I know what it was like having a pencil neck at a time in my life. Before I was a teenager, I was on Ritalin to help keep me focused in school but that also led to not eating a whole lot when I needed to for growth. I was skinny and had a bobble shaped head where my noggin was big compared to my neck and the rest of my body. I joke about that now. After I went off the Ritalin, my appetite shot through the roof but not in a good way. I grew taller of course but I was expanding more than lengthening.
I didn't eat the best foods for a growing boy and by the time I was 13, I was just under 5'5 along with being 180-185 lbs. Not a great weight for a teen that short. Didn't have much muscle to show and even when I started weight training around that time in P.E, I didn't understand how to build muscle and kept doing various activities to get my energy out during recess or after school like Street Baseball, Basketball and other things.
As I got older and experienced things more from a training stand point, my neck was starting to grow out more but not by specifically training for it. The only time I ever trained my neck for anything was when I tried out for wrestling as a senior in high school. We did bridges and all that stuff, what stopped me wrestling wasn't the calisthenics, those were a bitch on their own, I left because I got hurt during a sparring session working on drills where a guy in my weight class landed on my left knee and I damaged my left hand where it had to be wrapped up. It wasn't in the cards for me and I still think about to this day if that hadn't happened. I quit after a few days of tryouts.
Since that time, I went on to explore aspects of weight training and learn the basics on my own. I was barely coached at all in high school, by 18-19, I was on my own and mimicked the muscle books and the guys in the gym. Still had no clue what training the neck really was and even tried a machine once that had you work your neck but it never felt right to me.
After the accident and rehabbing, part of the Royal Court I learned along with the Hindu Squats & Hindu Push-Ups was Bridging. I worked it with the other two everyday for a month just feeling out how to do the rocking, the flexibility progressions and holding the positions. I wasn't anywhere near nose to the mat those first few weeks but I kept getting stronger and eventually held my first back bridge, nose to mat, hands folded and feet flat. At first I only used a towel for padding which now that I look back on it, wasn't probably the best idea LOL but I figured out how to get my hands on a mat and made my bridging better. I even worked up to getting my chin down at one point, that was insane for me to pull off.
Of course I did Front Bridges, Wall Walking, built up to a Gymnastic Bridge and then years later was kicking over and back in the Front/Back Bridge thanks to the guidance of Logan Christopher. My neck got crazy strong, thick and kept me from a lot of potential injuries. Think ever since I learned how to bridge and the multiple variations, I've never had a concussion (knock wood). It built my back to where I was building muscle there and eventually it would be the most muscular area of my body. I'll always credit Bridging as my foundation and I'll still bridge from time to time.
Now in my 40's, training my neck has changed in recent years where even though I can still Bridge, I focused mainly on working my neck in multiple directions through Isometrics & Tension Control during movements while standing from Self Resistance to Mobility Work. I've built a routine I picked up on Matt Furey's Youtube Channel and added a few things to it and this routine has kept my neck thick but flexible. Last time I measured it, it was around 18 inches.
For years and years I've resisted buying a neck harness because I've always associated those with weights when in reality, you can still work with bands and don't need barbell plates to use it. That's where Mike Bruce comes in. The true KING of Neck Training. If you researched him, you'll know why. I even interviewed him for this blog many moons ago. Nobody knows more about training the neck than this guy. So after years of hesitating, I got his Neck Flex Apparatus that comes with a resistance band.
Although I've only done 3 workouts with it so far, it's still in a phase of experimenting. I can feel it that's for sure and have a bit of soreness but nothing irritating or anything. I'm learning to control my movements and sticking to 6-8 directional exercises as my foundation. First workout was just getting a feel for it and hit 180 Reps. Next workout, did 2x25 reps for each exercise totaling 300. This morning after my Joint Loosening routine, I worked it similarly to what I do with my Neck Mobility; hold an exercise for a 10 count and then do reps in a 2 count format. It felt really good and loosened up things really well. The band is at about 20 lbs resistance which even for pros that's more than enough, even Mike does things with that Band that are unbelievable.
It's another tool in the arsenal for building a strong and powerful neck. Now that doesn't mean thickening it to the point where it has Kurt Angle vibes but having a strong and mobile neck is crucial regardless you're an athlete or not. The neck is one of the most neglected group of muscles and people forget what actual Neck Training does. Whether you get a harness with a band or just do Bridges & Self Resistance/Mobility Work, it doesn't matter, what matters is how you are able to work your neck with efficiency and keep it strong so to minimize injuries because let's face it, those who've had concussions know that later in life things can very much go south and not just through physical trauma but what happens with the brain and how it effects personality and function.
The Neck Flex isn't a NEED unless you're looking to build a thick neck for Combat Sports like Wrestling, Football, Hockey or whatever but it is very much an optional form of training that also expands knowledge on how to train the neck properly and with effectiveness. I didn't get it cause that's all I'm going to do from now on, I have all the other stuff at my disposal, I got it because it doesn't just support my love for strength training and physical culture, it's because I want to work on something that is useful in my own life and be able to maintain levels of strength and condition for many years to come. It's part of my journey and if you want it to be a part of yours as well, fucking go for it. Just be wise and don't go overboard otherwise you won't like what happens. Be resourceful, build knowledge and learn to control your movements using progressive formalities.
Be amazingly awesome and keep killing it everyone.
