Your neck may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of impressive physiques and strong muscles, but it plays a critical role in your overall health and mobility. A weak or injured neck can affect your chest and shoulder region, and even lead to pain like headaches. Several fitness tips can help you work this region in a safe and healthy manner, as well as cope with potential problems you may experience when you exercise your neck.
Warm Up First
Before you do any sort of neck-targeting exercise or a fitness routine that works the arms, chest, shoulders or upper back, make sure you warm up your neck prior to those exercises. This helps stimulate blood flow in your upper torso and head, loosens up any tension and helps reduce the risk of injuring yourself. To stretch and warm up the neck, try range-of-motion exercises, recommends the University of Maryland Medical Center. These include bending your neck as far down as it can go, then bending it as far up as it can go. Then bend your head from side-to-side. Aim for 12 repetitions in each direction.
Maintain Good Posture
When you're exercising your neck and upper torso, one of the easiest ways to increase your risk of injury is having poor posture in the neck and back region. At all times, your ears should be lined up with your shoulders and your shoulders lined up with your hips, according to the University of Missouri. Slouching forward or backward puts a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders -- and can lead to considerable tension and pain.
Try the Yoke
The yoke exercise comes recommended by "Men's Fitness" magazine as one of the best ways to strengthen and thicken your neck muscles. Wear a neck harness, found in many gyms and exercise gear shops, and attach a weight to it. Sit down on a gym bench and bend your head as far as possible until your chin meets your chest. Raise your head as high as possible, then lower it back down to your chest. Aim for three sets of 20 reps. If you find that you can do more than this, increase the weight by a couple pounds until you can't do more than three sets of 20.
Take a Break
If you feel tension or pain in your neck, stop all physical activity and neck exercises for a couple of days. This allows the area to "calm down" and helps minimize muscle inflammation, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center. Other ways to cope with exercise-related neck strain include icy packs and massage. And if you've previously injured your neck, never do full neck circles or curl-ups, as these can exacerbate past injuries.
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