Tyson’s Neck
Above you’ll see an iconic photo for several reasons:
1.) There is no question who is is, even when seen from the back, which I find pretty awesome.
2.) Mr. Tyson made many bad decisions in his life, but one of the good ones was to make a point to build a big, strong neck. Genetics undoubtedly DID have a had in it, but he also did specific training, as you’ll see in the rare video clip below. Obviously this is pretty important if your occupation is boxing (or any other full-contact sport.)
3. This photograph was pinned to the bulletin board of my home weightroom as I was growing up. Aside from the many benefits that neck training brings to any high school football player (especially one with a long neck, like I have) an aspect that should not be overlooked is that “image” is pretty important to young folks, and this photo “got over” the idea that a bigger neck was a relatively easy way to “look strong,” ideally for the purpose of picking up girls –Inspiration (and motivation) often comes from unusual sources. Whether or not this was the intended result is unclear, but I certainly benefited greatly onfield and off in either case.
Interestingly, I recently came across this footage of the great modern boxer Anthony Joshua doing some excellent bridging — this is impressive, someone clearly showed him how to do it right.