Neck Exercises Via Isometrics for Life, Sports, Or Living In North Texas
“He had toughened his neck muscles and tendons to where now a bar of cold rolled steel 5 feet long and 1 inch in diameter could be bent across his throat without ill effect.” (Speilman pg 93, The Spiritual Journey of Joseph Greenstein)
Issue
Neck exercises should be an important part of anybody's regimen. It's the link in the chain to one of the most important organs in your body. If this link is hurt or damaged life becomes exceedingly difficult. But for some, they might be going through life with constant low level of pain in their neck for various reasons.
There are several reasons people should train their necks.
First: Computer/Desk Work
Many of us these days work at a desk and all the hours of being hunched over looking at a screen will mess up your neck and back.
If one stays in one position for too long certain muscles will stay more active than others creating an imbalance. You’ll stay hunched over because the muscles in these positions have become accustomed to staying tense and short while those in the back have become accustomed to doing nothing. Over time this imbalance will cause pain/discomfort. Using the right movements, exercise, and stretching will help anyone regain balance.
Second: Keeping Your Head On A Swivel (especially for Texas)
The roads are wild these days. When I worked at a gym 30 minutes away every trip to and from work felt like a real-life version of Mario Kart or F-Zero GX.
I was avoiding
Coolers on the road
Hammers
Pieces of Metal
Nails
Blue Shells
And other drivers
A flexible and neuromuscular efficient neck got me out of a great number of mishaps. I feel like a World War Two pilot constantly looking around at where possible threats will come from. In fact, there have been several studies on how neck training aids pilots. If it's good enough for them must be good enough for those of us in Texas or California.
Third: Sports/Martial Arts
For those involved in sports a strong neck will aid in the prevention of a concussion. Additionally, for those in grappling and striking type martial arts a strong neck will decrease whiplash and keep you in the fight for longer.
Past
My past experience with neck exercise started with Convict Conditioning 2. I started out slowly then eventually got to the Full Front Neck Bridges and the Full Back Neck Bridges displayed below.
With the front neck bridge, the movement would require that you would shift contact with the floor from the top of your head rotating to your nose, and then back to the starting position.
With the back neck bridge, the movement would require that you would shift contact with the floor from the top of your head to the back of your head and then back to the return position.
For the first time in my life, I could give myself a good neck workout and feel the muscles in my neck stay soar for a few days afterward. However, I came across an issue with the Full Front Neck Bridges in that no matter how much padding I used my forehead always became raw. Sometimes if I was too zealous some skin would come off and I’d look weird for a bit. Luckily no one ever commented on my forehead.
A possible issue and one I never came across was a neck injury. If someone is too zealous wanting to develop a neck thicker than your average character on DBZ they will most likely injure themselves.
If you want to go for it with the above methods I won’t hold you back. But here’s how many individuals young and old can train their necks in an efficient manner.
Resolution
Wall Neck Press
A neck exercise I like performing at least once a week. You will place your head on a soft towel on the wall and then put your head on the wall. The direction you’re facing will be the direction you’re pressing. Front, press forward. Left side, press to the left. Right press to the right. Back, to the back.
For strength, I advocate a 6 to 8-second force generation phase. As always breath-in/ramp up for three seconds and then breathe out/ramp down for 3 seconds. During the force generation phase breathe out slowly.
What about longer than 6 to 8 seconds? Technically this will get into the muscle-building range of overcoming isometrics. Evidence shows that this is possible both in animals and humans but I’m currently experimenting with this at the moment and will provide you with a solid approach for overcoming isometric muscle-building in the future.
Trap Shrug (Optional)
An isometric I like performing with rings but honestly, they can be done with other things. You are performing the isometric version of a shoulder shrug. I prefer doing one arm at a time but if you have a bar placed in a gym rack then you can do two arms as you’ll have a sturdier object to pull against and have more room. As I started above this is just optional and will provide you an exercise to hit other muscles in that area.
Neck Yielding Isometrics
If you don’t like using the wall or trap shrugs then yielding isometrics pitting one muscle against another will be your next bet. As with the wall isometrics hit all four sides and employ the same breathing pattern.
Photo’s are from Victor Obeck’s, “Isometrics, The Static Way To Physical Fitness”
However, you can also press down with your chin into your hands to get better all-around development.
Maneuver Plan
After Every Workout
I like performing these at least once or twice a week after each of my workouts. If I’m short on time I’ll just do a forward and back press on one day and the sides on another. As long as you stay consistent with it you shouldn’t have to worry about anything.
I’m not big on monitoring my progress with this one. With isometrics, all you need is a laser-like focus during the force generation phase on your breathing as well as the muscles being used and you would have effectively sent the signal for strength or growth.
Grease The Groove
Overcoming Isometrics are perfect for grease-the-groove training. If it was me, starting off I’d conduct the wall neck press throughout the day. Wake up, move your head around Slowly for a minute in every direction trying your best to get a full spherical view. Then move to the wall and do forward and back for 6 seconds each. After lunch, do the same warm-up then do the sides for 6 seconds each.
Looking Forward
Neck exercises should be effective, safe, and convenient and when approached in a minimalist fashion can be done anywhere.
Thank you for making it to the end and if you have any questions let me know.