Neck exercises?

Duncans Donuts · 10-01-2004, 06:34 PM

Without specialized equiptment, does anyone have some interesting neck strengthening exercises?

madden player · 10-01-2004, 07:11 PM

The only exercise that I do for my neck is done lying on my back with my head hanging off a bench. I curl my neck, bringing my chin to my chest (hits the sternocleidomastoids). I never let my head and neck go below parallel with my body. I do a couple high rep sets with no resistence to warm my neck up, then I place a folded towel on my forehead and add some weight.

Headstraps used to be common but have fallen out of fashion...Most people never directly train their neck..I love training my neck..A pump in the sternocleidomastoids is an outrageous feeling.

mino lee · 10-02-2004, 12:04 AM

duncan: i only train sterno. never the splenius. i used to lie on my back with my head hanging off and curl it up. however, and this is totally in my opinion, instead of doing what madden player does, i let my neck all the way down and ONLY bring it up to parallel. this is extremely contraversial. the way madden player does it, he will get a burn in the sterno, quicker and so intense that you feel like screaming. the way i do it, u can up the weight more and it'll take longer to get that screaming burn.

the reason i do it this way is because it is my believe that from all the way down to parallel, will work the lower sterno more, and from parallel to chin, will work the upper sterno more. most people will probably say this is bullshit and just like the bicep, you either work the whole thing or not at all, you cannot isolate.........but this is the way i do it.

in the end, and after warmups, i just sit upright on a chair and put my left and right fists flat on my forhead (so that it doesn't hurt) and in contracted position (meaning the chin is already tucked fully forward) i try to uncontract or "push the neck back to an upright position. the neck is never strong enough to resist for more than maybe 8 seconds. but i always do this at home, cuz as you can probably imagine, this looks pretty fucking freaky if you do it at the gym. shit if i saw someone do this at the gym, i would probably break out laughing. and for other people who might not even know what this guy is doing, they might just complain that there is an insane person in the gym.

neck excercises have always been one that i've analyzed more than any other bodypart. i've always said for years that the #1 body part i want to stand out is my neck, and then my trapezius. when i learned boxing, it was the believe of most guys that the thicker the neck, the more punches one can absorb, which is important, because it doesn't matter how good your offense is, if your defense ain't worth shit. nowadays, i only work the sterno for appearance.

**CowPimp** · 10-02-2004, 12:16 AM

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solid10 · 10-02-2004, 09:13 AM

I lay down flat on a bench grab a dumbell and place it on my forehead with a towel underneath it to cushion it. Then I move my head up by flexing neck until chin touches upper chest.Return by hyperextending neck and repeat.

solid10 · 10-02-2004, 09:15 AM

Thats only if I don't have a strap.

madden player · 10-03-2004, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mino lee

..i've always said for years that the #1 body part i want to stand out is my neck..

I also want my neck to stand out.. There is a great novel by Tom Wolfe ' Bonfire of The Vanities ' and one of the characters in the book is an attorney that uses his well developed streno to intimidate witnesses in the courtroom.

A neck that is as thick as your head or thicker creates a powerful look. I think everyone should include some neck work into their routine. Most people would be surprised how fast their neck responds to direct training.

Vieope · 10-03-2004, 02:46 PM

I don´t really buy anymore the effectiveness of any neck exercise.

Vieope · 10-03-2004, 02:47 PM

Although you may try:

madden player · 10-03-2004, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vieope

I don´t really buy anymore the effectiveness of any neck exercise.

Do you have a Pencil neck??..Your neck won't respond to direct work??

Vieope · 10-03-2004, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madden player

Do you have a Pencil neck??..Your neck won't respond to direct work??

I can´t explain why they are not worth it. LAM was the one that convinced me.

madden player · 10-03-2004, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vieope

I can´t explain why they are not worth it. LAM was the one that convinced me.

You shouldn't let anyone but yourself convince you that an exercise is worth it or not. Everyone that I know of that trains their neck directly sees some improvements

.

Vieope · 10-03-2004, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madden player

You shouldn't let anyone but yourself convince you that an exercise is worth it or not. Everyone that I know of that trains their neck directly sees some improvements

.

Ok, starting now. I won´t let you convince me that other people can´t convince me.
I will try new exercises for neck though, the thing is that I really never saw any improvement and somebody saying that they don´t work was just what I needed.

Duncans Donuts · 10-03-2004, 03:10 PM

Why won't neck exercises work?

Vieope · 10-03-2004, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncans Donuts

Why won't neck exercises work?

That is the thing I can´t quite explain. More people here think the same though.

madden player · 10-03-2004, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vieope

..I will try new exercises for neck though, the thing is that I really never saw any improvement

It's all good..Resistance training is like that. We all have a lagging bodypart or two or three that just seems to lagg behind the rest

..I guess it could be a genetic thing.

Duncans Donuts · 10-03-2004, 06:05 PM

Would someone tell me why neck exercises don't work?

