Professional football is not a contact sport. It is a collision sport. Play after play, athletes experience the equivalent of a car accident. That type of physical trauma causes tremendous strain on the entire body, but especially on the neck, which is whiplashed frequently. In order to compete at the highest levels, professional football players spend time throughout the year strengthening the muscles around their neck to protect their spine at its weakest point.
The Trapezius
One way to protect and strengthen the neck is to build up the trapezuis muscles which border the neck. Large trapezius muscles give an athlete the "no-neck" look that football players are famous for. These muscles can be strengthened by performing upright rows and shrugs. Upright rows are performed with a barbell and the hands less than 1 foot apart with palms facing up. You will pull the bar up to your chin by bending your elbows and pulling them up above your head. The higher your elbows, the more isolated the trapezius is. Shrugs are done using dumbbells. You will hold the dumbbells at your sides and pull them up while keeping your arms straight. Try to touch your ears with your shoulders. Pause for a count at the top before lowering and then repeat.
Four-Way Neck Machine
Machines are an effective way to strengthen your neck without putting your spine in an awkward position. While seated in the machine, a pad can be adjusted to the height of your forehead. Using light weight until your neck is accustomed to the movement, you will push the pad using the forehead, each side of the head, and the back of your head. Focus on only moving your head with your neck while keeping the rest of your body still. This is most efficient way to build up the muscles around your neck and are a staple of all professional football players.
Assisted Neck
NFL teams that do not have a four-way neck machine use partners to accomplish the same goal. While holding a towel for sanitation purposes, a partner will sit on a bench behind the athlete performing the exercise, who is seated on the floor. The partner will resist the movement of the head forward, backward, and to each side. This accomplishes the same basic goal as the machine, but is less efficient because of the human element. This exercise can also be done isometrically by yourself if you have no partner available. Instead of moving the head, you will press against your own hand in all for directions, but will not allow movement of the head, and isometrically contract the muscles.
Harness Exercises
Neck harnesses are becoming more common. After you strap on the harness, which fits around your head, you will place the desired amount of weight on the hanging chain. Performing this exercise while seated provides the best stability for the movement. You will rotate the head in a free flowing format in all directions to strengthen the neck muscles on all four sides of the neck. The harness provides more freedom of movement and changing the angles of the exercise, but also requires the most preparation because the harness must be strapped to your head.
Member Comments