Here is all the information you need to know about training neck!
And if you dont want to read, you can just check out this video!
Exercises and movement patterns
There are 3 areas of the neck, that you need to target, to have a fully developed neck.
1. Front side
2. Back side
3. Sides
Note: There is a lot of different ways to build your neck, like for example using a neck harness or the iron neck. But this article will focus solely on bodyweight training/using a weight plate. The information can still be used to train using the neck harness, because the movement patterns are basically identical.
Front side
For the front side of the neck, you will do a neck curl.
Back side
For the back side of the neck, you will do a neck extension.
Sides
And for the sides of the neck, you will do either a neck rotation, or lateral neck flexion with a plate.
Neck bridges?
Neck bridges can be really effective, but they are the exact opposite of beginner friendly.
Neck bridges are mostly done by combat athletes and very advanced lifters.
And thats because they can be extremely dangerous when done incorrectly.
And even if you do them correctly, you might run into some issues with your neck years later, so i would just recommend not doing neck bridges at all.
Yes, neck bridges can be very effective for building your neck, but that doesnt mean its a must do exercise.
You can still build a massive neck without ever doing a single neck bridge.
In my opinion, the risk factor of the neck bridge is so high, thats its just simply not worth it for most of the people, because the neck is the part of the body, you definitely dont want to mess up.
Stretching
Always stretch out your neck before doing any neck exercises, do couple of neck rolls or something similar to make sure that you wont get hurt.
This is a very important step, so dont skip it!
How to train neck
You will start training your neck only using bodyweight at first.
And when your neck gets stronger, you can add additional weight, which you do by putting a weight plate on your forehead.
When you get to this stage, i recommend using a beanie or putting a towel on your forehead, to make it more comfortable.
Neck routine
You will pick one exercise for each area of the neck.
So if you are just starting out, you will pick the neck curl for the front side, neck extension for the back side, and neck rotation for the sides of the neck.
You will do 3 sets for each one of those exercises, so that is 9 sets in total per workout.
And when it comes to the reps, you will try to do atleast 15 reps in each set, and work your way up to 30 reps, for every set on every exercise.
And over time, after you achieve 30 reps on all 3 sets for that exercise, you add weight, and repeat the same cycle as before.
So for example, if you did 3 sets of 30 reps on the neck curl, then the next time you train your neck, you will put a 5pound plate on your forehead, and try to reach 30 reps on all of your sets again.
And this is how you can pretty much infinitely progress, the limit here, is two 45 pound plates, because you cant really hold more than that in your hands.
But you dont need to worry about that, because reaching this milestone, will take you years of hard work.
Neck rotation vs Lateral neck flexion
Throughout your neck building journey, you can just use the same exercises all the way, except for the neck rotation, you should replace it with the lateral neck flexion.
And thats because its not really possible to load the neck rotation.
But if you find the lateral neck flexion movement pattern really weird and you strongly dislike it, you can still keep doing the neck rotation.
But you have to make it more difficult in some other way, when you are not able to add more weight to it.
So for example, you can try pausing for a second when you fully rotate your head to each side, or you can just increase the reps over 30.
And that could also apply to all the other neck exercises, if you want to do them at home, but you dont have any weight plates.
Which means that there are basically 2 ways in which you can progress.
Method 1: Adding weight
The first way is all about going from at least 15 reps all the way to 30 reps and then adding additional weight, and repeating the cycle.
Method 2: Adding reps
The second way, is more about just increasing the reps, instead of adding additional weight.
So you could for example, start with 3sets of 30 reps for each exercise, and then increase to 40 reps for each exercise, and so on.
Both of these methods are good, its up to you which way you want to go.
Number of workouts
The minimum would be 2 times per week, but your neck can handle much more than that.
You should train your neck, after you feel fully recovered from your previous neck session – definitely dont do another neck workout when your neck is still sore from the last one, listen to your body, thats the main takeaway here.
You can theoretically train your neck every day, but the maximum amount that i would recommend is 6 workouts per week, but you have to be really advanced for that.
For most people, i would recommend roughly 2-4 neck workouts per week.
Technique
Only move the weight with your neck, dont let your abs or hands take over, its a neck-only movement not a crunch or a bicep curl.
What you also need to keep in mind, is that you dont want to go to the absolute extreme ends, so dont go extremely far back and forward, use the natural pathway of your neck.
And most importantly, go in a controlled manner, remember that you are training neck, so be careful!
Neck training = Dizziness?
I know that a lot of people experience some kind of dizziness when they start training their neck for the first time.
But thats completely fine, your body is just not used to this kind of movement.
So if you start training your neck for the first time, you can expect to feel a little dizzy and even feel like you have a sore throat.
