Like the back, the neck is an essential part of the body that needs to remain healthy in order to properly function without risk of injury. By learning these top neck exercises in the gym, you can efficiently promote size, increase strength, and prevent injury.
These top neck exercises gym goers can easily incorporate into their gym routine are also great for improving flexibility and mobility. The improved range of motion you’ll gain decreases your risk of injury, which is a great attribute for everyone. But, this is especially important for athletes as there are consistent movements within certain sports that involve stretching past a “normal” range of motion.
To strengthen the neck, decrease the risk of injury, and boost neck size, keep reading! We’ll start with a quick explanation of why this is such an important topic.
Why Dedicate A Portion Of Your Training To Neck Exercises At The Gym?
There’s a few key neck exercises in the gym that you should do in order to effectively promote strength in the neck to prevent injury. The neck exercises gym goers can do, shown here in this article, result in a thick, strong neck that looks awesome. But, the injury prevention and pain-free life you’ll enjoy as a result of building a strong neck are even more important than the physique element. We’ll go into more detail about the reasons why gym goers should be dedicating time to training the neck.
Enhanced Aesthetics
Building a thick neck is essential to completing the overall aesthetic of a bodybuilder physique. A thick and muscular neck is a common characteristic among bodybuilders and many athletes. Strength and power are often associated with thick necks due to the connection between these powerful athletes’ and their thick neck physiques. A strong, thick neck looks better, but it also provides physical benefits such as injury prevention and improved posture, which we will further discuss below.
Improve Posture
There are specific neck posture exercises that can help you transform your posture, specifically forward head syndrome. Poor posture or muscle imbalances can lead to forward head syndrome, often referred to as “tech neck” due to its relation between neck pain and poor posture when using devices such as a laptop or phone.
Thankfully there are loads of neck exercises in the gym that can be worked o to prevent poor neck posture or overall bad posture.
Injury Prevention & Treatment
Strengthening the neck using specialized gym neck exercises can easily do at their gym has been shown to prevent and treat injury. For athletes in particular, training to strengthen the neck can help ward off concussions caused from whiplash.
By adding a routine of neck exercises in the gym, nagging issues such as tension, stiffness, and tightness in the neck can be reduced. The neck and surrounding areas such as the trapezius muscles are strengthened to improve mobility (range of motion), strength of the neck and upper back muscles, and can reduce overall pain that may afflict you.
Try these quick tips in our blog post, “How to Loosen A Stiff Neck: Quick Tips” to learn how to get rid of a stiff neck as fast as possible. These stretches can be great for when you’re stuck at your desk at work and can’t head to the gym to get a good neck workout to get the kinks out.
Can You Do Neck Exercises At Gym?
Of course you can! During a bodybuilder’s strength training routine, they will utilize exercises that target one or more muscles. Oftentimes, exercises can target major muscles during the exercise but also engage secondary muscles, like the ones in the neck.
Many bodybuilders and other athletes with notoriously thick necks are on a customized nutrition plan catered to their physique and performance goals. Their exercise programs and customized nutrition plans can promote a thick neck that others would otherwise not achieve through a regular routine at the gym even though they aren’t using neck exercises. It simply occurs as a sort of side effect from the amount of exercise and heavy lifting they do. Unfortunately, many can’t achieve a strong neck by simply lifting heavy. That’s why there are specific neck exercises gym goers should do to promote proper buildup for a strong, thick neck.
Check out our blog article, “Neck Training - The Complete Guide” for efficient and in-depth methods on how to begin your neck training journey.
Why You May Need To Invest In Your Own Neck Exercise Gym Equipment
Some gyms have quality neck exercise gym equipment - but this is rare. Really only the most robust training facilities around the world recognize the importance of neck training - you won’t find the right gear at a commercial gym. So, knowing this, you need to invest in your own neck exercise gym equipment. This will prove to prevent injuries done by improving strength in the neck.
So, What Type Of Neck Exercises Gym Equipment Do I Need?
You only need a few pieces of equipment to really get going into your journey to achieving a thick, strong neck. For example, the neck harness and resistance loop bands (budget-friendly - but limiting) OR the #1 piece of neck exercises equipment on the market: The Iron Neck.
The world’s #1 neck strength device, the Iron Neck completely removes neck pain and reverses poor posture. A specially designed piece of equipment, the Iron Neck has proven to help loads of people recover from the pain caused by accidents, poor posture, and injuries caused by sports or hobbies. Many athletes and fitness enthusiasts utilize Iron Neck and Iron Neck training exercises to reduce the risk of neck and head injuries that coincide with contact sports.
If you’re looking to strengthen your neck to increase thickness, prevent injury, and overcome poor neck posture, the Iron Neck is a specialized piece of equipment you need to invest in.
What Are The Top Neck Exercises Gym Goers Should Be Doing?
Below, we’ve provided the top neck exercises gym goers should be using at the gym. From Locked Neck Body Turns to Lunge Variations, there are more than a few neck exercises that you should begin to incorporate into your routine for a strong, thick neck. Get started with these top four neck exercises today!
For more exercises to strengthen neck muscles, check out our blog post, “6 Best Exercises to Strengthen Neck Muscles”.
Iron Neck--Locked Neck Body Turns
Locked Neck Body Turns are an effective exercise that can transform your neck into a thick aesthetic masterpiece! This movement improves mobility and strength of the neck, while also working other muscles like your core and legs.
