The “Mike Tyson push up”? The hell?

Me neither ... it looks like an interesting move and I may try it, but calling it a "Mike Tyson" pushup seems like just a way to get attention/clicks; never heard of him using it, or anything like it

 

I have seen him do it, in the mid 80s it was only a short clip, at the same time he was lay on his back doing some weird neck exercise where he would have the back of his head on the floor then lift his body and roll his head around like stretching it, it looked like one mistake and his neck will not work anymore!!

 

If my memory serves me correct, it was a short clip on ITV before one of his fights 85/86 during the build up, could have been the Berbick fight, pretty sure i still have it on VHS but would have to dig it out.

 

The neck thing is called a bridge. It’s mandatory training basically for amateur (and pro) wrestlers and in my day at least in the boxing gym I was at, it was part of the routine.

Stronger neck means less head snapping back = less chance of concussion.

 

I’ve been searching for years for the “Butterbean Sit Up” but can’t find it.

Any help on this would be very much appreciated.

EDIT: Apparently he only showed it off the one time in public (literally one sit up) with the qualification that he did 1000s more on a daily basis behind closed doors.

 

You do see the manifest value/proof of stronger necks - less apparent snap and/or twist even when taking powerful shots.

Chuvalo was an excellent example among others. I haven’t watched all of Chuvalo’s fights but the two fights that struck me were the Foreman and (to a less frequent degree) Williams’ fights.

That’s the most I’ve seen Chuvalo’s head get shifted/halted (enter brain smack against the skull, to and fro) which speaks for the upper level power of Foreman and Big Cat.

Fighters less endowed would’ve had their heads severely snapped/twisted, which would’ve resulted in greater effect and the overall vision implying an even more powerful punch when really the neck muscles of the recipients would’ve simply lacked the resistance of necks possessed by the likes of Chuvalo , Tyson etc.

 

One of the most impressive things I’ve seen by an athlete was when Terrell Owens gave an interview (IIRC in his driveway) while doing 500 sit-ups.

I figure Roy Jr and James Scott are the only other two athletes I figure could do that.

 

I know the one that you are talking about.

Been doing the Tyson push up for years, mixing it up with pike and Hindu push ups and bear walks as part of overall conditioning for muay Thai and MMA.

The neck bridge, whilst not used as much these days, is still used as a functional training piece in older school gyms where traditional catch wrestling is taught.

 

Liston doing his neck training, go to 40 sec mark:-

https://youtu.be/1kOIsZUBnjk

Tyson doing his neck work:-

https://youtu.be/u_5tcUgOYiI

 

in Arnold's heyday he and the other guys like Ferrigno and Columbu etc would do 500 roman chair sit ups as a warm up, Tyson did 10 sets of 200 sit ups mixed in with sparring bag work and other calisthenics he could definitely do a single set of 500