“Iron” Mike Tyson is perhaps the greatest slugger of all time. He was a one-man wrecking crew in his prime, a fighter who can knock down any guy with just one punch. His skill made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history, and his name alone sow fear in the hearts of all heavyweight boxers during his time. But little did people know about the Mike Tyson workout that made the New York-born boxer a champion.
It’s a common misconception that Tyson just relied on his God-given talents to win the heavyweight championship at the tender age of 20. But the truth is Tyson was a hard worker in the gym, training at a young age of 16 under trainer Cus D’Amato. The latter saw the vast potential of Tyson and immediately put him on a rigorous training schedule.
The hard work paid off as Tyson won 26 of his first 28 fights via technical knockout or TKO. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 and unified the heavyweight championship a year later.
While Tyson had a lot of power in his punches, he was also known for his outstanding hand speed, coordination, and timing.
Below is Mike Tyson workout routine:
| Workout Options | Repetition |
|---|---|
Strength Training | |
| Situps | 2,000 |
| Press Ups | 500 |
| Dips | 500 |
| Shrugs | 500 |
Daily Schedule | |
| Three Mile Jog | 1 |
| Mitt Work and Heavy Bag Work | 1 |
| Speed Ball | 1 |
| Shadow Boxing | 1 |
| Skipping | 1 |
Circuit Training | |
| Sit Ups | 200 |
| Dips | 25-40 |
| Press-Ups | 50 |
| Dips | 25-40 |
| Shrugs | 50 |
| Neck Exercises (10 mins) | 1 |
| Calisthenics | 40 |
| Slow Shadow Boxing (30 mins) | 1 |
| Exercise Bike (30 mins) | 1 |
Sparring | |
| Spar | 10 Rounds |
| Spar | 4-6 Rounds |
Diet | |
Breakfast | |
Lunch | |
Strength Training
To say that Tyson was physically gifted would be an understatement. As a teenager, he was already 200 pounds and very muscular. While Tyson was blessed with amazing strength, he harnessed that gift further by training in the gym. His strength training regimen was one for the books. He was already bench pressing more than 200 pounds as a teenager.
When he trained under Amato, Tyson even worked harder in the gym. He had to do 2,000 situps, 500 press ups, 500 dips, and 500 shrugs using a 30 kilogram barbell as part of his strength training program. What’s amazing is that Tyson followed this regimen seven days a week—meaning he didn’t even rest at all. He’d usually do his strength training in the afternoon.
Daily Schedule
What is a typical day for Tyson? He wakes up at four in the morning, does some stretching and then goes outside for a three-mile jog. He comes back home at six, takes a shower then goes back to bed. He’d take a four hour rest then wake up at 10 a.m. to eat oatmeal, his favorite breakfast.
While others are taking a break with their work at 12 high noon, Tyson hits the gym for some sparring. He then focuses on mitt work and heavy bag work at 3 in the afternoon. Then he performs some light exercises like speed ball, shadow boxing, and skipping.
Circuit Training
At 5 p.m. Tyson would do 10 quick circuits. Each circuit consists of 200 sit ups, 25 to 40 dips, 50 press-ups, 25 to 40 dips, 50 shrugs, and 10 minutes of neck exercises on the floor.
After the circuit training Tyson would do four sets of calisthenics then slow shadow boxing. He would leave the gym at around six in the evening and eat a balanced meal at around 7 p.m. By eight in the evening he’ll work out on an exercise bike for a short 30 minutes. This is for recovery purposes only. He would then go to bed at 9 p.m. after studying fight films.
Sparring
Sparring for Tyson was very important as he it helped him improve his boxing skills. Unlike most boxers who would only spar two or three days in a week leading up to their fight, Tyson would spar every day. He would spar 10 rounds in the early afternoon. He would go back to the ring to spar four to six more rounds later in the afternoon.
However, one problem that Tyson encountered as his talent developed was getting enough sparring partners. He became so powerful and skilled in the ring that he would hurt his sparring partners with his punches. So a lot of boxers during his time dreaded joining him in the ring, because they feared that they would get hurt.
Diet
His trainer was way ahead of his time as he knew the importance of diet and nutrition in keeping his fighter in tip top condition. So he had Iron Mike taking a diet that was rich in protein, carbs, and fruit juices. He also had the future champion drinking protein shakes.
As mentioned earlier, Tyson would start his days eating oatmeal with milk. For lunch, he would usually eat rice and chicken breasts with orange juice beside him. For afternoon snacks he likes bananas and protein shake. At night, he often eats pasta and steak, and drinks fruit juice.
Of course, Tyson is only human so he would cheat his diet. He is notorious for his fondness of Captain Crunch and ice cream. But even if he eats a lot, Tyson would work his butt off in the gym as show in this Mike Tyson workout.