Neck Muscles?
How do you build up your neck muscles? You know those gym guys that have thick necks...i don't want to be that big, but my neck is just out of proportion to the rest of me. I measure it this morning and it's measuring in at 14 1/2 inches....down from 24 inches. I'm haven't lost weight, but I'm obviously losing fat, because I always lose in my neck and chest first.....but I want to start getting a balanced looking body. My gym doesn't have the "neck" machine...whateveri t's called...I work my shoulders regularly (they actually look pretty good)...my chest and arms are starting to come along...but now what about my neck? Scott
hey Scott,
I'll tell you the two exercises i do for neck. it's not really the neck as it is the trapezius muscles. in the gym they have a harness that you put on your head and put a weight at the end and then just move your head up and down. i think that hurts! if your gym has one you can try that but let me tell you my exercises.
first i do pull ups. you can do these with a barbell, dumbells or machine. if on a barbell take a grip about 6 inches apart and simply pull straight up under your *****eep a good form and don't cheat. also, don't lean forward, keep straight up. you can't load a lot of weight so start with a managable weight and go from there. the pull ups will tie in with your front delts too. if you see my latest pics you can see it works for me!
the second exercise is shrugs. again you can use any type of lifting device. i use a barbell. take grip within your shoulder length. for me it's about a foot apart. then let the weight hang. then try to pull the barbell up with your traps only to touch your ears. try doing this with a light weight until you get the feeling. of course you won't be able to touch your ears but it's a very simple matter of shrugging your shoulders up as high as you can get them. hold at the top for a split second and then drop down again. some guys like to not let the weight hang so as to keep a constant tension on their traps. you can load up the weight for this one. i use 225 pounds and could go higher but then i start to lose form.
again, if it's truly the neck you're after then you need the head harness i mentioned. otherwise, these two exercises will balance your traps nicely. i do shrugs on shoulder day and pull ups on back day. the pull ups also work the back. with both of these, it's important to maintain good form so no other muscles come into play. give this a month or so and see if you get results. good luck.......carbonblob
I'll tell you the two exercises i do for neck. it's not really the neck as it is the trapezius muscles. in the gym they have a harness that you put on your head and put a weight at the end and then just move your head up and down. i think that hurts! if your gym has one you can try that but let me tell you my exercises.
first i do pull ups. you can do these with a barbell, dumbells or machine. if on a barbell take a grip about 6 inches apart and simply pull straight up under your *****eep a good form and don't cheat. also, don't lean forward, keep straight up. you can't load a lot of weight so start with a managable weight and go from there. the pull ups will tie in with your front delts too. if you see my latest pics you can see it works for me!
the second exercise is shrugs. again you can use any type of lifting device. i use a barbell. take grip within your shoulder length. for me it's about a foot apart. then let the weight hang. then try to pull the barbell up with your traps only to touch your ears. try doing this with a light weight until you get the feeling. of course you won't be able to touch your ears but it's a very simple matter of shrugging your shoulders up as high as you can get them. hold at the top for a split second and then drop down again. some guys like to not let the weight hang so as to keep a constant tension on their traps. you can load up the weight for this one. i use 225 pounds and could go higher but then i start to lose form.
again, if it's truly the neck you're after then you need the head harness i mentioned. otherwise, these two exercises will balance your traps nicely. i do shrugs on shoulder day and pull ups on back day. the pull ups also work the back. with both of these, it's important to maintain good form so no other muscles come into play. give this a month or so and see if you get results. good luck.......carbonblob
scott, i forgot to mention this. on the shrugs you are using only your shoulders to pull the weight up. do not use your arms or anything else to get your shoulders to your ears. it's easy to cheat and bend your elbows or use your arms to reach your ears. just shrug and that's it. no other body part to help you get to your ears......carbonblob
Thanks CB...i'll have to look for the harness thing at my gym, I bet they have one burried somewhere. The gym is gigantic...and they have 5 different places to lift weights. 2 with Nautulus type machines (one with the older types...one with the free motion/ adjustable type machines)...they actually have a whole line of just ab machines..., one with light free weights, 1 with more "advanced" natalus type machines and machines that are combo machines where you load the weights, and one for super serious body builders....I normally dont' venture into the more advanced areas...the free motions, and the "lighter" *(up to 75 lbs) free weights have been all I needed up to this point...but now I want to start bringing balance to my body. Thanks again for the help. Scott
hey Scott,
i'm not a big fan of that neck device by the way. it can really cause a lot of pain. i would stick with those two exercises if you can instead. an observation here. i'm old school and dislike any ab device that uses weights. you don't want to build your ab muscles up you want to tone them. if you use weights you will just make them big. there are very few ab exercises that actually use weights. so stay away from those machines for abs.
