Whenever you do overhead exercises or trunk flexion exercises such as crunches, your neck muscles are contracting forcefully to keep your head erect. Other than this default muscle recruitment, you can perform exercises to build your neck muscles specifically to make them stronger. Not only will this round out your upper body physique, but it will also help stabilize your cervical spine. This is beneficial to sports such as wrestling, mixed martial arts and football.
Step 1
Build the upper trapezius muscle at the base of the neck with shrugs. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells down at your sides with your palms facing in. Lift your shoulders straight up and squeeze your traps for a full second. Lower your shoulders and repeat. Keep your arms straight throughout, and do not round your shoulders. This will place excess stress on your shoulder joints.
Step 2
Focus on the middle and lower trapezius with upright rows. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms facing you. Keep the ends of weights close together as you lift them up to neck height. Hold for a full second, lower the weights back down and repeat. Keep your elbows out and as high as possible as you raise the dumbbells.
Step 3
Lie face-up on a bench to do neck flexion. This exercise targets the sternocleidomastoid on the front sides of the neck. Position your body so your head is slightly hanging over the end of the bench and hold a weight plate wrapped in a towel on your forehead with both hands. Tip your head backward and lift it up by contracting your neck muscles. Hold for a full second and repeat. Do not lift your shoulders off the bench.
Step 4
Reverse your body position to do neck extension. Lie face-down on the bench with your head slightly over the end. Place the weight plate on the back of your head this time. Bend your head forward, then tip it back as far as possible. Hold for a full second, lower your head back down and repeat. This exercise works the splenius, levator scapulae, the rear sternocleidomastoid and upper fibers of the trapezius all at the same time. The splenius is a band of muscle at the bottom of the skull and the levator scapulae is found on the side of the neck.
Tips and Warnings
- Utilize the right amount of weight. Start out with a weight that allows you to do eight to 12 reps with good form. Aim for a 5 to 10 percent increase each week. Perform three to four sets of your exercises, and work out every three days.
Things You'll Need
- Barbell
- Dumbbells
- Bench
- Towel
- Weight plate
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