Neck exercises

[Tee Sok]

Hi all,
I'd like to know which exercises you think are good to develop the neck muscles. I only perform shoulder shrugs and the wrestler's bridge but I think I should include more neck exercises. Thank you!

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by Tee Sok

Hi all,
I'd like to know which exercises you think are good to develop the neck muscles. I only perform shoulder shrugs and the wrestler's bridge but I think I should include more neck exercises. Thank you!

Shrugs don't really hit your neck all that much, it's more shoulders than anything else. The bridging is great, however. If you want something more, buy a cheap neck harness you can attach plates to and work out with that.

Once you get more advanced, I found the best one is from Iron Mind as it can hold a lot more weight and is more comfortable.

[bred]

What are shoulder shrugs? I only know shrugs as a trap maybe trap and rear delt excercise. In this case, then yeah they do nothing for your neck unless you are lifting too much then they hurt your neck from straining.

[Tee Sok]

Thanks for the info Koto Ryu! I agree, shoulder shrugs work mainly the shoulders and the upper back, but the base of the neck is also targeted.
The bridge really works out your neck well, even if I heard that lifting a weight tied to a rope held in your mouth (like thai boxers do in Thailand) is a very good exercise. But I have never tried it so I don' t know about it.

Bred, to perform shoulder shrugs you have to hold a barbell in front of your tights and lift it up only by shrugging your shoulders.

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by Tee Sok

Thanks for the info Koto Ryu! I agree, shoulder shrugs work mainly the shoulders and the upper back, but the base of the neck is also targeted.
The bridge really works out your neck well, even if I heard that lifting a weight tied to a rope held in your mouth (like thai boxers do in Thailand) is a very good exercise. But I have never tried it so I don' t know about it.

That's basically what a neck harness does, you just save more on dental bills with it

[bred]

I thought maybe he meant upright rows. I do shrugs from the front and from the back every back workout. I never notice my shoulders doing any real work unless I bend my elbows then my rear delts take some of the load. Shrugs are for traps (upper back) specifically unless you have poor form.

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by bred

I thought maybe he meant upright rows. I do shrugs from the front and from the back every back workout. I never notice my shoulders doing any real work unless I bend my elbows then my rear delts take some of the load. Shrugs are for traps (upper back) specifically unless you have poor form.

It's really supposed to build up your upper traps (your upper shoulder area), that's where you should feel most of the load. It'll give you the image of having a bigger neck for sure, but as for strengthening it it's probably the only time I'd ever recommend an isolation exercise for anything.

[bred]

Traps are not part of the shoulder. They hold your shoulders up. So hopefully no one is doing these thinking that it will benifit their deltoids (shoulders) too much.

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by bred

Traps are not part of the shoulder. They hold your shoulders up. So hopefully no one is doing these thinking that it will benifit their deltoids (shoulders) too much.

http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/TrapeziusUpper.html It is part of the upper shoulder area that connects up to your neck area.

As for shrugs, they're made for developing your upper back area (including the upper and middle traps, and levator scapulae), not much for the neck or even the shoulders really. Developing your traps just make your shoulders look a little bigger, hence it's more of a pumping exercise than one for functional strength.

[bred]

Okay you get points for the upper shoulder... Not functional? LOL your kidding rigt. They play a role in almost every power movement of the upper body.

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by bred

Okay you get points for the upper shoulder... Not functional? LOL your kidding rigt. They play a role in almost every power movement of the upper body.

I'm meaning the shrug is not good for building functional strength in the traps, only size. Overhead presses, clean and jerks, snatches, and side presses are much better than shrugs.

[bred]

Understood.

[koto_ryu]

Originally Posted by bred

Understood.

Cool..................