Trying to strengthen neck for martial arts

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Deltafarce

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over the years my neck has taken a beating I’m trying to strengthen it. No gym now so trying to do something from home. Iron neck looks good but pricy... do I need a gym to get benefits from it or would home be ok?

Any other cheaper alternatives?

Honestly the submission grappling / wrestling makes me the sorest, but also I would like a stronger neck for boxing to help prevent being knocked out
 
Neck bridges slowly and carefully

I used to do these with a 20kg plate on me

Neck harness

Shrugs

I was never finished in my shitty ammy mma career and i thank my neck for it

Even maia said that i have good resistance to being choked (after submitting me 30 times in 5 minutes lmao)
 
Cole train said:
Neck bridges slowly and carefully

I used to do these with a 20kg plate on me

Neck harness

Shrugs

I was never finished in my shitty ammy mma career and i thank my neck for it

Even maia said that i have good resistance to being choked (after submitting me 30 times in 5 minutes lmao)
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Neck bridges with weights and shrugs are not exactly great for someone with a jacked up neck. I would go much lighter and do some gentle strenghtening exercises against a ball on a wall, or simply gravity, in various directions. Then slowly build it up from there. Also add in some endurance training for the deep neck flexors as well as practice good posture in your stance.

Head positioning/posture can drastly alter impact forces when you're hit. Not getting knocked out is much more about when and how you get hit than it is anything else (besides genetics). These things are not set in stone, but I would say: seeing the blow coming > genetics > good head positioning > being in good cardiovascular shape and hydrated > neck strength in order of importance.
 
Sano said:
Neck bridges with weights and shrugs are not exactly great for someone with a jacked up neck. I would go much lighter and do some gentle strenghtening exercises against a ball on a wall, or simply gravity, in various directions. Then slowly build it up from there. Also add in some endurance training for the deep neck flexors as well as practice good posture in your stance.

That's probably better for head positioning/posture which can drastly alter impact forces. Not getting knocked out is much more about when and how you get hit than it is anything else (besides genetics). This things are not set in stone, but I would say seeing the blow coming > genetics > good head positioning > being in good cardiovascular shape and hydrated > neck strength in that order of importance.
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i didnt say neck is the only thing that matters when punched, it just helps in my opinion.

yeah if you got an injury you should be careful, you cant mess around with neck

but i have to say that difference was noticable when i started exercising neck seriously, especially when being choked
 
Cole train said:
i didnt say neck is the only thing that matters when punched, it just helps in my opinion

yeah if you got an injury you should be careful, you cant mess around with neck
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It might, but there's unfortunately not a lot of solid evidence to support it. Some suggest that it might correlate with less of a likelihood of a concussion, but most suggest that it doesn't.

Either way, neck bridges are notoriously hard for your neck and requires a lot of building up to. The shear and compression forces are no joke. Shrugs are also almost exclusively upper trapezius and levator scapula, which are more often than not way overactive in people with neck pain. The neck is quite a delicate thing and you'd be better off training the smaller muscles with a focus on endurance, at least for the majority of your time. And especially if you have a history of neck issues.

Not trying to be a negative nancy, just offering some advice.
 
Sano said:
It might, but there's unfortunately not a lot of solid evidence to support it. Some suggest that it might correlate with less of a likelihood of a concussion, but most suggest that it doesn't.

Either way, neck bridges are notoriously hard for your neck and requires a lot of building up to. The shear and compression forces are no joke. Shrugs are also almost exclusively upper trapezius and levator scapula, which are more often than not way overactive in people with neck pain. The neck is quite a delicate thing and you'd be better off training the smaller muscles with a focus on endurance, at least for the majority of your time. And especially if you have a history of neck issues.

Not trying to be a negative nancy, just offering some advice.
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im just going with my own experience

you are the one with a degree so you understand how things actually work lol
 
Honestly, no joke, not even messing with you in the slightest:

Heavy metal. Head banging.

tumblr_ncxu71Et6U1rlezllo1_500.jpg
 
Phlog said:
Honestly, no joke, not even messing with you in the slightest:

Heavy metal. Head banging.

tumblr_ncxu71Et6U1rlezllo1_500.jpg
Click to expand...

Rollins has some work to do to get to Corpsegrinder mode

maxresdefault.jpg


Honorable mention goes to Corey Taylor too.....even though his music is trash.

aozWY8e_460s.jpg
 
For the front of your neck, these are good beginner movements before you progress to weights later on. You can perform similar movements by laying on your sides and working the sides of your neck.



Working the back of your neck is sketchy, I personally think neck bridges are too dangerous especially if you are not really trying to compete at a high level yourself. I just use a neck harness and do neck extensions with a 10 lb weight. I do them sitting because I feel like when I was doing them laying down it was hurting my neck and back
 
Check out yoga style head stands. They’re static holds but only a few minutes of doing it can prove to be rather difficult.
 
The neck doesn't need a lot of resistance from what I know. I like doing body weight neck curls and lateral neck curls. Those will take someone a long way and they can simply increase the reps if they want more intensity. Neck bridges scare the crap out of me but all the guys with the biggest necks seem to do them... That or get into headbanging lol. The traps and other posterior muscles of the neck are generally over worked and tight on most people, me included so I actually completely avoid isolating those and figure the rest of my resistance training and clinching does more than enough. My biggest Recommendation would be to consider making stretching and massaging the neck muscles part of your routine if you do end up doing any sort of training on them. I get headaches and am way more prone to straining something in there if I don't.
 
Try deepthroating some dikk bro
 
I’ve had a bad neck for years, likely related to my shoulder problems. Here’s what I’ve figured out.

First learn to activate the proper muscles when doing a chin tuck. Look this up online. Practice from a prone or supine position.

like someone said above, you don’t need a lot of resistance. I use to do a lot of bridging when I first started working out but don’t anymore.

4-way neck machine is good if you have access

Neck flexion is very easy to strengthen lying on your back. Start with no weight and work your way up. Support plates on your forehead with your hands.

Neck extension is a little more annoying. Standing isometric with a band works. Using a head weight works, I just don’t like supporting with my hands when doing extensions. One of my favourites is rolling on a Swiss ball into a neck bridge position with an isometric hold. The further you roll (more bw supported by neck) the harder it gets.

Sides of your neck you can hit well with isometrics, head on a Swiss ball on the wall. You can also add rotations to your flexion and extension exercises.
 
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