Attach the Iron Neck. Then, from a standing position, you’re going to use a crush grip to hold a kettlebell. A crush grip involves holding the kettlebell upside down, with the handle facing the ground and the bottom of the kettlebell facing the ceiling. From your balanced standing position, you’re going to rotate the trunk and torso left to right while maintaining the position of the neck.
Iron Neck--Lunge Variations
TheseLunge Variations are another great top neck exercise gym goers should be using more often.
Grabbing a kettlebell using a crush grip, work through different lunge variations including curtsy, forward, reverse, and side lunges. The focus point of resistance can be changed to alter the force of resistance on the neck.
First, try facing away from the Iron Neck, work through a few repetitions of a forward lunge, then switch to face the Iron Neck and work through some lunge variation repetitions. The direction of force changes depending on which direction you face from the Iron Neck. This method of resistance encourages a 360-degree force of resistance to the neck when properly attributed to your neck exercise routine and can drastically improve your neck strength for an aesthetically-pleasing thick neck.
Iron Neck--Iso Hold Thoracic Controlled Articular Rotation (C.A.R.)
In a kneeling lunge position, face the Iron Neck. Straighten both arms out in front of you, rotating one arm out to open up the thoracic spine. Allow your torso to open up as it follows the arm. Return to starting position with both arms directly in front of you. Alternate to the other side. Repeat for 6-10 reps total and then switch the kneeling lunge position so that the other knee is up.
Repeat the Iso Hold Thoracic Controlled Articular Rotations (C.A.R.) for the ultimate mobility, flexibility, and neck strength results.
Iron Neck---360 Spin
During this exercise, Iron Neck’s 360 Spin, using slow and controlled movements, turns away from the anchor point of the Iron Neck. This creates tension to the resistance band, aiding to improve strength in the neck. Make sure to perform this exercise at a distance that allows you to challenge yourself without causing pain.
Perform three rotations clockwise and three rotations counterclockwise. Make sure to maintain an upright posture the whole time.
Tips For Getting Started With Neck Exercises At Gym
Here are a few tips to keep in mind before starting your journey with gym neck exercises at the gym. By focusing on these tips to get started, you can increase the margins of success and see fast progress during your journey.
Master The Movement Before Adding Weight
It’s always important to master a movement before adding weight. Don’t stress about what others may be thinking about you in regards to the weight or resistance of the movement you’re performing.
Ego lifting is a popular term that refers to this type of situation. Ego lifting refers to a person that will attempt to lift more weight than they safely should compared to what they’re accustomed to. This can be in relation to wanting to impress others or simply lifting a weight you’re unaccustomed to in pursuit of muscle or “gains”.
One of the safest things you can do is to master the movement first. This ensures proper technique that focuses on muscular tension and form that will prevent injury. Ego lifting contributes to injury rather than preventing it. Getting hurt sucks! Don’t do that to yourself. Focus on mastering technique and movement, then slowly making your way up to improve strength and encourage further progress.
Don’t Neglect Any Area Of The Neck - Hit It From All Angles To Prevent Imbalance
Make sure to hit all angles and areas of the neck. Muscular imbalances can be just as dangerous as ego lifting.
Concerning muscular imbalances, the lack of properly training every angle of a muscle group can lead to limited mobility, pain, an unbalanced appearance, and can encourage injury in other parts of the body. With muscular imbalances, the stronger muscle group will strive to work harder than the weaker muscle group, which can then lead to chronic pain and injury.
When performing neck exercises at the gym, strive to hit all angles of the neck. This can drastically prevent muscular imbalances and injury that could otherwise ensue.
Make Time For Recovery
To achieve results, rest and recovery are needed. It can’t be skipped or avoided otherwise you are promoting the risk of injury and the guarantee of a lack of progress.
Recovery is essential for the muscles being worked to repair and grow stronger. Without the time given for these muscles to recover and repair, the muscles won’t be able to strengthen as they aren’t being given the chance to.
Just like you set a time to work out, set time aside to rest and recover. This will drastically improve your results and prevent injury from overworking the muscles being exercised.
Take Diet Into Account
One of the hardest aspects of exercise isn’t going to the gym---it’s diet.
Diet goes hand-in-hand with progressive and desired results. Without proper nutrition and a balanced diet, loads of issues can make working out miserable while providing minimal results.
Poor nutrition can look different with each individual person but oftentimes it can come across as low energy or fatigue, minimal muscle gain, poor mental health, and loads of internal issues such as bad gut health. Set time aside to focus on your nutrition, check out macronutrients like protein (which is essential for muscle gain and muscle recovery), and work on creating a sustainable diet that coincides with your goals.
Closing Thoughts On Neck Exercises Gym Goers Should Be Doing
Throughout our article, we’ve provided gym neck exercises to promote a strong neck while reducing the risk of injury. We’ve gone over the benefits of adding neck exercises to your routine to aid with mobility, flexibility, strength, and physique. Each boasts its own benefits like an increased range of motion, reduction of muscular imbalances, and lowering the risk of injury.
Utilizing the specially customized Iron Neck for progressive results with each of these factors is the cure-all for obtaining true and consistent results. Start your journey today to fix poor neck posture and transform your neck for good!