Bull Neck

[caped crusader]

how many of you Guys & Gals train your neck directly? I use a neck harness but also do Dumbbell & Barbell shrugs for traps, neck.
and please be careful and do not train too heavy if you´re new to neck training. I am not a fan of the "Wrestlers bridge". not sure if it´s still used in say college wrestling.

 

[caped crusader]

can use bands too. constant tension...

 

[Bill Mattocks]

My neck makes noises. I try not to angry it up.

 

[caped crusader]

My neck makes noises. I try not to angry it up.

well i actually had a prolapsed disc, C6/7 & i now train it directly. I am not a Doctor and i am not saying everyone should do this.
However a strong neck is good for any martial arts especially wrestling type arts. I have trained in gyms for years but it was really only after my injury that i really trained neck. It helps me 100%

 

[MetalBoar]

I'm a big proponent of training the neck for pretty much everyone but especially for people in contact sports and it's a regular part of my workout routine. I really focused on direct neck training after a series of car accidents aggravated an old MA neck injury. I started with manual resistance and then transitioned to the Nautilus XPLoad 4 Way Neck when I was too strong for manual resistance to be practical. I found it to be transformative in relieving the lasting effects of my injuries and also correcting postural problems created by working 50+ hours a week in the computer industry. I think it's also been very effective in preventing injury. In my opinion it's probably one of the most overlooked and undervalued body parts in popular strength training.

 

[caped crusader]

Nautilus

a man who knows his training. yeah Arthur Jones was a crazy but clever man.

 

[Alan0354]

I always train on my neck. When I was in the gym, we had a neck machine that you can put weight and use the head to push forward, backward and sides. I stopped going to the gym and train on my own, 3 times a week, I lie in bed, raise head away from pillow, then push my head down with both hands pressing on the forehead and hold for 30sec, then push my head backward on the pillow for 30sec, then both hands to push on each side of the head and hold 30sec each. Lastly, both hands turn my head in one direction and I try to turn my head back against the hands and hold for 30sec on both directions. I do push reasonable hard without hurting my neck.

I have neck problem from auto accident over 30 years ago, I need to keep doing neck exercise.

I have a reasonable thick neck, I cannot even button my neck with a 16" neck shirt and I am only 5'5".

 

[caped crusader]

I always train on my neck. When I was in the gym, we had a neck machine that you can put weight and use the head to push forward, backward and sides. I stopped going to the gym and train on my own, 3 times a week, I lie in bed, raise head away from pillow, then push my head down with both hands pressing on the forehead and hold for 30sec, then push my head backward on the pillow for 30sec, then both hands to push on each side of the head and hold 30sec each. Lastly, both hands turn my head in one direction and I try to turn my head back against the hands and hold for 30sec on both directions. I do push reasonable hard without hurting my neck.

I have neck problem from auto accident over 30 years ago, I need to keep doing neck exercise.

I have a reasonable thick neck, I cannot even button my neck with a 16" neck shirt and I am only 5'5".

Check out Jeff king. the ultimate Bull neck. sorry to hear about your accident Alan. I never had an accident it just happened over a period of time. numb fingers which got worse untill i had pains and had trouble making a fist. really screwed up my bench pressing as my rightTricep was weakened. two surgeons wanted to operate but i did not want it. I got a series of injections which helped. still feel it at times and like you Alan i need to train it.
but yeah you have to keep it in proportion. Jeff King was a bit extreme. like tom platz did over training his quads.

 

[caped crusader]

on the subject off Bench pressing and neck pain. This guy in the video was very lucky to escape a very serious injury. he used safety bars but the bar slipped passed one. he got out the "groove" and lost the path letting the bar go towards his neck. There is a variation of bench press where you bring the bar on a flat bench to your neck but he was not doing this.

 

[caped crusader]

Vince Gironda made this popular.. i never use it myself but some swear by it. you never see young guys doing it in the gym, most do not know this type of bench. only us old farts

 

[isshinryuronin]

When I started karate my sensei had us doing bridges and various neck exercises with (and w/o) tension. (He was a college wrestler prior to his finding karate.) While I can't point to any huge benefit from it, I did feel it strengthened my general structure as well as build a little muscle.

In the junior college weight room I remember some football players using a harness with weights as Crusader illustrated and work their neck.

It's definitely a much neglected area of exercise, but I would caution beginners to tread carefully and use the advice of a trainer when using weights on such a vulnerable and critical part of the body.

Not being an authority, my gut feeling is not to use weights unless engaged in specific physical pursuits (karate not being one of them.) The self-resistant and other exercises I think suffice for most active people.

 

[caped crusader]

beginners to tread carefully

X2 definetly . The wrestlers bridge i always avoided. Too dangerous in my opinion. I know lots of coaches used it in wrestling & boxing . people like Mike Tyson built huge necks with it.

