Now, keeping aside his formidable and devastating punching power, what rendered Mike Tyson such a spine-chilling foe in the ring? One of the most critical aspects of ‘Iron’ Mike’s ferocity was his top-notch fitness regimen. More significantly, physical conditioning enabled him to endure gruesome punishments round after the other without impacting the match’s outcome. A key aspect of his conditioning exercises was building neck muscles.
Mike Tyson’s Neck thickness
Around the world, of all the performance athletes, wrestlers understand the penalty to be paid for having a ‘chicken neck’. If the muscles around the neck are not strengthened, then the risks of a sprain, strain, or, in some cases, even breakage exist. In boxing, the neck may not experience the execution of techniques such as bridging. Nevertheless, during a bout, when a punch connects to the face, the jerk or shock at times could be severe, and the damage may linger for long phases, jeopardizing a career.
Mike Tyson was one of the first boxers to understand this minute but key aspect and started religiously working on his neck muscles. By the time he was eighteen, the width of his neck measured around twenty inches! His most preferred technique remained the neck bridges. Reportedly, he kept thirty minutes of his strict and hectic training regimen aside to focus on building enduring neck muscles. It helped immensely in dealing with concussions and other head injuries.
The neck bridges should not be done unsupervised. It doesn’t appear easy, but a boxer’s dividends make it worth every penny. A fighter who can absorb the most vicious and debilitating punch is labeled a ‘strong chin’. However, it mustn’t be forgotten that the neck does the bull’s work in preventing whiplash, allowing him to stay a bit longer inside the ring.
Training technique Mike Tyson used to grow such an astounding neck
One essential exercise that supports building neck muscles is shrugs, or simply, shoulder shrugs. If done correctly, the exercise helps stabilize the Trapezius, the large muscle group covering the back from the neck, shoulders, and middle of the back. In turn, it helps build overall upper body strength.
Another proven method is old-school resistance exercises. It could be a free weight or a weighted one. The ‘prone weighted neck extension’ is an excellent move in enhancing the posterior neck muscles.