He was the only boxer in history to become two time undisputed champion in two different weight classes. Holyfield defeated some of the best boxers in his era including Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Hasim Rehman.
Holyfield started off as his journey in the light heavyweight division and moving himself onto heavyweight. He ultimately became a four time heavyweight champion.
During Evander Holyfield’s illustrious career he never had a set training routine all throughout his career. For example, he had a different training routine when he was a light heavyweight compared to when he was a heavyweight.
The below training routine is a similar training routine Holyfield used when he was a heavyweight boxer and in the fights leading up to Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson.
This specific training routine is split into four mesocycles of three week duration. Each three week period had specific goals and each 3 week period built upon what he had established in the weeks before.
For example the first three weeks would be to maximise muscle mass and improve general strength and fitness. Basically, to build a strong foundation. The following three weeks would introudce boxing specific training and increase anaerobic strength endurance while putting an emphasis on building muscle in his legs.
The final six weeks would be maximizing explosive strength and going all out on boxing specific training like sparring and bagwork. He would also do plyometrics and sharpen up his skills.
Evander Holyfield’s Training Routine
| Mesocycle One |
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| Session | Training Mode | Frequency |
| Morning workouts | Boxing Skills | Daily |
| Lower Body Exercises | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Upper Body Exercises | Tues, Thurs, Sat | |
| Versaball | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Noon workouts | 3 Minute Drill (4-6 sets) | Mon, Wed, Fri |
| Plyometrics | Tues, Thurs, Sat | |
| Evening workouts | Weight Training | Mon-Fri |
|
Mesocycle Two |
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| Session | Training Mode | Frequency |
| Morning workouts | Sparring/IE | Daily/twice weekly |
| Lower Body Exercises | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Upper Body Exercises | Tues, Thurs, Sat | |
| Versaball | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Noon workouts | 3 Minute Drill (7-9 sets) | Mon, Wed, Fri |
| Weighted plyometrics | Tues, Thurs, Sat | |
| Evening workouts | Explosive weight training | Mon-Fri |
| Mesocycle Three |
||
| Session | Training Mode | Frequency |
| Morning workouts | Sparring | Daily |
| Lower Body Exercises | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Upper Body Exercises | Tues, Thurs, Sat | |
| Versaball | Mon, Wed, Fri | |
| Noon workouts | 3 Minute Drill (10-12 sets) | Mon, Wed, Fri |
| Shock plyometrics | Tues, Thurs | |
| Evening workouts | complex training | Mon-Fri |
For his weight training program in the first few weeks of his training, Holyfield followed a bodybuilding program using a split format. He would switch between A, B and C workouts. A being easy, B being difficult and C offering high intensity.
VersaBall exercises were variations of medicine ball exercises. He would usually switch up different throws in different positions.
Evander Holyfied’s Variable Split Exercise Listing
The precise schedule of when to do an A, B or C workout was matched to Evander’s recuperative abilities.
| Chest | A workout | bench press |
| B workout | add dumbbell bench press | |
| C workout | add incline dumbbell bench press | |
| Shoulders | A workout | seated dumbbell presses |
| B workout | add frontal dumbbell raises | |
| C workout | add lateral raises | |
| Back | A workout | bent rows, back extensions |
| B workout | add modified pull-ups | |
| C workout | add pull-downs | |
| Arms | A workout | EZ curls, pushdowns |
| B workout | add hi, moderate and low rep system | |
| C workout | add dumbbell curls, dips | |
| Legs | A workout | safety squats, keystone deadlifts |
| B workout | add lunge walking, glute-ham raises | |
| C workout | add twisting squats, leg curls | |
| Midsection | A workout | Russian twists |
| B workout | add pre-stretched crunches | |
| C workout | add sidebends |
Plyometrics is a fantastic way of improving explosive strength and overall balance. Evander would do the following for his plyometrics workout.
The Plyometrics Routine
- jog or do stepups to warm up
2. easy (not “all-out”) jumps, hops, skips, and then
3. do 20 yards of skips
4. again
5. hops like a kangaroo
6. again
7. repeat 3, 4, 5, and 6 backwards
8. one-legged hops 30 yards (both feet)
9. hops on hands 10 yards
10. repeat 9 backwards
11. repeat 9 left and right
During the second mesocycle he would do all of the above but with a weighted vest. In the third mesocycle he would add in bench hops and add twisting skips 40 yards.
Diet Plan
Throughout Holyfield’s long career he had varied diet plans but the most consistent thing he did all throughout his career was eat meat. He likes to eat all kind of meat including beef, lamb, chicken, fish and seafood.
Holyfield prefers eating meat because of the amount of protein it provides and it can keep him fuller for longer. He usually does eat around 4-5 meals a day to fuel and grow his body while also adding vegetables for the added benefits they provide.
Evander liked to eat a diet high in protein mixed with carbohydrates so his body could get the required fuel that it needed. He saw food as fuel and instead of the taste of food saw it for its nutritional value.
Evander avoided foods high in sugar and processed foods as he believed his body should get pure food with good nutrition for him to build his body.
While there is no official diet plan of Holyfield’s released, we have used the information available to create a sample diet plan that Holyfield might have ate on a daily basis:
Breakfast
Salmon, scrambled eggs, piece of fruit, fruit juice
Lunch
Steak, steamed vegetables, potatoes, water
Snack
Grilled Chicken
Dinner
Beef or Steak, pasta & fruit juice
Conclusion
Evander Holyfield is a man who accomplished a lot in the sport. But to accomplish that he consistently trained hard, stayed disciplined and had a vision.
Holyfield was a brought in a crime struck part of Georgia and although the odds were stacked against him, he went on to become one of the greatest boxers of all time. As Holyfield once said “If you quit every time things don’t go your way, then you’ll be quitting all through your life.”
