neck excercises

[ac]

does anyone know any good neck excercises. I know that you should work your traps to make your neck appear bigger but was wandering if there were any specific excercises for the neck. I know that there are neck slings available but i dont have one.
Thanks,
ac

 

[ballast]

1)Neck Harness
2)4-Way Hammer Neck Machine
3)Static Hold leaning against wall
4)4-Way Neck(laying on bench with plate on head)
I've heard a few people got good results doing neck bridges while laying on a swiss ball.I've never tried them as they look a little risky.

 

[THE_GAME]

what the heck are all those exercises. you say to put a weight on top of your head? are you nuts?

 

[ballast]

Game-
A neck harness is a strap you attach to your head that allows plates to be hung off it.You move your neck in the 4-directions(left,right,front,back)
The hammer 4-way neck machine allows the same type of movement except the machine takes the place of the harness.
Static holds against a wall-you lean towards a wall either facing it or with your back to it and brace yourself using your neck muscles.
Using plates-lie down on a bench face down or supine,put a plate on the forehead or back of the head(depending on which way you are laying) and raise your head upward.
The only people that will really benefit from direct neck work are those involved in contact sports(football,hockey,martial arts,boxing) who have reason to strengthen and/or injury-proof the neck.

 

[ALBOB]

DEADLIFTS!!! You want a big neck? Do deads!

 

[ac]

how do you do deadlifts?

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by ac
how do you do deadlifts?

Load up a bar and pick it up. Sound easy? It's almost just that easy BUT you have to be careful. The bar is going to travel from the floor to about mid thigh level, during the entire range of motion you need to keep your head up and back straight. Do deadlifts in front of a mirror and never lose sight of your own eyes. That little technique will keep your head up and help ensure your back stays straight. I emphasize these two things because with the amount of weight you'll be able to move doing this lift you can damage your back in a split second. If you keep your legs straight for the whole movement it's called Straight Leg Deadlifts or Stiff Leg Deadlifts. This style puts more stress on your hamstrings and lower back muscles (Spinal Erectors). If you bend your knees to do the lift it's call regular Deadlifts. This movements stresses almost the entire body. Regular Deadlifts and Squats are the two most productive exercise you can do to make your whole body bigger.

 

[ac]

so do you bend over to pick up the bar or stay upright? What muscles does this work

 

[ALBOB]

Definitely bend over. Squat down and grasp the bar and, keeping your head up and back straight, stand up. Your arms will stay straight for the entire motion. Let's say you want to pick a box up off the ground, you squat down, put your hands under it and stand back up. That's a deadlift except in the gym you use a barbell instead of a box and your arms stay straight. The list of muscles worked would be too long to type, it works the whole body. It's a fantastic exercise.

 

[ac]

What day do you use deadlifts on, i mean leg day, back day, arm day?

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by ac
What day do you use deadlifts on, i mean leg day, back day, arm day?

Back day. The one thing to plan for though is keeping it away from leg day. If the two are too close you won't get the full benefit out of one of them because you'll still be recovering from the other. OK, I just confused myself with that but do deads on back day and make sure back day is at least three days from leg day. My normal split is Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Legs, Chest, Back. By the time I work back on Friday I've recovered from my leg workout on Monday. Then I get two good days of rest on the weekend before working legs again.

 

[ac]

thanks albob, another question though, when do you work your arms?

 

[ac]

and shoulders?

 

[ALBOB]

On a normal basis I don't do any direct arm or shoulder work. Triceps get worked VERY hard when doing the pushing movements for chest. If I feel like my tri's need a little boost I'll throw in a couple of sets of close grip bench presses after my normal chest routine. Same with biceps and back, the bi's get a great workout just from all the pulling movements of a back routine. Again, if I feel they need a little kick, I'll throw in a couple of sets of curls at the end.

(Just in case you're wondering, my back routine is Deadlifts, Chins, and Barbell rows. This covers the entire region.)

It's not really fair of me to answer a shoulder question because my shoulder development is primarily genetic. My dad blessed me with good delts. I'm of the opinion though that you can group shoulders the same way I just explained arms. Front delts get worked hard during chest movements so if you want you can throw in a couple of sets of direct front delt work after chest. Rear delts get worked during the back workout so throw in a couple of sets of bent over laterals after working back.

 

[Shmoo]

Originally posted by ac
how do you do deadlifts?

Here is how you do deadslifts.
http://www.theministryoffitness.com/mof/library/anims/deadlift.htm

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by Shmoo
Here is how you do deadslifts.

Sure, do it the easy way.

Actually I had been looking for that site since I first saw the question. Thanks, Shmoo.

 

[ac]

thanks guys!

 

[ac]

oh yeah i forgot to ask, how many reps and sets of deadlifts do you do?

 

[ALBOB]

With an exercise like this you have GOT to make sure you're good and warmed up. I do no less than three warm-up sets, sometimes four. Then it's three max sets. When I say max sets I mean three sets where I reach failure at about the 8th rep. You're going to have to experiment to find the right weights for that type of scheme. Remember, this is a mass exercise, one of the best. But it only works if you go HEAVY! (With good form.)

 

[Scotty the Body]

I like doing Deads near the end or as my last back exercise just so I know its fully warmed up from all the other back work I've done before it.

 

[ALBOB]

Yeah but Scotty's built like a toothpick. You want to do deads FIRST so you've got all your strength to really max out.

Just kidding, it's pretty much like any other big exercise, you put it in your routine wherever it works best for you. For me it's the beginning, for Scotty it's the end. The main thing is that it's in there and you keep it in there. Deadlifts = GOOD!!!

 

[ac]

My next back days not till monday but i'm looking forward to it already

 

[ALBOB]

Originally posted by ac
i'm looking forward to it already

And you'll keep that feeling too. Deads are so cool because you get to move some SERIOUS weight and that just gets you even more motivated.

 

[ac]

so what weight are you deadlifting?

 

[ALBOB]

You're not supposed to ask that question. It doesn't matter what someone else is lifting, what matters is that you lift a weight that's good for YOU.

I'm not supposed to answer that question for the same reason. So pretend I'm not really answering. Understand, I've been lifting for about ten years. My best ever Deadlift was a set of 500 lbs for six reps. I'm not NEARLY as young as I used to be so I don't go over 405 these days. Remember my first answer to your question, when I emphasized the importance of keeping your head up and your back straight? I learned that lesson the hard way and am still paying for it. I"ve healed physically, but am having troubles mentally. I could probably go heavier, but it's a mental block now. I'm just too damn scared to push for the bigger numbers. If/WHEN I overcome that fear I'll be pulling bigger weights again.

 

[Scotty the Body]

Like Albob said, don't go by what others can lift. When I started deadlifting (which was a year ago, just never did deads and wish I had) I was doing less than my body weight.
I did 455 last friday for 4 good reps. Deads are one of my favs.