Muscular Necks

[CoffeeDrinker]

Neck Rocks-where you lay on your back like you're about to do a sit up, but you roll back on the top of your head lifting your body up with your neck muscles, drop down, and repeat.

Neck Lifts- where you start off in the same position as Neck Rock but you just lift your head with your neck muscles then put it on the floor, then lift it and rotate it left, then down, then lift and rotate right, etc.

These target the actual muscles in the neck, not the traps. Shoulder lift and all that other stuff is also good.

 

[negrogesic]

I have one of these I use at home. In addition to all the other things suggested in this thread, these focus just on the neck thickness in itself. I'll also just hold my head up off the ground and nod 30 times, then shake my head(side to side) 30 times.

We've all seen the guy in the gym with the HUGE arms and a tiny, pencil neck.

Yea my grandfather had one of these. I didn't know what it was at first (he was a natural strongman)....

 

[Technic]

http://www.buildingmuscle.org/2008/03/26/building-neck-muscle/

I've found these are pretty good and easy to do at home with some weights if you dont have access to a neck harness. Do these and shrug/trap exercises and it'll help you build you neck muscles in no time :D

 

[theartofwar]

I have one of these I use at home. In addition to all the other things suggested in this thread, these focus just on the neck thickness in itself. I'll also just hold my head up off the ground and nod 30 times, then shake my head(side to side) 30 times.

We've all seen the guy in the gym with the HUGE arms and a tiny, pencil neck.

Was just going to comment to get one of those - I use it all the time - all the guys @ my boxing gym sweat by it, helps out big time. Aside from that my lifts are all the basic compounds and neck / traps aren't a trouble area.

 

[ascker]

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/OBB/neck.html
This has worked quite well for me. The other exercises are quite effective too but they take forever.

 

[Jake272]

I second neck bridging. When I was in wrestling we would do bridging that would NEVER seem to end! You neck is one of the most important muscles in wrestling as its the best way to get off your back.

 

[Doctor Pillgood]

make sure you've strengthened your neck before you try to bridge to avoid serious injury.

 

[nordic_aloha]

Yeah, I remember the wrestling days with enless bridging sessions! Start off slow with bridging and develop more each day. As you develop your neck muscles, you can basically start "rolling" in your bridging session, to make it more intense. I knew guys that could literally roll backwards to the point that they could almost touch their forehead to the ground!

 

[Jake272]

^Who were you wrestling with man? I used to be able to touch my nose to the mat.

 

[Care]

Yeah, I remember the wrestling days with enless bridging sessions!

Neck Bridges and sprawls, neck bridges and sprawls........ all day long.

 

[DrGonzo899]

Fuck-N Juice-Rs

 

[nordic_aloha]

^Who were you wrestling with man? I used to be able to touch my nose to the mat.

Lol, I was never that flexible.

 

[La Sombra Negra]

BE VERY CAREFUL with those neck harness.

I saw a video a few years ago of a bodybuilder (claiming steroids destroyed his body, the guy was a douchebag) but he claimed his neck was really F'd up from using a neck harness and pulling weight for years. By F'd up I mean he could only turn his head like 15-20 degrees to either side and had very limited up/down movement.

So if your going to use a neck harness, dont OVER DO IT, I wouldnt go around trying to apply standard lifting exercise principles to the neck (going to absolute failure, using as much weight as you possibly can, etc.).

Remember, the neck is a group of muscles that doent get alot of DIRECT stimulation in life, because of that, theyre really not conditioned the way other muscles are simply from day to day living you did long before ever seeing the inside of a gym. So the potential to cause serious injury is very high. Start with very light weight and slowly condition the neck muscles to receiving direct stimulation like what a neck harness will provide in ways nothing else really can.

Dont try and slap on as much weight as you can from the getgo, thats just asking for serious injury.

 

[Eda907]

what is a clean? ive seen the night at the roxburry machine, never used it though.

 

[largeamount]

what the fuck are you going to do with a strong neck are that many people trying to strangle you

 

[KStoner6tb]

^you'd be surprised

 

[Tunnelfission]

I just flex my neck alot, doing mostly powerlifting, and it's odd to say but have always had a bigger neck than the rest of me. I just get my whole body going and the neck does to.

if your looking at me straight on my neck is almost as thick as my head 18 inches on a 176 pound 5'11 body