How to train your neck muscles

How to train the muscles of the neck for size and strength with weights.

All exercise programs should be discussed with your doctor before you start them. Please discuss with your personal trainer or with your doctor the weight of the plate you use to prevent injuries to your cervical spine.

What muscles are we working here?

We are working both the neck muscles themselves and the surrounding muscles of the trapezius and shoulders.

Why strong neck muscles?

The neck muscles should be strong to prevent injury and to support barbells in other types of lifting. The size of the neck and surrounding muscles is also important in the sport of bodybuilding.

How do we train the neck muscles?

We train the neck muscles by training the neck itself and the trapezius or “traps” and the shoulders with weights, and very carefully.

Here is our routine.

• 1. Weighted head tilting.
• 2. Upright Rows.
• 3. Dumbbell Shrugs
• 4. Head stands (performed without weights).
• 5. Front shoulder presses, seated.
• 6. Rear shoulder presses, seated.
• 7. Dumbbell laterals.

1. Weighted head tilting.

Position a single weight plate on the top of the head over a towel or other padding. Holding the weight plate in place with both hands, bend at the neck forward and back, using the neck to perform the exercise. The hands’ only purpose is holding the weight on the head securely. Do 8-12 reps for 2-3 sets. Stop for any soreness. Take a little water between sets.

2. Upright Rowing.

Grasping a barbell with a close or wide grip, raise the bar to chin height. Keep your elbows above bar level at all times. Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps close grip and wide grip. Breathe out on the first movement, in on the second. Keep plenty of drinking water handy. Use a weight belt and spotter.

3. Dumbbell Shrugs.

Holding a pair of dumbbells palms inward at arms’ length at the sides, lower your arms as far as possible, then shrug the shoulders up as far as possible. Repeat for 8-12 reps. Breathe out on the first movement and in on the second movement. Use care, a weight belt and have plenty of water available.

4. Head stands.

Headstands will help strengthen the neck and aid in balance while providing an additional and very safe exercise to this routine. Kneeling, place your hands in front of you and put your head down to form a three-legged tripod. Rest your knees on your thighs then thrust your legs up into the air above you. Balance on your head and hands erect as long as possible. Lower yourself, concluding the exercise. Make sure there are no extraneous objects laying around that you might kick or fall on.

5. Front shoulder presses, seated.

By sitting for this exercise we more isolate the upper body and concentrate on its muscle groups including the neck and surrounding muscles. Sit with a barbell on the chest in both hands, gripped at shoulder width. Press the barbell above the head and back down 8-12 times. Do this for 2-3 sets.

6. Rear shoulder presses, seated.

This variation lowers the barbell behind the neck. Be careful and use a spotter.

7. Dumbbell laterals.

With dumbbell laterals, you perform an exercise similar to rowing. You raise the dumbbells to each side (laterally) and back down again. Follow the aforementioned scheme for sets, reps, and breathing. Have water for drinking and a spotter for accuracy of form.

How to strengthen the lower back muscle

Strengthen the lower back muscle some key exercises.

All exercise programs should be discussed with your doctor before you start them.

Why strengthen the lower back?

Though the legs are to be used primarily for all heavy lifting, the lower back should be strengthened to prevent injury during lifting and other activities. This can be done safely and efficiently with weights if you know what to do. Powerlifters will want to strengthen the lower back for the deadlifting competition. Weightlifters will strengthen the back for the clean and for the clean and jerk lifts. Bodybuilders will want a strong back to steady and control heavier weights when used for bodybuilding exercises that require them.
Here is our lower back routine.

• 1. The Deadlift
• 2. The Straight back barbell lift
• 3. The Single dumbbell, straight back pickup or lift
• 4. Leg raises or lifts.

The Deadlift is performed bending at the knees and grasping the barbell. A primary hand (your left or right depending on whether you are left or right handed) overhand grip and an underhand grip with the remaining hand will insure control of the weight while lifting. Lift with the legs then straighten the back at the end of the first movement. Breathe out on the first motion and in on the second as you set the weight down. For strength, do a light set of 10 to warm-up. Next use a heavy barbell for a set of 6,4 and 2 repetitions in that order, increasing the weight as you decrease the reps. A weight belt is really mandatory for this type of exercise. A spotter and workout partner are also highly recommended.

