THE NECK PILL (THREAD)

Neck training is VITAL and vastly underutilized.

Neck thickness makes you look INTIMIDATING & POWERFUL.

Continue reading on if you want to learn why your neck training matters so much, & how to train your your neck for strength, aesthetics & longevity

First let’s talk about why neck training is important. Because having a strong neck could literally save your life.

Your neck muscles provide stability to the upper spine, the head itself, and by default the brain.

A compromised neck puts your brain at risk.

As your brain is the most important part of your body, I’m sure you want to protect it right?

Now try to think of instances where you aren’t using your neck muscles.

Apart from sleeping, not many scenarios come to mind. The neck has some of the most commonly used muscles.

Now add in any athletic performance or trauma you may experience.

With any contact sport and especially fighting, the neck muscles are integral to function and performance.

How many of you have ever been punched in the face? Either during sparring or in an unforeseen scenario.

Neck stability and strength protects against the damage this does.

Hence why you see wrestlers & MMA fighters w/ well developed necks

The force exerted upon your head causes a whiplash, jarring your brain in your skull. The less sudden movement of your head, the less trauma your brain receives.

More neck strength = more stability of your entire head.

This same concept applies to getting in a car wreck or other traumatic scenarios.

Neck training mitigates your risk.

If you’re thinking “oh well I know I won’t be in a fight”, you never know when you will need the extra spinal stability.

Neck muscles are not only functional, but also add to your aesthetics.

Have you ever seen dudes w/ scrawny little necks? INSTANT soy tell.

DONT be one of those guys.

So now we will get to my favorite neck exercises. All of which limit spinal compression.

When it comes to the neck, closed chain exercises are a recipe for long term injury.

You will see I left some very common exercises off my list and I’ll explain why in a bit

Thor’s Favorite Neck Exercises

- plate or DB flexion
- plate or DB extension
- plate or DB side bending
- neck harness extension

To allow the deep flexors of the neck to become fully activated, do all the exercises with a tucked in chin

When performing all of these, use a towel or some type of padding for the weight.

A plate or Dumbbell is interchangeable.

Plate/DB Flexion

Lie your back down on the bench with your head hanging off. Place the weight on your forehead & hold it in place with your hands.

Curl your head upward, focus on the contraction. Don’t let your head jerk around due to the weight.

Plate/DB Extension

Same principles apply to this, but now in reverse w/ your chest on the bench & the weight on the back of your head.

Plate/DB Side Bending

Same as the last two, but now you’re laying on your side.

For the first 3 exercises, you can even do these without weight. Use your hand as resistance and do the same movements while standing/sitting.

Huge S/O to my dad for making me & my bro’s do these from an early age to strengthen our necks for football.

There is NO excuse for not doing these exercises. You can get by without any weight or equipment.

Neck Harness Extension

If you or your gym has one of these, you can take advantage of it as it allows you to target the back neck muscles at a different angle than the plate/DB extensions

You’ll notice I left off neck bridges....

Those exercises are GREAT for building a big, strong neck. Not so much for the longevity of your upper spine.

The continued compression of your spine causes those bones to rub together, which causes the body to respond by creating new bone growth, or bone spurs.

When the bone build up becomes too much, your nerves could end up touching that new bone growth, causing massive issues.

The worst part is that you won’t recognize the damage until it’s too late.

The pain will go from zero to 100. You’ll wake up one day in pain and w/ weakness running down your shoulders into your arms.

How do I encorporate these into my workouts?

Depending on your workout split, you’ll have a few options. I personally include them on leg days in between exercises.

Normally 2 of the exercises a day.

This equates to hitting each exercise twice within my current 8 day split.

I’ll do about 4x15-20 depending on the weight.

If you’re new to neck training, PLEASE ease into the weight.

This is NOT the exercise to load up w/ no training. Start light, w/ slow & controlled reps. Slowly work your way up to more weight

If you have rest days, this could be a good time to hit neck. Knock out a few of these exercises on your off days if you still want a bit of activity.

This way, your neck muscles won’t be taxed at all from whatever workout you’re doing.

That’s the basics involved with my neck training.

I’ve seen massive improvements in my natural posture as well as decreases in sporadic neck pain as I progress with the training.

Let’s all build strong, aesthetic necks in the safest way possible.

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