DeadBolt · 10-03-2004, 06:06 PM

I do the same as madden but then I also do them on my sides. I find that when i stick to em my kneck grows very nice. I have to start them up again, a nice set of traps and a thick neck make the wholoe package just look so damn beefy.

Luke9583 · 10-03-2004, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncans Donuts

Without specialized equiptment, does anyone have some interesting neck strengthening exercises?

Take a look at a college wrestler... MONSTER NECKS.

My good buddy wrestles for MSU. He is my height, maybe 10lbs heavier, 4% less bf and has a 18" neck. It's disgusting, lmao. But I'm tired of my 15.25" neck.

Have somebody push down and just try to force him up 6 times. Do the same thing sideways against somebody's knee. I ony do 6 of each, but 3 times a week. Seems to help me and my skinny ass.

racoon02 · 10-03-2004, 07:26 PM

Dont heavy shrugs indirectly make your neck thicker by having bigger traps?

DeadBolt · 10-03-2004, 07:36 PM

Yes shrugs help to enlarg your neck but not as much as dierct work. Compare the neck to your tri's and your traps your chest. Indirectly the tri's grow with benching but not nearly as much as if you were to directly work them....same goes for the neck.

Make sense? Sorry its the only thing I could think of off the top of my head.

**Mudge** · 10-03-2004, 07:44 PM

Unless your traps come really high up on your neck, I can still tell if someone has a scrawny neck. I remember a big guy who was lean at an old gym I used to go to about 5 years ago, and he had a skinny as neck, but great development everywhere else traps included.

min0 lee · 10-09-2004, 06:36 PM

I see.

min0 lee · 05-08-2005, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Tips: Lie on your back with your shoulders about even with the end of the bench. Place a flat barbell plate on your forehead and hold in place with your hands. Raise your head in a semicircular motion as far as comfortable. Return to starting position slowly.

This what I do, does the job when there's no harness or machine around.

**Mudge** · 05-08-2005, 05:09 PM

I need more than a plate to get my neck worked, unless I'm doing 30 reps or something. My favorite neck machine ever was the Nautilus unit. The way it was setup though, I had to load 4 and 5 plates on there, but it was by far the most comfortable I've ever used.

min0 lee · 05-08-2005, 05:14 PM

My old gym had those, I actually use dumbells now Bally's does not have neck machines unfortunatly.

**Mudge** · 05-08-2005, 05:16 PM

Since most gyms have everything else I want, thats the first thing I look/ask for is a neck machine. The one I'm using now is my second favorite, I never go over 75 pounds on it. The last one I used was I think made by Flex and had the worst pad setup ever, really nice for ripping your face up. I wrap my towel twice on the current one, works ok. The pad is round though which kind of sucks.

10-01-2004, 06:34 PM	#1
Duncans Donuts Stay puffed, baby. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: CA Posts: 2,774 Photos: 2	Neck exercises? Without specialized equiptment, does anyone have some interesting neck strengthening exercises?
	"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

10-01-2004, 07:11 PM	#2
madden player I am Canadian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 707	The only exercise that I do for my neck is done lying on my back with my head hanging off a bench. I curl my neck, bringing my chin to my chest (hits the sternocleidomastoids). I never let my head and neck go below parallel with my body. I do a couple high rep sets with no resistence to warm my neck up, then I place a folded towel on my forehead and add some weight. Headstraps used to be common but have fallen out of fashion...Most people never directly train their neck..I love training my neck..A pump in the sternocleidomastoids is an outrageous feeling.
	http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/banners/cbbsmall.gif

10-02-2004, 12:04 AM	#3
mino lee Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 71	duncan: i only train sterno. never the splenius. i used to lie on my back with my head hanging off and curl it up. however, and this is totally in my opinion, instead of doing what madden player does, i let my neck all the way down and ONLY bring it up to parallel. this is extremely contraversial. the way madden player does it, he will get a burn in the sterno, quicker and so intense that you feel like screaming. the way i do it, u can up the weight more and it'll take longer to get that screaming burn. the reason i do it this way is because it is my believe that from all the way down to parallel, will work the lower sterno more, and from parallel to chin, will work the upper sterno more. most people will probably say this is bullshit and just like the bicep, you either work the whole thing or not at all, you cannot isolate.........but this is the way i do it. in the end, and after warmups, i just sit upright on a chair and put my left and right fists flat on my forhead (so that it doesn't hurt) and in contracted position (meaning the chin is already tucked fully forward) i try to uncontract or "push the neck back to an upright position. the neck is never strong enough to resist for more than maybe 8 seconds. but i always do this at home, cuz as you can probably imagine, this looks pretty fucking freaky if you do it at the gym. shit if i saw someone do this at the gym, i would probably break out laughing. and for other people who might not even know what this guy is doing, they might just complain that there is an insane person in the gym. neck excercises have always been one that i've analyzed more than any other bodypart. i've always said for years that the #1 body part i want to stand out is my neck, and then my trapezius. when i learned boxing, it was the believe of most guys that the thicker the neck, the more punches one can absorb, which is important, because it doesn't matter how good your offense is, if your defense ain't worth shit. nowadays, i only work the sterno for appearance.
mino lee Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 71

