Many people believe that training the neck muscles is nothing more than wanting to enhance appearance but the truth is, the neck is a huge asset in many kinds of contact sports. Generally, it seems that this important training is over looked because people either do not know about it or they do not have the proper equipment to carry out the exercises. With some weight plates, a bench, surgical tubing and a towel, you will be able to cover all of the exercises you need to build your neck muscles.

The Rotators. A 4-way neck machine will not work the rotators properly so you are going to want to go back to some simply manual resistance in order to work those muscles. Of course, you will not be working the rotators with weights, but you will be applying resistance to your neck with your hand while you are slowly turning your head to the left or the right.

I would strongly suggest that you ease into this and don’t use a great deal of resistance. Once you reach the limit of your range of motion, slowly increase the resistance and hold an isometric contraction for 5-10 seconds.

You will want to repeat this process, turning your head this time in the other direction, and again holding it when you find that you can no longer turn the head any further. You will want to do three to five sets, as that is enough time for this muscle group.

Many people find that this exercise is best done while seated. This way your upper back muscles are completely relaxed. You only want to work on the extensor group so make sure that you are relaxing during the whole exercise.

Flexors. For the flexors, you can use the neck machine if it’s available. If not, here are some simple things you can do to perform the exact same function. Again, the purpose of this group is to tilt the chin toward the chest.

First, lie on a flat bench, facing up and with your head over the end of the bench. You will want to place a folded towel on your forehead and then gently place a weight plate on the towel. Keep the weight plate in place with your hands and then allow your head to relax and drop downward.

Proceed to slowly raise the head up as though you’re trying to tuck the chin into the chest. Be sure to use the hands only to hold the weight in place and not to help the next muscles perform the movement.

It is important to always start slow with the motions when you are doing neck work. Avoid using extremely heavy weights for the low repetitions because the neck is so incredibly fragile and especially if you are not used to training the neck muscles. Completing several sets of 10 - 15 reps is surely enough to get this group of muscles growing.

There is another option of using a piece of surgical tubing that can be picked up at just about any home improvement or medical supply store. You will want to take the two loose ends and tie them into a knot. Now you have a nice loop of medical tubing.

When working the extensors, you will want to sit on the bench or a chair. Place the tubing on your forehead and then place the other end around a doorknob. Allow the head to tilt back and then forward and begin to feel the resistance. Once you have made it to the limit of your range of motion, you will want to tilt backwards again and then forwards again. Do several sets of 10 - 15 reps for this exercise.

Once you are ready to increase the resistance, you will want to move further away from the anchoring point. To do this, add another loop of tubing. You can even use a heavier gauge of tubing as well. Wrap a washcloth or towel around the part of the tubing that will rest on your forehead. This will make you much more comfortable and you will not have to worry about the tubing slipping as you go through your range of motion.

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Tags: Nutrition

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