|
The Question: A strong neck can be a necessity in some high contact sports. What is the best workout for building a strong neck? What are some of the benefits to building a strong neck? Who specifically would be interested in building a stronger neck? Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - 50 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Justin @ justin.podzimek@bodybuilding.com for more info.
A strong neck can be a necessity in some high contact sports. High contact sports, day-to-day living, and even pure cosmetic appeal - a strong neck can be useful.
I'm sure many of us have woken up in the morning with a stiff neck. Have you ever wondered why the pain is not only felt in the neck, but also can spread into the trapezius (traps) muscles, and the deltoids (shoulders)? All these muscles contribute to the neck area we refer to. As supporting muscle groups, these should also be trained to increase neck strength.
The most important thing to remember when getting into neck workouts is DO NOT try to lift beyond your physical limits. Sure, the same goes for workouts and exercises for any muscle group, but neck injuries are among the worst, and can cause the most inconvenience and pain.
  Click To Enlarge. Neck Injuries Can Cause The Most Inconvenience And Pain. Always start with adequate stretching before adding weighted resistance. Stretching your neck muscles will prepare your muscles for resistance, and can alone strengthen your neck. They are also important to monitor your range of motion. If your range of motion is less than normal, do not force the movement or use resistance. Sometimes through various stretches you can increase your range of motion though. Consult your MD or DC for professional advice if you cannot.
Flexion
Lateral Flexion
For the Traps exercises, I normally do these on a Back/Traps workout day, and perform the Delts exercises on my Chest/Shoulder day. Of course, the only "pure" neck exercises are the Lying Face Down Plate Neck Resistances and the Lying Face Up Plate Neck Resistances - which can easily be done on a typical "off" day, or throw the two exercises into another workout of yours.
If you don't workout on a regular basis, these exercises can all be performed in one workout - but remember do not go over your lifting ability, or too hard starting out - or you may end up with more neck pain you're intending to prevent.
A stronger neck can and does lower the risk of everyday neck pain. Like I mentioned before, I'm sure you've woken up with a stiff neck one or two times and wow, does it ever make other routine actions difficult sometimes. Luckily, building up a stronger neck can help reduce these aptly named "pains in the neck."
 Click To Enlarge. A Stronger Neck Can And Does Lower The Risk Of Everyday Neck Pain. Having a stronger neck can reduce the risk of neck injury (and central nervous system trauma), in sports and unexpected accidents in vehicles, or tripping and falling even. Sure, the construction of your "chin" is a big determining factor on how easy you get "KO'd," but if you are rocked with a hard punch, a strong neck can prevent your head from spinning sideways to quick and can greatly absorb the impact - reducing transfer to your head. Brain trauma is a SERIOUS issue, so that should be motivation enough. And sure, let's be superficial for a moment and just say, yes, a thick, strong neck does draw some looks. Hey, the neck can always be seen - and in my opinion a strong neck screams bad@ss.
For the purposes of lowering the risk of neck pain and injury, everyone can benefit from having a stronger neck. Having a stronger neck can reduce stress you may put on your neck, like keeping it in an odd position, preventing soreness. Also, when times can get stressful, the traps and neck area tense up the most often. To attenuate the tension, stretches can help a lot. Having a stronger neck though, can reduce tension in the first place.
However, athletes of all sports (and perhaps especially combat sports) may find a stronger neck the most useful. Not only can a stronger neck prevent "whiplash" from contact in sports, but it can also prevent your brain from jostling around a lot if you get rocked. In MMA, BJJ and other grappling sports, neck submissions and chokes are common - and a stronger neck can prevent related injuries. Cheers mrkdrt References:
When many people workout, they do every part imaginable or so they think. They hit the major parts and the smaller parts like the calves or forearms. Though this is the case, there is one area that seems to be forgotten. This area is the neck. You want to strengthen neck muscles because a brutal hit in a sport or any activity that involves contact can lead to neck pain or even more worse spinal cord problems. Training the neck should not just be done by men, but women too.
 Click To Enlarge. Impacts In Sports Can Lead To Neck Pain Or Spinal Cord Damage. "A new study on women with neck pain found that specific strength training exercises led to significant prolonged relief of neck muscle pain, while general fitness training resulted in only a small amount of pain reduction." Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Barbell Shrugs
The benefits of building a strong neck are numerous. Neck problems are common. "In 2002, a survey of adults in the United states showed 26 percent reporting lower back pain and 14 percent reporting neck pain in the three months previous, according to the background information in the article." This is why its important to build a strong neck free from injuries. A strong neck will save you from running to the medical room because neck injuries are serious things. A bad neck could lead to problems with the spine and the many nerves around it.
Quote: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Everybody should be interested in building a stronger neck. Neck problems are one of leading problems for people these days. Anybody involved in sports involving contact and collision should also be ready to protect the neck. These include:
 Click To Enlarge. In Clinches People Will Grab The Neck To Get Leverage For A Move.
Protect your neck or you will suffer.
A strong neck can be a necessity in some high contact sports. Athletes participating in contact sports have helmets, shoulder pads, chest protectors, and a wide array of other equipment, but even with all of that protection, the neck is still vulnerable to injury.
Unfortunately, the protective equipment that does exist for the neck - such as neck guards often used in youth hockey - cannot protect athletes from neck injuries caused by whiplash or trauma to the head. These injuries can cause serious damage to neck muscles, vertebrae and nerves.
In order to build a strong neck, you'll want to build up all of the muscles in the neck, as well as those that support these muscles. Strong deltoid and trapezius muscles contribute to overall neck strength and movement, so these muscles cannot be ignored. And while neck musculature is important to build up, especially for those in contact sports, an entire workout day dedicated to the neck is not appropriate. Instead, try to incorporate neck exercises into all of your workout days, hitting different muscles each time - providing a variety of stimuli will challenge your muscles and spur growth. Some beneficial neck exercises to include in your routine are:
It's important to realize that the body is a kinetic chain, and one weak link will compromise the strength of the entire body. A strong neck is not only visually appealing for a bodybuilder ready to step on stage, but it provides support and control, reducing whiplash that can occur in everyday accidents and car crashes. Also, athletes competing in contact sports will want a strong neck to prevent jarring to the head and vertebrae so they can reduce or eliminate potential nerve damage or concussion. A strong neck is also a must for fighters and boxers, so that they can stay focused on their opponent even after receiving blows to the head.
While everyone could benefit from a stronger neck, contact sport athletes such as football, rugby and hockey players would be particularly interested in the injury prevention aspect. MMA fighters and boxers would also find a stronger neck to be to their advantage as well.
 Click To Enlarge. Another Set Of Athletes One Might Not Immediately Think Of Would Be Soccer Players. Another set of athletes one might not immediately think of would be soccer players - heading the ball toward the goal is a valuable tool in a scorer's arsenal, and a strong neck is an essential part of directing the ball accurately and not being critically injured from the blow.
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
Related Articles
|
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
