years at Palestine High School, attracted the attention of many college coaches and became the nation’s top recruit. He then played for the University of Oklahoma Sooners, before entering the NFL draft after his junior year, and being drafted as the seventh overall pick by the Vikings.

The 23-year-old is very big — 6′1” 217 lbs — and very fast. He has pull-away speed when it matters most and is also quite deceptive, often finding running room where it seems he has none — his shakes and wiggles are said to freeze the most experienced open-field tacklers.

His first NFL season was impressive indeed. He earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors from the Associated Press, led the NFC with 1,341 rushing yards, ranked second in the NFL and had the second-best single season in the Vikings’ history — and most experts have stopped trying to place limits on his progress.

“My dad always told me to reach for the moon, because even if you fall, you will land among the stars,” Adrian told the Palestine Herald-Press last June. We really liked the metaphor.

Muscle & Fitness
Adrian Peterson
Minnesota Vikings
Images via Rod 2.0