I was wondering what exercises I could do to isolate my neck. I already do plenty of shrugs,upright rows,heavy deadlifts and such but they tend to build my traps more so then my neck. My neck is a little longer than normal I’ve realized because both my brother and I are the same height (5’10) but my shoulders sit a lot lower than his and my neck makes up for the rest. I’ve measured my neck and its not that skinny its the same size as my arms,16 in. Its just that its a little longer so it doesn’t look thick. I was thinking about buying a neck harness but don’t know if its an effective tool to build up my neck size. Any suggestion? Thanks.
Neck harness.
Jim Wendler from EFS says:
“I�??m a card carrying member of the Neckwork Network. I think every man should be doing neck work, regardless of sport. No one wants to have a stack of dimes holding their head in place. It�??s embarrassing. As for exercises, I�??m not a big fan of neck bridges as they seem unsafe and every time I see someone doing them I have this intense urge to kick their heads out from underneath them. Since I know I�??m not the only that thinks like that, I�??ll play it safe and stick to the neck harness and the 4 way neck machine. Now let me bestow some wisdom on you; don�??t try to max out on these exercises. I tried putting a 100lb dumbbell on the neck harness and after a couple of reps, felt an intense pain in my neck. Not a good thing. When training the neck, either with the neck harness or the 4 way neck machine, stick to higher reps �?? 10-30 reps. I like to do neck work after each workout. When I was lugging the pigskin for University of Arizona, I would 2 sets of neck work every morning and 2 sets before I went to bed. I put my neck harness beside my bed as a constant reminder. I did sets of 30 reps. Bottom line; do some neck work or be doomed to a life of buying off the shelf.”
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=209&pid=53
Sadly, never seen one here in Germany.
Some parts of the neck are really hard to isolate. Shrugs, for example, do work great for the upper part of the trapecius. But how to isolate and muscle up the sternocleidomastoideus (which is the real issue here!) is something I’ve been after for a while- perhaps someone has a secret technique (please, please Mr. Thibaudeau!) he wants to share here.
P.S. Upright rows also work great for the whole upper traps, but the exercise is not for everyone. Along with deadlifts, these three exercises are (as the OP already pointed out) probably the time tested main staple for neck- awesomeness. But still, how to improve the sternocl. is something I’d really like to know. Perhaps with bands?..
thanks for the reply. I’ll probaly go to the local sporting goods this weekend and try to find a neck harness as the one in the link is kind of expensive. Until then I’ll just wear turtlenecks.