10-02-2004, 12:16 AM	#4
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,428	ExRx has a couple of possibilities listed for you.
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10-02-2004, 09:13 AM	#5
solid10 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 356 Photos: 1	I lay down flat on a bench grab a dumbell and place it on my forehead with a towel underneath it to cushion it. Then I move my head up by flexing neck until chin touches upper chest.Return by hyperextending neck and repeat.
solid10 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 356 Photos: 1

10-02-2004, 09:15 AM	#6
solid10 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 356 Photos: 1	Thats only if I don't have a strap.
solid10 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 356 Photos: 1

10-03-2004, 02:46 PM	#8
Vieope Monochromatic Bunny Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: drinking coffee.. Posts: 14,863 Photos: 10	I don´t really buy anymore the effectiveness of any neck exercise.
	FURtherness

10-03-2004, 02:47 PM	#9
Vieope Monochromatic Bunny Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: drinking coffee.. Posts: 14,863 Photos: 10	Although you may try:
	FURtherness

10-03-2004, 03:10 PM	#14
Duncans Donuts Stay puffed, baby. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: CA Posts: 2,774 Photos: 2	Why won't neck exercises work?
	"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

10-03-2004, 06:05 PM	#17
Duncans Donuts Stay puffed, baby. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: CA Posts: 2,774 Photos: 2	Would someone tell me why neck exercises don't work?
	"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

10-03-2004, 06:06 PM	#18
DeadBolt MP Minister of Pain! Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ocean County NJ Posts: 7,342	I do the same as madden but then I also do them on my sides. I find that when i stick to em my kneck grows very nice. I have to start them up again, a nice set of traps and a thick neck make the wholoe package just look so damn beefy.
	"Only in dictionaries does SUCCESS come before WORK." -Alfred K. Henderson Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸Â¸.Â·Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸Â¸.Â·Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸ ><((((((Âº>

10-03-2004, 07:26 PM	#20
racoon02 Tiny Tom Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Clear Lake, Texas Posts: 353 Photos: 8	Dont heavy shrugs indirectly make your neck thicker by having bigger traps?
	Lift hard, or go home! Zed : Bring out the Gimp. Maynard : But the Gimp's sleeping. Zed : Well, I guess you're gonna have to go wake him up now, won't you?

10-03-2004, 07:36 PM	#21
DeadBolt MP Minister of Pain! Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ocean County NJ Posts: 7,342	Yes shrugs help to enlarg your neck but not as much as dierct work. Compare the neck to your tri's and your traps your chest. Indirectly the tri's grow with benching but not nearly as much as if you were to directly work them....same goes for the neck. Make sense? Sorry its the only thing I could think of off the top of my head.
	"Only in dictionaries does SUCCESS come before WORK." -Alfred K. Henderson Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸Â¸.Â·Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸Â¸.Â·Â´Â¯`Â·.Â¸ ><((((((Âº>

10-03-2004, 07:44 PM	#22
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,074 Photos: 1	Unless your traps come really high up on your neck, I can still tell if someone has a scrawny neck. I remember a big guy who was lean at an old gym I used to go to about 5 years ago, and he had a skinny as neck, but great development everywhere else traps included.
	Kinesiology Vote @ Top 25 Deads Comp Bench Motivation Bench form MaxCalc Charles Poliquin When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu I don't know any sources so don't ask - thanks

10-09-2004, 06:36 PM	#23
min0 lee Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 33,809 Blog Entries: 3 Photos: 542	I see.

05-08-2005, 05:09 PM	#25
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,074 Photos: 1	I need more than a plate to get my neck worked, unless I'm doing 30 reps or something. My favorite neck machine ever was the Nautilus unit. The way it was setup though, I had to load 4 and 5 plates on there, but it was by far the most comfortable I've ever used.
	Kinesiology Vote @ Top 25 Deads Comp Bench Motivation Bench form MaxCalc Charles Poliquin When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu I don't know any sources so don't ask - thanks

05-08-2005, 05:14 PM	#26
min0 lee Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 33,809 Blog Entries: 3 Photos: 542	My old gym had those, I actually use dumbells now Bally's does not have neck machines unfortunatly.
	How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Bodybuilding and Lifting Weights, the Difference ironmagazine-frapper BONECRUSHER '08

05-08-2005, 05:16 PM	#27
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,074 Photos: 1	Since most gyms have everything else I want, thats the first thing I look/ask for is a neck machine. The one I'm using now is my second favorite, I never go over 75 pounds on it. The last one I used was I think made by Flex and had the worst pad setup ever, really nice for ripping your face up. I wrap my towel twice on the current one, works ok. The pad is round though which kind of sucks.
	Kinesiology Vote @ Top 25 Deads Comp Bench Motivation Bench form MaxCalc Charles Poliquin When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu I don't know any sources so don't ask - thanks