Neck Exercise Machine

Health Benefits of a Strong Neck

If you're an office drone, or simply spend a lot of time hunched over a keyboard or desk, odds are your posture isn't perfect. Ergonomic furniture helps, but upper-back and neck pains are anything but uncommon in desk jockeys across the country. Part of it may be stress, but there's also a good chance that part of the problem stems from lack of proper muscle support.

As a rule, joints and ligaments are fragile by themselves and depend on surrounding muscle to take the bulk of the load. Powerlifters, for example, regularly train the small rotator cuff muscles around the shoulder joint to prevent injury when benching hundreds of pounds. Your head is considerably lighter than that, but the same principle holds; a strong muscle support system keeps the fragile neck in the clear, while weak muscles get overworked, cramp up, and may shift some of the stress onto the discs and vertebrae themselves.

For women, the cosmetic angle is a problem. The idealized "swan neck" may deter women with terribly weakened necks from doing some much-needed strengthening. Well, here's the deal: women don't build muscle as easily as men, and men have to work HARD to get an even halfway decent bull neck. Doing a half-dozen sets of neck exercises once a week won't do much in terms of size, but it may have a significant impact in how your neck holds up during those stressful crunch-time evenings three months later. And hey, even if you end up with a grand total of a half-inch extra diameter, is it that big a prize to pay for avoiding the headaches? Would anyone besides yourself even notice?

Using a Neck Exercise Machine

Neck exercise machines may look a big unintuitive at first. The most common kind looks like a little cage with a small seat in the middle. Adjust the seat so that the back of your head is on the level of the pad. The pad will be attached to a pulley mechanism that allows you a full tilt forward and backward, enabling you to get a light stretch in the forward position and a full contraction at the back position. Be careful not to overstretch or hunch up your shoulders in either position. Many machines have handles; you may grab them if you like, but avoid involving the arms or otherwise helping in any way -- the idea is to have the neck muscles do all the work.

Next, it's time for the sides of the neck. Simply turn 90 degrees so that the side of your head rests against the pad. Like before, do a tilt with light stretch and full contraction, only this time you do it sideways. Turn 180 degrees to do the other side.

Finally, most pads in this type of machine have an opening in the middle. This is so that non-boxers can train the front of the neck without squishing the nose. You may find that lowering the seat a notch feels more natural, putting the bulk of the pressure against the forehead. Again, light stretch in the back position and full contraction in the forward position.

Naturally, this exercise requires thorough cleaning before and after use. Many choose to also keep a small gym towel draped over the pad for extra "insulation".

Finally, be attentive to any signs of pain or unusual sensations. The idea is to help your neck, not aggravate an existing problem, so use light weights and be prepared to backpedal if something doesn't feel right. If problems persist, consult with a chiropractor or other medical professional before continuing you program. Good luck!