On August 1, 1987, Mike Tyson became the youngest ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the world at just 21 years old.

It was his 31st win as a professional boxer.

Iron Mike won his first 19 professional fights via knockout, 12 of which came in the first round. He was eventually humbled in his 38th fight, beaten in Tokyo by Buster Douglas.

Either side of his ban, Tyson would lose to Evander Holyfield twice and Britain’s Lennox Lewis.

There is speculation that Tyson’s losses in the twilight of his career to Kevin McBride and Danny Williams were down to a change of his original heavy-duty training regime.

Below is his workout plan in the prime of his career, according to Muscle Prodigy, a plan that he relied on 7 days a week.

5AM: Wake up and go for a three-mile jog
6AM: Come back home, shower, and go back to bed
10AM Wake up: Oatmeal for breakfast
12PM: Ring work (10 rounds of sparring)
2PM: Lunch (steak and pasta with fruit juice)
3PM: More ring work and an hour on the exercise bike
5PM: 2000 sit-ups, 500-800 dips, 500 press-ups, 500 shrugs with a 30kg barbell, and 10 mins of neck exercises
7PM: Dinner (Steak and pasta meal with fruit juice)
8PM: Another 30 minutes on the exercise bike then watch TV and go to bed

A recommendation, as per muscleprodigy.com, is to take at least 1-2 days of rest, especially due to the workload Tyson gave himself. This is because the body only grows and recuperates when it rests.

Tyson was able to train with short spates of rest because he consistently needed to burn calories and condition himself.

Before his morning jog, Tyson would participate in a lot of stretching before short bursts of sprinting and box jumps. Sparring would follow mitt and heavy bag work in afternoon ring sessions. Warm-ups for these sessions would entail light exercises such as skipping, shadow boxing or working on a speed ball.

In the evening, Tyson did quick circuit work that included 200 sit-ups, up to 40 dips, 50 press-ups and a further 40 dips followed by 50 shrugs and 10 minutes of neck work.

Tyson attributes the shrugs to the strength in his shoulders that, in turn, assisted his punching with such short arms.

The workout isn’t what you would describe as a typical bodybuilder routine. It was Tyson’s floor, natural exercises, as well as heavy bag work, that helped him with his punching power and helped him become the biggest boxer on the planet.