Strengthen Your Neck Muscles with This Effective Exercise Routine

Exercises for strengthening neck muscles

You should practice these neck-strengthening exercises at least 4 to 5 days a week. They’re simple exercises that don’t require much time and you can do them comfortably anywhere.

1. Head tilt

In this neck exercise, we’re going to work out the muscles in two ways as described below:

• Tilt your head forwards and backwards: Your chin should touch your chest and, after, push your head backwards as far as you can. Do the exercises slowly.
• Tilt your head to the sides: Looking forwards, tilt your head towards the right and after, towards the left as if  you were trying to touch your shoulder with your ear. You should also do this exercises slowly.

2. Head turn

We can also do this exercise in two different ways. The second way offers a better workout for our neck than the first one. The exercise consists in looking to your right side and, after, to your left.

• Turn your head as much as you can.
• As a variation, you can tilt your head forwards at the same time, as much as we can. In this position, bring your head around to each one of your shoulders.

3. Circular movements

This is a popular exercise and it‘s great for a follow-up after doing the previous exercises on our list. For this one, you just need to make circles using your head.

• The key lies in making your circular movements as extended as possible. So, make sure your head touches your shoulder, chest and bring it back as far as you can…
• First, make circular movements to one side and then, after, repeat on the other side. As we mentioned in the first exercises, it’s important to do these exercises slowly.

4. Shoulder shrugs

The best way to do this exercise is by using dumbbells or holding another kind of weight. By doing so, you can strengthen your neck muscles even more.

• To do this exercise, you can stand up or sit down with your arms at your side, holding the dumbbells.
• In this position, you need to raise your shoulders as much as you can without moving your head. Only your shoulders should be moving.
• Stay in this position, keeping your shoulders raised, for 5 seconds and after, go back to the starting position to repeat the exercise.

Read: 7 Exercises to Strengthen Your Shoulders

5. Bench exercise

The last of the neck-strengthening exercises on our list requires extreme caution. To start, you need a bench that you can lay down on, facing down.

• Your head should be hanging off the bench, looking at the floor.
• Place your hands behind your head as if you were going to do a sit-up. Let your head fall and lift.

You can add a little pressure to your head by using your hands. By doing so, you can give your neck a better workout. You can add a weight sometimes if you’d like.

Post-workout advice

• By doing so, you can warm up the area and prepare it for the exercises on our list.
• You should also take some preventative measures after finishing the exercises. This is especially important to do for those who tend to suffer from neck problems.
• Before applying heat to the area, apply something cool. By using cool temperatures, you can reduce the inflammation that results from the exercises and help your body recover.

You should inform your doctor if you do any of these exercises. He or she can tell you if it’s better for you to skip a certain exercise or how hard you can work your neck out.

By trying out these neck exercises, you can prevent many future problems. Have you gotten started yet?