About Tyson lifting weights in his prime…

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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 5:48 am I saw a post from somebody that said that Mike Tyson never lifted weights during his prime. Well it is hard for me to believe that a 220 pound man build of solid muscles build up his body by only lifting his own body weight. I train both boxing and weight lifting. I had trained boxing for 3 years and i wasn’t getting any heavier but when I started in powerlifting (squats and bench press) I put on 20 pounds of muscles in only half a year( I was only 95 pounds before i started weight lifting). But weight lifting didn’t make me slower it just made my punches much harder and increased the endurance in my legs! I think Tyson probably had like 3 or 4 weight lifting sessions a week. But If you guys have any proof that Tyson didn’t lift weights in his prime I would be happy to see it.	Eggert Training Joined: Aug 02, 2008 Posts: 4 TTBO record: 39-19 ; 22 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED

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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:09 pm I don’t think Tyson BUILD his muscle. He probably had almost the same type of body before he trained. He just became very ripped after he started training very hard. I mean there is such a clear diffirence in his physique between the 80s and later on in his career. This can be achieved by a man just doing Boxing workouts extensively, but with the best genetics someone can have. This definitely looks more impressive. He was lifting weights by then. _________________ My videos in here: http://www.tysontalk.com/ttvideo-cat-4.html	Turk15 World Champion Joined: Jan 08, 2006 Posts: 512 TTBO record: 86-33 ; 49 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED


Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:09 pm mike may of used weights, to build up the biceps and i think he went on record in saying he used weights to build up his trapezius’. mike almost certainly adopted plyometrics into his work outs which is as effective as weight training but more effective for speed and endurance. . . but its very hard to adopt weights into boxing and keep the lightening speed, what mike had. alot of guys use weights and some to good effect depending on their style, holyfield used it well and so too did frank bruno. but mikes style was so heavily dependent on speed, weights would definatly have been a set back, like it was to roy jones james toney and to some degree tysons come back in the 90’s. . . with no disrespect to you, mike was a genetic monster. . . not many people can look like him, despite his work out techniques. . but on the other side of the coin people can train as hard as its physically possible and still never attain a physique anywhere close to him. personally i think mike looked bigger and better before he started weight training then he did when using weights.	ashman99 Training Joined: Jul 30, 2004 Posts: 23 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 6:02 pm ashman99 wrote: personally i think mike looked bigger and better before he started weight training then he did when using weights. Better yes. But he was lighter in his prime. _________________ My videos in here: http://www.tysontalk.com/ttvideo-cat-4.html	Turk15 World Champion Joined: Jan 08, 2006 Posts: 512 TTBO record: 86-33 ; 49 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED


Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:46 pm Mike Tyson looked more muscular when he was 30 years old than when he was 20 because it is proved that you’re body is the most muscular when you’re 30 years old	Eggert Training Joined: Aug 02, 2008 Posts: 4 TTBO record: 39-19 ; 22 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED


Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:35 am ok any one that thinks mike did not lift waieghts is an absolute idiat my lifting coach evan gave me tapes of his work out he did mostly back, shoulders, and legs, but he liftid ,,,,a lot in his prim evan at the begging he liftid ,,,,,,you doet hit that hard with out lifting yes mike was always a big dude but he was’nt that big since 12 trust me he liftid,, jim3 out,,,, _________________ www.benardhopkins.net www.thesweetscience.com www.minnasotaboxing.com www.mageshack.us gildenboyboxing.com www.smashdown.com www.nekoosaboxing.come www.amazon.com www.tysontalk.com www.wisconsinboxing.com/home www.maherauto.com	jim3 World Champion Joined: May 06, 2008 Posts: 800 TTBO record: 281-145 ; 137 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED


Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:56 pm Turk15 wrote: ashman99 wrote: personally i think mike looked bigger and better before he started weight training then he did when using weights. Better yes. But he was lighter in his prime. im talking about his prime 85-89 he looked bigger and better (imo). he was actually fighting arround the 218 mark even after prison against mcneely, bruno, and holyfields fights he was weighing 218 – 220.	ashman99 Training Joined: Jul 30, 2004 Posts: 23 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:12 am Tysons body looks disgusting in that weigh in picture with mckneeley. That was after prison as everyone knows, he must of done a ton of lifting in prison, he looks like he just focused on power after prison, or even after rooney was fired, but mike weighed 190 lbs when he was 12, he did have good genetics but muscles don’t just appear, and sparring/running/bag training doesn’t build large muscels(which mike always had) like jim said ur a fool to think he never weight trained even at the age of 14-15. He didn’t just deadlift and bench, he did special work outs to improve every aspect of his power, but yes he was an true believer in running, and sparring(5 days a week) but that improves endurance, speed, and technique, not power.	ComeBaKid Training Joined: Jul 12, 2009 Posts: 26 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:41 am ComeBaKid wrote: Tysons body looks disgusting in that weigh in picture with mckneeley. That was after prison as everyone knows, he must of done a ton of lifting in prison, he looks like he just focused on power after prison, or even after rooney was fired, but mike weighed 190 lbs when he was 12, he did have good genetics but muscles don’t just appear, and sparring/running/bag training doesn’t build large muscels(which mike always had) like jim said ur a fool to think he never weight trained even at the age of 14-15. He didn’t just deadlift and bench, he did special work outs to improve every aspect of his power, but yes he was an true believer in running, and sparring(5 days a week) but that improves endurance, speed, and technique, not power. yeha on be hinf the gloly of mike tyson the talk to the prison gard he said at late hours mike would do puch ups and pull ups shadow box in his cell,, _________________ www.benardhopkins.net www.thesweetscience.com www.minnasotaboxing.com www.mageshack.us gildenboyboxing.com www.smashdown.com www.nekoosaboxing.come www.amazon.com www.tysontalk.com www.wisconsinboxing.com/home www.maherauto.com	jim3 World Champion Joined: May 06, 2008 Posts: 800 TTBO record: 281-145 ; 137 KOs TTBO rank: RETIRED


Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:08 pm jim3 wrote: ok any one that thinks mike did not lift waieghts is an absolute idiat my lifting coach evan gave me tapes of his work out he did mostly back, shoulders, and legs, but he liftid ,,,,a lot in his prim evan at the begging he liftid ,,,,,,you doet hit that hard with out lifting yes mike was always a big dude but he was’nt that big since 12 trust me he liftid,, jim3 out,,,, can you post these videos of mike training weights for his back shoulders and legs? ComeBaKid wrote: Tysons body looks disgusting in that weigh in picture with mckneeley. That was after prison as everyone knows, he must of done a ton of lifting in prison, he looks like he just focused on power after prison, or even after rooney was fired, but mike weighed 190 lbs when he was 12, he did have good genetics but muscles don’t just appear, and sparring/running/bag training doesn’t build large muscels(which mike always had) like jim said ur a fool to think he never weight trained even at the age of 14-15. He didn’t just deadlift and bench, he did special work outs to improve every aspect of his power, but yes he was an true believer in running, and sparring(5 days a week) but that improves endurance, speed, and technique, not power. bag training does infact build large muscles.. particularly in the back and arms, rocky marcianno is quoted on saying he gained a solid 20lbs from hitting the heavy bag alone. i seriously doubt weight training was high on mikes coaching staff’s agenda, as back in the 80’s people werent fundamentally aware of the benefits of weight training in sports like football basket ball and especially boxing. i think alot of you are ignorant about disregarding how much explosive power and speed can be gained from body weight exercises especially PLYOMETRICS which im sure mike did daily! jim3 wrote: yeha on be hinf the gloly of mike tyson the talk to the prison gard he said at late hours mike would do puch ups and pull ups shadow box in his cell,, push ups pull ups and shadow boxing isnt weight training. ill share this article i found years ago, i believe it to be from a very reliable source. Quote: The boxers training regime Iron Mike Tyson (in the 1980’s) Up until he fired Kevin Rooney in 1988, his ONLY diet was steak, pasta and fruit juice. How’s that for discipline? Daily Regime (7 days a week): 5am: get up and go for a 3 mile jog 6am: come back home shower and go back to bed (great workout for those huge legs of his) 10am wake up: eat oatmeal 12pm: do ring work (10 rounds of sparring) 2pm: have another meal (steak and pasta with fruit juice drink) 3pm: more ring work and 60 mins on the exercise bike (again working those huge legs for endurance) 5pm: 2000 sit-ups; 500-800 dips; 500 press-ups; 500 shrugs with a 30kg barbell and 10 mins of neck exercises 7pm: steak and pasta meal again with fruit juice (orange i think it was) 8pm: another 30 minutes on the exercise bike then watch TV and then go to bed. (Before jogging in the morning he did a lot of stretching followed by 10 jumps onto boxes and 10 bursts of sprints, then he went jogging. At 12pm he sparred. At 3pm he did focus mitt work or heavy bag work inside the ring. He warmed up for all ring work with light exercises such as skipping or shadow boxing or speed ball. At 5pm Tyson did 10 quick circuits, each circuit consisting of: 200 sit-ups, then 25-40 dips, then 50 press-ups, then 25-40 dips, then 50 shrugs, followed by 10 mins of neck work on the floor. Tyson said that the shrugs “built his shoulders up” to help unleash punches with his short arms whilst at the same time building endurance in the neck. It should be noted though that Tyson couldn’t do any more than 50 sit-ups a day and 50 press-ups a day when he was 13, but gradually increasing the reps each week got him to a higher level over many years, so that he was doing 2000 sit-ups inside 2 hours every day by the time he was 20.) Mike told Ian Durke (Sky commentator) his above workout regime when he visited England to watch a Frank Bruno fight in March 1987. Durke told Mike that Bruno trained like a bodybuilder and asked Mike about this, but Mike said that floor exercises and natural exercises work better. Mike explained that his punch-power comes from nothing more than heavy bag work “works your strength through the hips” he said, despite doing shrugs with a barbell he said that lifting weights has about as much resemblance to punching as “cheesecake” (contradicting himself though due to doing shrugs). But his mentor Cus D’Amato realised that, due to Tyson’s style, he needed punch-power (not that he didn’t have it naturally anyway). So Cus got Mike very heavy bags to hit for a 13 yr old, and Cus gradually increased the weight of the bags Tyson used over time so that by the age of 18-19 Tyson was banging bags that no other man could budge! Also, Cus used to order Tyson to go jog 3 miles with 50lbs on his back because he didn’t want Mike growing any taller (because it didn’t suit his style)! Mike Tyson (as of March 1987) Monday to Friday: Go for a 3 mile run in the morning. Do mid-day ring-work (10 rounds of sparring). Do evening ring-work (focus mitts and/or heavy bag). Warm-up for all ring-work with shadow boxing. Following mid-day ring-work – work on the slip bags and/or speed bags. Following evening ring-work – do circuits of bodyweight exercises (sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, dips) followed by 10 mins of neck work on the floor and 10 mins of skipping. (apparently every six months the size of the heavy bag was increased and the size of the speed bag was decreased).	ashman99 Training Joined: Jul 30, 2004 Posts: 23 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:09 pm i personally dont think mike lifted weights…or if he did it was so small of a thing that it didn’t matter…he did bodyweight exercises and for anyone who says you can’t get big off of bodyweight exercises hasn’t been doing them right…sure he probably did something for his biceps and maybe even his traps but you have to remember that when they found him at 12 he already weighed was most of us do as adults…it would have been nothing to put on 20-30 pounds of muscle by the time he was 20…now if i found out he did lift weights back then, i wouldn’t be suprised but i don’t believe he did…i mean think about it..tyson has more footage and interviews on him than any other boxer except maybe ali…don’t you think someone would have seen or said somethings all these years about whether he did or not…if everyone knows that berbick,bruno holyfield,jones,toney,etc.. lifted then it would have gotten out that tyson did as well	kdynamite Amateur Joined: Apr 07, 2007 Posts: 63 TTBO record: 3-1 ; 3 KOs TTBO rank: INACTIVE AMATEUR


Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:29 pm Tyson had great genetics, plain and simple, along with alot of African Americans I used to play sports with back in the late 80s and early 90s a couple hours outside catskill where i grew up. they barely touched a weight, and followed a diet of ding dongs washed down with grape drink, and still were built like holy helll, and stronger and faster too. man i was jealous, haha. GENETICS is what its called..combined with a will like Mikes, your on your way. Hershel Walker was also huge like Mike, before he touched a weight also All Tyson had to do was train hard boxing workouts, and eat alot good heavy meat and pasta diet, as Kevin Rooney said he used to pound down the chicken and steaks as he was always loading the freezer with them. maybe he did a couple curls and shrugs in his 80s prime, but thats surely not a “regular” weightlifting routine that football players and the like follow. I actually know when Tyson start incorporating more weights in his training, as if you watch his early fights, he gets more of the bodybuilding looking and tad bit slower too, then the previous fights. im gonna go back and look, as im watching the Ferguson fight now. ILL BE BACK	shawntyson Olympics Joined: Jun 24, 2008 Posts: 122 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:02 pm I agree with shawntyson. It is all in the genetics. Tyson had the same shape at age 11, solid muscle. Lifting weights only gives the appearance of athleticism, but true elite athletes like Tyson are born to be that way.	tata1 Training Joined: Aug 17, 2009 Posts: 3 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:47 pm I too think tyson looked bigger and more solid pre prison. Even though his fighting weight was pretty much the same post prison he just looked a lot smaller. His body began to resemble that of a bodybuilder, his shoulder, back and neck muscles seemed to have deteriorated somewhat whilst in prison making him look a little more heavier round the mid section. It was good to see him regain his classic physeek for the Holfield rematch though, just a shame he wasn’t able to put it to good use. I just wish he’d stayed with Kevin Rooney…. the Tyson/Holyfield fight should have been the biggest, most significant fight in boxing history, instead we got a burnt out mike tyson who at 30yo should have been at his peak.	mot Training Joined: Jun 15, 2008 Posts: 5 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!


Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:00 am The proof is in the pudding (or pictures)… Tyson early ’80s was not ripped. Extremely fast punches, upper body movement. Tyson post prison was ripped, and his punches slowed down. And it’s a fact that Tyson did do weights while in prison. So in conclusion, weights don’t do much other than intimidate your opponent, and give you the strength outside of boxing to go lift a refrigerator or something. Almost ties in with the steroids argument…bigger muscles don’t really help you in boxing. It’s all about generating power from technique and skills.	addiwei Training Joined: Jul 09, 2006 Posts: 5 TTBO record: No record yet,Play Now!