Bodybuilding proportion, whether competing or not is still important to some degree. Some things simply can’t be overlooked, and this article is going to reveal the number one most overlooked, under trained part of the body which is actually embarrassing to witness… the pencil neck.
I’ll never understand it. Truly I won’t. I’ve seen plenty of guys with what looked to be fantastic physiques, worthy of praise for sure – and then it hits me… atop of the shoulders of these man-mountains is a neck even Mr. Bean would be ashamed of – enhanced by the fact the rest of their bodies are so well developed. Ugh.
Either way, it’s my for me to reason why, only to teach what you need to do to get some good size and strength in your neck to match the rest of your physique – and sit back and pray to God that you follow my advice.
Let’s do it.
There are two parts to neck development. First of all you have the powerful trapezius muscle which runs into the base of the skull at the back of the neck, which allow you to tilt your head back, and then you’ve got the muscles at either side of the neck, the sternocleidomastoid muscles, which allow rotating and side-to-side tilting of the head. Both sets of muscles must be worked to give your neck thickness from the side, and width from the front and back, respectively.
To work the trapezius muscle on the neck, the best exercise I can recommend is the good old-fashioned wrestler’s bridge. This exercise was also performed by Mike Tyson and no doubt contributed to giving him his legendary thick and powerful neck. Simply lay down on your back with your feet pulled inwards so your shins are pointing vertical. Now, using the power of your neck (hands up off the floor), bridge yourself up on your neck, rolling back slightly in a controlled manner, and hold for up to a minute.
When you first try it, you may feel very weak and very sore for days afterwards. Don’t worry – stick at it, soon your neck will be more used to the demand being placed on it and won’t give you so much stiffness and you’ll be able to continue increasing the 1 minute sets.
My personal favourite way to develop the sternocleidomastoid muscles is to lay on a bench with my head and neck overhanging, and a heavy plate wrapped in a towel on my chest, which I then place and hold on my forehead at the lowest position, and use the power of my neck to bring my chin up to my chest. I normally do around 3 sets of this exercise for 10-15 reps.
Training the neck is tough. You’ll undoubtedly feel light headed and slightly dizzy so don’t stand up too quick or you may get a head rush, but, it’s all part and parcel of developing the full body… it’s got to be done!