also, machines are great but free weights are the best. why? because they make you use other muscles just to balance and push or pull. so you get a better work out and work out more muscles. dumbells are even better due to balance issues and balancing out eveness from side to side. just remember when doing say a military press you're using your legs, abs, tri's all sorts of muscles to heft the weight up and then you balance each side of your delts as well. when you sit in a machine and press you isolate. of course they have their advantages too like concentrating on just the front and upper delt but lifting military style will engage so much more of your whole body. all i know is i made great gains when i do what Dave does and that's forget isolation routines and go for basics. that's what builds size and burns more calories. good luck....carbonblob
i'm not a big fan of that neck device by the way. it can really cause a lot of pain. i would stick with those two exercises if you can instead. an observation here. i'm old school and dislike any ab device that uses weights. you don't want to build your ab muscles up you want to tone them. if you use weights you will just make them big. there are very few ab exercises that actually use weights. so stay away from those machines for abs.
also, machines are great but free weights are the best. why? because they make you use other muscles just to balance and push or pull. so you get a better work out and work out more muscles. dumbells are even better due to balance issues and balancing out eveness from side to side. just remember when doing say a military press you're using your legs, abs, tri's all sorts of muscles to heft the weight up and then you balance each side of your delts as well. when you sit in a machine and press you isolate. of course they have their advantages too like concentrating on just the front and upper delt but lifting military style will engage so much more of your whole body. all i know is i made great gains when i do what Dave does and that's forget isolation routines and go for basics. that's what builds size and burns more calories. good luck....carbonblob
I don't use the ab machines with weights...I use the ones that help do a more "perfect" sit ups.
I know what your saying about free weights, I do use free weights, but I have to modify most of my regime to work around my lower back issues, hence the reason I use the weight machines. I try to use the free motion machines the most, because at least then you are not issolating the muscles as much..granted it's not as good as free weights.....but it is certainly better then nothing.
I'm thinking about going back to my trainner. I'm in a different "phase" now then when I was 500 lbs, and while the exercises he trained me on were good back then, they aren't as effective now. The internet has been good, but sometimes it's hard to modify exercises to work around chronic pain issues (as I'm sure you know).
Thanks again for the advice...
Scott
BTW: what is a military press? I might be doing it, and have no idea...I really don't know the techinical names for any of the exercises I do.
yeah, i hear you about the back pain! still, the isolation machines are hard to adjust for every person so sometimes they cause more harm than good. if you get a good fit then fine. i'm small so most machines just don't get me in the right position. the free weights will help balance your trunk area when lifting. this has been a great help for me along with ab work. oh, glad your not using weights for those too! also, you're right, it's time for a new routine since you've lost so much weight. you're probably ready for a regular split routine now.
a military press is a fancy name for a standing press over the head. it's a great exercise because you use almost every muscle in your body to hoist the weight overhead. my legs actually feel this exercise as much as my shoulders. it's great for the back and abs too as they help stabilize the weight. that's why these basic compound lifts are so important. they utilize so many of the other muscles when used. granted a seated dumbbell press isolates really well but then you lose all those other stabilizer muscles in the exercise. that's why i went back to basic lifts where i can. some are deadlifts, squats, standing barbell curl, standing tricep extension, rowing etc. good luck.....carbonblob
a military press is a fancy name for a standing press over the head. it's a great exercise because you use almost every muscle in your body to hoist the weight overhead. my legs actually feel this exercise as much as my shoulders. it's great for the back and abs too as they help stabilize the weight. that's why these basic compound lifts are so important. they utilize so many of the other muscles when used. granted a seated dumbbell press isolates really well but then you lose all those other stabilizer muscles in the exercise. that's why i went back to basic lifts where i can. some are deadlifts, squats, standing barbell curl, standing tricep extension, rowing etc. good luck.....carbonblob
Most Active
Recent Topics
