Neck training - advice please?

[tenpoundsleft]

I've started to do more neck exercises - like the wrestler back bridge stand where I rest on the occiput and my feet, with the rest arched. Gradually walking my feet further out to increase the load on my neck. Arms across my chest. I hold that for a while, then lower, go do some other exercise, and then repeat the bridge a couple times.

Haven't been able to come up with a great exercise to strengthen the neck in the other direction - to stress the front or anterior muscles. I like the big body movement exercises, they seem to build real strength, with all the connecting and small muscles needed, so I'd like to avoid clamping myself into a machine, but maybe that's needed in this area?

The Top 5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Neck

In addition to strengthening in general, I think there's a posture correcting benefit to the front muscles, to compensate for years of leaning forward over computers.

How do you guys exercise the neck? Any clever approaches to address the front muscles? I'd rather not have to rely on a training buddy. I do have a head harness and I've tried using that with elastic bands at the back, tied to the wall, and that's OK, but doesn't use much ROM.

 

[MindlessWork]

I roll my head around on a mat

 

[tenpoundsleft]

I roll my head around on a mat

Ha ha - is that where your tag comes from? The mindless work?

 

[Docd187123]

Pretty good article on training the neck. Doesn't list much in the exercises to perform but still a good read.

 

[MindlessWork]

Ha ha - is that where your tag comes from? The mindless work?

Haha no...it comes from the mindless work I do as an IT service desk professional

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Pretty good article on training the neck. Doesn't list much in the exercises to perform but still a good read.

There's another article there too: Neck and Head Training to Maximize Athletic Performance

I was just hoping to see if someone had come up with any clever approach to train the anterior neck muscles.

 

[Docd187123]

There's another article there too: Neck and Head Training to Maximize Athletic Performance

I was just hoping to see if someone had come up with any clever approach to train the anterior neck muscles.

Fuck, I forgot to link the article. Here it is:

https://bretcontreras.com/neck-training-101/

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Holdin my huge noggin erect all day

 

[Mayne]

Have never done neck exercises but I see people do the side lateral machine for neck, you know one on which you do side laterals placing elbow under a pad?

 

[Docd187123]

Have never done neck exercises but I see people do the side lateral machine for neck, you know one on which you do side laterals placing elbow under a pad?

Was wondering where you had gone off to.

 

[Mayne]

Was wondering where you had gone off to.

Haha I am still here, just hadn't logged a lot because of Christmas and Hew Year, which now reminded me Happy New Year Doc! Anyway cold weather brought out and about an old knee injury onto full force, not lifting all that much lately had diminished my interest in reading forums full of people who can actually lift lol, hopefully will be back soon

 

[Docd187123]

Haha I am still here, just hadn't logged a lot because of Christmas and Hew Year, which now reminded me Happy New Year Doc! Anyway cold weather brought out and about an old knee injury onto full force, not lifting all that much lately had diminished my interest in reading forums full of people who can actually lift lol, hopefully will be back soon

Happy new year to you as well. Hopefully that old injury will be old news soon.

 

[cdoubleu]

Holdin my huge noggin erect all day

Haha, you said erect.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Have never done neck exercises but I see people do the side lateral machine for neck, you know one on which you do side laterals placing elbow under a pad?

Yep - the gym has those too - but I only use machines as a last resort.

Here's an Elliott Hulse video on the issue:


He's a fun guy to listen to, that Elliott.

 

[Maxlass]

The Thais do an exercise where you are seated pass a rope through a weight, tie a loop in the end and grip it with your teeth and lift it up and down with your neck. I found putting some hose around where you bite on to it makes it a little easier on the mouth. They use it for neck strength in grappling.

 

[UncleB]

What's wrong with the weighted head strap? Works in any direction or plane. You could probably get close with jumpstrech bands and a bit of imagination.

Front and back bridges built the 2nd biggest necks I've ever seen. Deadlift the 1st.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

What's wrong with the weighted head strap? Works in any direction or plane. You could probably get close with jumpstrech bands and a bit of imagination.

Front and back bridges built the 2nd biggest necks I've ever seen. Deadlift the 1st.

I have a good headstrap, but find that it slips too much if I do "nodding" movements - no chinstrap.

Found a great page with exercises here:
Neck Training Fit For a Neanderthal - Anthony Mychal DeMarco

 

[UncleB]

I have a good headstrap, but find that it slips too much if I do "nodding" movements - no chinstrap.

Spend thirty bucks and get a real headstrap. Elitefts' won't slip, has a chinstrap.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Spend thirty bucks and get a real headstrap. Elitefts' won't slip, has a chinstrap.

I have an otherwise great Harbinger headstrap, it works fine with everything other than the anterior, or front, neck muscles.

I've taken a liking to the wrestler exercises, I think I'll develop proficiency in them first. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[UncleB]

FWIW, effective exercises should be what everyone's after, IMO, as opposed to popular, enjoyable, or any other adjectives.

For aesthetic or strenght oriented neck goals, those are heavy barbell deadlift, shrugs, and head strap flexion & extension movements. Bodyweight exercises are always a poor choice when better options exist (i.e., you aren't incarcerated). Bridges do build strength in the very weak-necked, just like pushups would build tris and pecs for the fully detrained, but are essentially the least productive path. When I wrestled in HS and college, they were done daily as flexibility exercises.

Isometrics would be better for you than bridges. The path that actual people who started out pencilnecked took to build strong or large necks would be better. There's nothing new under the training sun, but everyone who wants to sell a book or supplement needs to put out a constant stream of articles and tips. Step one to meaningful improvement is to learn to ignore all of those.