Now we come to the straight back barbell lift (it goes by many other names). First attempt this exercise with just a barbell and no plates or with a broom handle until you get the idea. Bend at the waist only and grasp the bar. Straighten up again. You must perform this with a weight so light there is no chance of injury and yet heavy enough that it enables you to sense the back muscle being worked. A weight belt is mandatory. If you are not sure you can or should be doing this, please don’t. Perform 3 sets of 8 reps. Increase the weight gradually over a period of weeks or months.

Now we have the single dumbbell, straight back pickup or lift. Perform the same exercise as above with a can of soup or a light dumbbell to start. We will increase weight gradually over time. With your weighted object in one hand and using one arm only, lift for 8 reps. Switch back and forth between each arm. Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Use proper breathing at all times. Breath out on the first movement and in on the second. Count to 4 silently in your head during the second movement to make sure exercises are done slowly for maximum growth.

Finally we have the leg lifts. Laying flat on your back, lift the legs up 12 inches, separate them wide, bring them back together then down without touching the floor. Continue this process till exhausted, not stopping or touching the floor and counting to 15 at each position before moving on. This will also work the waistline. Keep plenty of water around during any workout.

This should help strengthen the lower back greatly over time.

How do I start a weight lifting workout?

Weightlifting is a good way to not only strengthen your muscles but burn calories too. Find out how you can begin weightlifting by reading this informative article!

Weightlifting is great exercise for anyone who wants to not only firm up their muscles, but also to burn calories and lose body fat. The first thing you will want to do, before you start a weightlifting program, is to get permission from your physician or healthcare professional. After you get the go ahead from him or her, you can then start by either purchasing some basic equipment or just by visiting a local health club and using theirs.

As with any other form of exercise–and there are no exceptions–you must begin your session with a short period of warm-up exercises. These exercises are intended to stretch your muscles and to get you ready for your weightlifting. Your wamr-up period should last between five and ten minutes. Slowly stretch your wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, hips, waist, knees, and ankles. Then, depending on the physical condition that you are in, you can begin a weightlifting regime.

Your equipment can include a weight bench, for one. Most can be adjusted to be either a flat surface or an inclined surface. There are also dumbbells, a bar with different sizes of weights, and machines. Dumbbells can be as light as two pounds each. They are normally held one in each hand, and are raised above the head or pushed out in front of you, or held lowered at your sides and raised up to your waist level. Whatever exercises you choose to do should be repeated about ten times for a beginner. Breathe in and breathe out deeply and do not make the mistake of holding your breath as we tend to do when we are under pressure or stress. Don’t push yourself into doing more even if your arms feel good and you don’t feel any pain yet. Any pain in your muscles will be felt within the next day or so. You have to start out slow and work your way up.

To use the lifting bar, you simply slide the amount of weights onto the bar. For a beginner, you should only start out with about ten pounds on each side. Place the bar into its holder and now lie on your back on the weight bench. Remember to breathe as you firmly grasp the bar and lift it straight up. Hold it just for a couple of seconds and then place it gently back onto its holder. Do not use quick jerky movements or you can possibly cause injury to yourself. Make your lift a controlled movement–grasp firmly, lift up, hold to the count of one, two, three, and then lower the bar.

For a beginner, your session should last no more than fifteen minutes. After you have finished with your weightlifting session, you must, for your muscles’ sake, perform cool down exercises. These exercises will help your body to relax. For about five or ten minutes, perform some simple exercises. These exercises should include some gentle bending and stretching moves.

As you progress with your program, you can add on additional weights in small increments. You will be amazed at how much firmer your body becomes by doing weightlifting.

Lose fat by building muscle

Everyone thinks the best way to lose fat is aerobic exercise. Personally, I’d rather lose fat just breathing normally. Building muscle helps speed up your metabolism naturally, so you burn more fat doing everyday chores. And you don’t have to end up a muscle-bound hulk either!

