The muscles of the neck need periodic warm-up and strengthening. Oftentimes, little attention is paid to this part of the body when doing sports, although the neck should also receive its dose of training and stretching. The developed musculature in this area minimizes the possibility of everyday pain and discomfort, and also additionally protects the head from concussions and injuries.
Before any strength training, be sure to warm up your neck, even if you only swing your legs.
Exercise types
The most common exercises:
- Flexion. The head moves down, the chin moves closer to the chest. For additional stress, you can exercise against the resistance of a belt or elastic bandage against which the forehead rests.
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- Extension. The back of the head moves back, the head is thrown back. To increase efficiency, you can also use a tourniquet pulled from the back or a barbell pancake held by your hands.
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- Lateral flexion. Side bends can be done from a prone position. By analogy with the previous methods, the effectiveness of muscle strengthening is improved if additional load is applied.
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- Rotation. The chin moves to the shoulders. The head rotates 360 degrees. You can use your hands to help your muscles stretch better.
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At the beginning of the warm-up, all exercises should be performed without additional stress.
Other useful exercises
- Dive
- Moving the head back and forth with resistance.
- Moving the head sideways with resistance.
- Stretching forward and sideways.
- Pulling the head into the shoulders.
The opinion of professionals
Professional athletes argue that neck pumping can only be done in the framework of classic strength training with large weights. Therefore, basic exercises that are done at home without special training are suitable especially for warm-up and toning.
It is important to remember that the use of additional loads must be coordinated with the trainer in order to avoid injury.
At the same time, giving elasticity to the cervical muscles is important for both professionals and amateurs. Therefore, before each workout, you should make smooth rotations and inclines in a calm mode. This will make sports activities more efficient and safer.