 

[caped crusader]

of course Mike was a pro so it´s not for me to say he´s not correctly training but for me... too dangerous.

 

[seasoned]

of course Mike was a pro so it´s not for me to say he´s not correctly training but for me... too dangerous.

My neck hurt just watching the video......

 

[caped crusader]

My neck hurt just watching the video......

yeah it´s pretty brutal

 

[Alan0354]

Check out Jeff king. the ultimate Bull neck. sorry to hear about your accident Alan. I never had an accident it just happened over a period of time. numb fingers which got worse untill i had pains and had trouble making a fist. really screwed up my bench pressing as my rightTricep was weakened. two surgeons wanted to operate but i did not want it. I got a series of injections which helped. still feel it at times and like you Alan i need to train it.
but yeah you have to keep it in proportion. Jeff King was a bit extreme. like tom platz did over training his quads.

That's 20" neck!!?

Problem with back and neck injuries, you never really recover, you just manage it. My problem is the left arm. I lost size and bicep curl weights. I used to be left hand stronger, somehow I pulled my neck a few years ago and now it's weaker. I have to work myself back, still it's not as strong as the right.

One advice for you, do neck stretching and excise to warmup before bench and other exercise. I pay a lot of attention to this, even if you are not working on your neck, when you push heavy weight, you tighten your neck. If you are not warmup, you pull your neck easily. That's how I injured my neck a few years ago and lost strength on the left arm. The exercise that easiest to pull my neck is pull down(or body pull up). I really have to stretch and exercise my neck before doing that.

 

[caped crusader]

That's 20" neck!!?

Problem with back and neck injuries, you never really recover, you just manage it. My problem is the left arm. I lost size and bicep curl weights. I used to be left hand stronger, somehow I pulled my neck a few years ago and now it's weaker. I have to work myself back, still it's not as strong as the right.

One advice for you, do neck stretching and excise to warmup before bench and other exercise. I pay a lot of attention to this, even if you are not working on your neck, when you push heavy weight, you tighten your neck. If you are not warmup, you pull your neck easily. That's how I injured my neck a few years ago and lost strength on the left arm. The exercise that easiest to pull my neck is pull down(or body pull up). I really have to stretch and exercise my neck before doing that.

Good advice Alan.. i do some warm ups but being honest it´s usually on my bike at home, i have a staitonary bike as well as my other bike. Some basic stretches which involve delts/traps/neck. It´s amazing how certain parts of your neck affect different muscles.

 

[Alan0354]

Good advice Alan.. i do some warm ups but being honest it´s usually on my bike at home, i have a staitonary bike as well as my other bike. Some basic stretches which involve delts/traps/neck. It´s amazing how certain parts of your neck affect different muscles.

OK, I am not a doctor, I can only share my experience:

Before I do either weights or MA, I have a routine for my neck. First move my head front and back, then side to side. Then rotate in each direction a few times as first warmup. Then I do for the lack of words, Calastatic by just stand there, tighten the neck muscles all around without moving. First more gentle, then relax for a few second and do it again a little harder(as comfortable). I do that before any of the exercise, even after exercise, if I stop for over 15 minutes, I repeat this before doing more exercise. It only takes about 2 minutes.

Also if not more important. Before I do heavier weight exercise, I first tell myself to relax my neck, don't anticipate pushing the heavy weight before I start. Then I still tell myself to relax the neck during the reps. This really works for me.

Like I said, this is only my experience and I am not a doctor. Do it at your own risk, it works for me. Few years ago, my left arm bicep curls is 5lbs lower than the right, at least I can do the same weight again now.

 

[caped crusader]

OK, I am not a doctor, I can only share my experience:

Before I do either weights or MA, I have a routine for my neck. First move my head front and back, then side to side. Then rotate in each direction a few times as first warmup. Then I do for the lack of words, Calastatic by just stand there, tighten the neck muscles all around without moving. First more gentle, then relax for a few second and do it again a little harder(as comfortable). I do that before any of the exercise, even after exercise, if I stop for over 15 minutes, I repeat this before doing more exercise. It only takes about 2 minutes.

Also if not more important. Before I do heavier weight exercise, I first tell myself to relax my neck, don't anticipate pushing the heavy weight before I start. Then I still tell myself to relax the neck during the reps. This really works for me.

Like I said, this is only my experience and I am not a doctor. Do it at your own risk, it works for me. Few years ago, my left arm bicep curls is 5lbs lower than the right, at least I can do the same weight again now.

you are like me a guy with experience in training and i understand you Alan. You know i tried this SEAL workout without weights it is a killer !
and the ab workout is mainly what we did too. basics no fancy **** but it works.

 

[caped crusader]

I mean when you do these neck rotations like he does it´s amazing. The whole workout series is good.