Neck exercises

[FatherDog]

Does anyone have any good exercises for increasing neck strength? It's an area I'd like to work on in order to decrease my chance of injury, and I'm having a hard time finding good ways to exercise it.

[Ras-Tanu]

neck flexion and neck extensions are good for the neck. all u need is a weight plate, towel and a bench.

for the front and side neck do flexions:

-Place folded towel on weight plate. Lie supine perpendicular to bench. Place weight and towel on the forehead. Support and balance weight with both hands throughout movement.
-Move head up by flexing neck until chin touches upper chest. Return by hyperextending neck and repeat.

for the rear neck do extensions:

-Place folded towel on weight plate. Sit bent over on thighs. Place weight and towel on the back of head. Support and balance weight with both hands.
-Move head up by hyperextending neck. Return by bending neck down until chin touches upper chest. Repeat.

there are tons more good exercises people will tell you about using cable-pulley machines and stuff, but this is what i do. oh yeah, like any other exercise, make sure u strech/warm-up your neck.

[scotty1]

I read that a good one is to lie on your back and just do a nodding motion, trying to touch your chin to your chest.

Sure as hell makes my neck ache, but I haven't quite figured out whether its a good ache or not yet. I think it is.

Also, lift your head off the floor and move it from left to right in a shaking your head motion.

[Sho]

I don't know how effective this is, but one way to strengthen the neck is to practice doing kipups. When they are done properly and you do them around 10-15 a day, the next morning your neck feels a bit sore. Eventually increase the number of times you do them, but remember not to do all in a row because the neck tends to lose power when kipups are made several times, which may be harmful to the spine. This is only my observation about kipups, so I am not 100% sure/confident whether it's a good method enhancing neck muscles. Some people might have something to add here. Safety first.

[mad taoist]

Here is an excercise... without moving your body, push your neck forward (slowly) and pull it back -- almost rolling like a conveyer (sp?) belt. Make sure your chin is tucked down as you roll back (as far as you can).

Also, do head/handstands and back bridges on your head, they will also help.

Good luck :)

[abobo]

This is a good thread. Any other neck exercises out there?

[Cheese Dog]

Headstands, shoulderstands, and back bridges are all great.

Another very good exercise for not just your neck but the entire posterior chain are iron board bridges. Just get 2 chairs, put your head on one and your feet on the other, suspending your body straight between them. A folded up towel for padding under your head is a good idea. Once you can lie comfortably for 2-3 minutes you can lay a barbell plate on your stomach to increase the resistance.

I once knew a judoka who could do this exercise for 10 minutes with 2 45lb. plates on his abs. Hitting his stomach felt like hitting a rock!

[harry_the_monk]

I reccomend the back/front wrestler's bridge, works very well, you must make sure your neck is sufficiently warmed up and do not overdo it.

[abobo]

Originally posted by Cheese Dog

Another very good exercise for not just your neck but the entire posterior chain are iron board bridges. Just get 2 chairs, put your head on one and your feet on the other, suspending your body straight between them. A folded up towel for padding under your head is a good idea. Once you can lie comfortably for 2-3 minutes you can lay a barbell plate on your stomach to increase the resistance.


Can you do this? It's way out of my league.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i heard that back bridges are the sh it, but you are supposed to do them so that your nose actually touches the floor (instead of doing it on the crown of your head you bend your head back towards your ass so that your looking at the wall behind you). it looks like it would be bad for your neck, but i read that it's healthier as the weight is distributed more evenly over an arch rather than an odd angle. i have never worked with them over a period of time, but it felt perfectly comfortable every time i did it.

[Cheese Dog]

Abobo; yes I can--for about 1 minute, but just with my own bodyweight (so far!).

It's actually not as hard as it sounds, at least for the first 10-20 seconds.

Just try holding the bridge for a few seconds a day. Then add 5 seconds or so. You'll be surprised how quickly your strength increases.

My instructor held the iron bridge for about 2 minutes awhile ago with his two daughters on his stomach, combined weight about 60 pounds.

[FatherDog]

Thread from the dead!


Originally posted by GunnedDownAtrocity
i heard that back bridges are the sh it, but you are supposed to do them so that your nose actually touches the floor (instead of doing it on the crown of your head you bend your head back towards your ass so that your looking at the wall behind you). it looks like it would be bad for your neck, but i read that it's healthier as the weight is distributed more evenly over an arch rather than an odd angle. i have never worked with them over a period of time, but it felt perfectly comfortable every time i did it.

The way my coach teaches back bridges, we start out on the top of our heads, "rock" down to get our noses to the floor (or try), and "rock" back up to the top of the head position. I usually do 12-15 reps several times a week.