Train Your Neck and Hold Your Head Up

Toned arms? Check. Lean legs? Got ‘em! Strong neck? Huh? Very few people think to train your neck, let alone performing strengthening exercises for the neck musculature. But if you consider how often your head moves, neck strengthening is a no-brainer.

Nautilus 4-Way Neck Machine

Think of your head and neck as a bowling ball sitting on a stack of checkers. When everything is in proper alignment, everything is OK. However, when the muscles are weakened, either through a trauma event or just poor posture, the bowling ball tips forward and places a strain on the neck muscles. The average head weighs 12 pounds, when the head is flexed forward 15 degrees, the weight of the head doubles! All of that extra strain on the muscles of the neck can cause weakness and pain in the head, neck and back and could possible interfere with the transfer of nerve impulses.

The very best thing you can do is practice good posture. Your shoulders should be down and back, your head should be upright and your ears should be over your shoulders. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you will get used to it.

The next best thing to do is to strengthen your neck muscles. Nautilus makes a fantastic machine called the 4-Way Neck. This machine addresses 4 of the 5 possible neck movements (it doesn’t address neck rotation). Adding this exercise to your routine once per week can safely and effectively strengthen the neck musculature and reduce/eliminate any neck pain you might be feeling!

Related article – “Why don’t woodpeckers get concussions?”