Throughout my journey with the Neck Flex, it has given me a better perspective on training the neck and utilizing not only preventing injuries as much as possible but to increase muscle mass, even in very small increments. For months, I've worked on it consistently just using the band and a little bit of chain Isometrics, doing hundreds of reps multiple times a week.
I have written before why I don't use weights for the neck which you can read>>>HERE!!! Not to mention the fact, I wanted to build up my neck a bit more since having a thick neck is more than just for show. It's a sign of strength next to having strong muscles that are shock absorbers and lessen the chances of injuries. Also its fun to be a part of the Neckzilla Family LOL.
Starting out doing a couple hundred total reps hitting areas of the neck from several directions. Worked up to 300, 400 and now at 500 total reps (100 Reverse Neck Curls, 100 Neck Curls, 100 Half Circles W/ Chin Tucked, 50 Ear To Shoulder Each Side, 50 Neck Turns Each Side), it has been a hell of a ride. The tempo sometimes is slow or fast depending on what I want to do. If I did weights, sure my neck would grow slightly bigger and doing far less reps but for me, the other benefits may not be as effective and probably wouldn't feel as good. That's just me, if it helps others using weights or machines with the NF, awesome and wish you the best in that.
On Saturday while I was visiting someone, I had a friend measure my neck because for one, it's not easy to do it yourself and two, I wanted to know where I was at. Last I checked it was some time before I ever got the NF. It was around 17-18 inches and that was with no apparatus of any kind, just mobility and iso holds mainly. Since I started training with this thing, I had actually increased it to 18 1/2 inches. No weights, mainly just using the band and being consistent 4-5 times a week working on it and put on muscle. I figured it would be roughly the same but even putting on a half inch of muscle without machines or anything remotely heavy at my age is awesome. I don't even have any problems in my neck, no soreness or feeling lightheaded or even have spinal issues.
Consistency is the real deal guys and it is possible to keep building muscle without having to rely on weights. You can do them if you want and if they work for you and don't give you any fits, do it. It's your journey but if I can pull it off using a freaking band, just imagine the possibilities for you. If I were to have a goal, I wouldn't need to go any further than 19-19 1/2 inches and that's a big if. If it stayed this big for a while longer, I'm happy with it.
Now, some don't care much for having a thick neck and that's ok, having an aesthetically pleasing neck can work well for you and reap benefits that keep you going. Some others however; think they're an expert when it comes to building neck muscles when not only have they not learned how to use a harness even similar to this longer than a few days but have a pencil neck that a 11 year old BJJ white belt can clamp on easily and choke them out kind of makes you wonder why they even bother with it? It's just sad, it takes far more than a few reps and starting with a few pounds to truly understand how building the neck like this works and be a "expert" on it. Hell, I'm not even a full expert on it and I've had it for months and just told you what results I got from it. Don't be acting like an ass thinking you know more about training the neck than someone like Mike The Machine Bruce. Take one long hard look at him and you'll find even at 53, you wouldn't want to mess with him.
Make the training a journey to keep your life going. Not to try to one up someone or think you're better than whoever and do things to prove you're superior. That's just a dumb take and pointless as hell. Someone will always be better out there than you and can destroy whatever you think you're better at. It's not a competition, shit, you don't need to compete with anybody unless you're training for some sport or having a friendly competition among comrades. Do you and make the journey about improving yourself, not trying to upstage somebody else. Why, what's really to gain from that? Nothing, that's what. I'm no better than the next guy, we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. When I trained with Bud Jeffries and Logan Christopher, I never tried to be better than them, they were doing things that I couldn't imagine doing, just having the opportunity to be beside them and learn from them was enough.
BTW, Happy belated Birthday in Valhalla to Bud. He would've been 53 this year, miss you everyday bro.
Anyway, keep at it and get your hands on arguably the GOAT of all neck harnesses, the Neck Flex by clicking HERE!!! Use my code POWERANDMIGHT to get a kick ass discount on your order. My personal recommendation, the MMB Pro Kit is the cream of the crop of all the kits. Be amazingly awesome and kill it in your journey. Train your damn neck, it could very well save your ass being possibly paralyzed.