It may be that I am the only person in the world who gains fat by doing aerobic exercise, but I think not. The fact that you’re reading this article suggests that you probably also spend too much time on aerobic exercise with too few results.

The secret, of course, is building muscle. Aerobic exercise can strip away muscle as well as fat, and muscle is what uses up your body’s stores of energy.

Think of your muscle as an engine that needs fuel to run efficiently. A small motor scooter engine can run for days on a gallon of gas. A powerful V8 won’t make it out the garage. In the same way, if your body has very little muscle, it won’t burn off the calories you get from your food, while a competition bodybuilder can eat a meal that would feed a family of four for a week, and not pick up an ounce of fat as a result.

Now, you don’t have to have huge muscles in order to burn fat efficiently. The ratio of muscle to fat in your body is far more important. You can be a slim, attractive woman on the outside, but still have a good muscular framework burning up calories while you watch television.

Your first step is to measure your body fat. You can buy home measuring kits, or you can go for an expensive body fat test. Unless you’re a competition athlete, a home measuring kit is fine. These simplest kits comprise callipers and a book of instructions. You use the callipers to measure the skinfolds in one or more places on your body, then look up the results in the book of instructions.

A good body fat measurement for a women is between 21 and 28%, while a man would expect to be leaner, at between 11 and 19%. Competition athletes strive for much lower body fat percentages.

The next step is to start doing exercises that build muscle, which means working with weights. Heavy weights. If you are carrying too much fat, you are more likely to burn fat faster and get into shape sooner by working on your muscles rather than working on your fat. As your muscles grow, they will burn more fat naturally.

Don’t panic at the thought of your muscles growing, especially if you are a woman. They don’t grow that fast, for a start. Second, competition bodybuilders have to put in a huge amount of effort and work intensively for months in order to grow muscles that big. Third, muscle is what gives your body its attractive shape. Undeveloped muscle is what makes many thin women over forty just look scrawny. With well developed muscles, you will easily look ten to fifteen years younger than your real age.

Remember too, that muscle takes up far less space than fat, even though it weighs the same. Compare the size of a pound of steak to that of a pound of butter. Growing muscle doesn’t automatically mean growing bigger: it does mean growing leaner.

If you are carrying a lot of fat, or if you are over forty, it’s probably a good idea to consult your doctor before starting a serious exercise program. Working with heavy weights will put a lot of stress on your muscles – that’s what helps them grow – but we don’t want you stressing a failing heart muscle, for example. If you have to lose fat because it’s putting too much strain on your heart, a sports doctor should be able to guide you into an effective but safe program.

Assuming that you’re fit to train, start by working out your biggest muscles first. After all, they burn the most fat. The biggest muscles are those in your upper back, your chest and of course, your butt and thighs. Build muscle by working with weights that allow you to comfortably do between four and eight repetitions of the exercise before taking a rest. Once you can do eight comfortably, move to a slightly heavier weight.

Do two to three exercises per big muscle: a total of six to eight exercises in all. Start by doing each exercise once, and work up to three times. This will take you between twenty and thirty minutes to complete, which is not going to dent your schedule dramatically. It should also make it easy to fit in an exercise program three to four times a week. Try and skip a day between sessions.

Once your fat starts coming down to a level where your shape is showing through, you can start working on the smaller muscles. At this stage you’ll want to change your exercise program completely, perhaps doing upper body exercises one day, and lower body exercises the next. Build up a repertoire of exercises for each body part, and try using different ones every time you train. It will not only help keep your program fresh, it will also help keep your program effective, as your muscles will be less likely to get used to particular exercises.

Any good gym will be able to advise you on which exercises train which body part, and help you put together a program. You can also buy your own weights, and train at home using a program from any one of a number of excellent books and videos.

Just remember you want to build muscle. Choose books and videos that will help you do that first. Once you’re in the shape you want, you can try other programs that appeal to you more.

But quite frankly, burning fat while watching television because I work with weights three times a week is still the most attractive option for me.