Bod-Anatomy Part 1: The Neck. You Do Not Need a Machine

Michael Jackson's "Body" song is not well known. I could be wrong. But, it is not well known.

To begin this first piece in the "Bod-Anatomy" series, let's start with the neck. How many people do you know who workout their neck?...Neck day! No one claims "neck day" because the neck is always worked out, holding our heavy noggins all day long. Don't me wrong, but some of us have some heavy loads on our shoulders. So, that anatomy alone makes it important to exercise your neck muscles. Just look at how many muscles and muscle lengths work to move your head:
Driving, lifting, typing on a computer (I'm stretching now), standing, applauding, running, walking, biking, jumping, eating, sleeping, washing clothes, gardening, bathing, swimming, skiing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, shopping, cooking, praying, dressing, turning, saluting, sitting, golfing, orienteering, and many other activities include so many neck movements and attention to the neck.

You have probably seen the neck machine in gyms. But, there is a large chance that you have never seen it. Why? Because it might be overused and injury prone. Also, you can do so many neck exercises without a machine. You can:

1. Laterally flex your neck by bringing your ear toward your shoulders.
2. Rotate your neck by saying, "No".
3. Look up and down being careful of dizziness.
4. Look up and down diagonally.
5. Look over each shoulder.
6. Look between your collar bones, which gives a different feel and movement than looking down at your feet.
7. Roll your neck half way around its full pivot.

These are only seven exercises. If you look at the image above and do these exercises, you basically hit all of those muscles. But, remember that the neck is sensitive and deserves plenty of attention in a warm-up and in posture while exercising.

With heart,
Derek

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS        www.teempt.com        TEEM Performance Training