Neck Muscles Role In Body Development

Hello,

So I've came across this idea that neck muscle imbalances plays a major role in body development and most chances are that if you have some kind of imbalance in your neck, your muscles below will never work to peak performance. It sounds convicing since the posture is really important for body to function properly both physically and physiologically but my question is how we, GB (or GST outside GB curriculum) trainees, develop our neck muscles and alignment? Is it something that we do indirectly training things like HS, all levers, etc?

The article can be found here http://elliotthulse.com/weird-weakness/

I'm not 100% sure, but I think back in 2008-2009 someone asked this question and coach replied that his students did not do any neck specific training except for a set of neck bridges in warm up? You can try to search for this post, its definitely somewhere in the forum and I'm sure I misquoted a bit so take it with a grain of salt.

That said, I think HS is a nice way to train your neck, especially if you practice pulling the head all the way into the chest and all the way out. Hollow body holds I also feel in the front of my neck, and of course arch body holds

I wouldn't trust Elliot Hulse for advice. First he's trying to convince something is wrong with you (...99% of all people got this bla bla), then he'll sell you the remedy.

Devils advocate: 99% of people don't have the connective tissue strength to train rings seriously... Let me sell you some foundation series but seriously, most people have something wrong with them, and some people make a legitimate living trying to help. I don't see Elliot trying to sell anything, I had been watching his videos for quite a while before I realized he had anything to sell. He can be brash and out there, but he makes some good points.

Jason Dupree said:

Devils advocate: 99% of people don't have the connective tissue strength to train rings seriously... Let me sell you some foundation series but seriously, most people have something wrong with them, and some people make a legitimate living trying to help. I don't see Elliot trying to sell anything, I had been watching his videos for quite a while before I realized he had anything to sell. He can be brash and out there, but he makes some good points.

Everybody's trying to sell you something. The several years of free vids and information are the exposure necessary to develop a devoted following who will then buy your book/video/program once you release it. Furthermore, emphatically denying PED use while looking like a pro bodybuilder is the other crucial part of the scam that leads people to believe that you've found the secret to adding on "tons of muscle while burning fat like a furnace" in several months.

Check out the link below and think about what's written there for a bit, it's hard to argue with the logic presented.  

http://nattyornot.com/elliott-hulse-steroids/ 

Hahaha sounds like gymnasticbodies free stuff for ages then bam! Foundation rings stretch movement Hungarian handstand!! Although to be fair coach has some serious qualification an my body generally feels better doing this stuff. Hard part is knowing when to take it easy and when to push. You can hurt yourself even on these courses if you push too much and do too much.

The concern is not Elliott Hulse, it is neck muscles development relation to the rest of the body development in GST field. While you can find information on neck placement and positioning doing, say, planche variations it is not clear how does that develop neck muscles.

The biggest muscles of the neck are the upper traps, which are crucial for strength in any sport, not just GST. The smaller muscles will presumably be trained in whatever position you do your exercises in. I recommend a neutral head position when at all possible for healthy neck development.

I find my neck posture tends to improve after a real good 30 minute headstand session. It's the only thin ice found that works for me. I don't know of any specific exercises you can do that improve neck posture. Or rather, I can't endorse any because none of them worked for me...

-MR said:

Everybody's trying to sell you something. The several years of free vids and information are the exposure necessary to develop a devoted following who will then buy your book/video/program once you release it. Furthermore, emphatically denying PED use while looking like a pro bodybuilder is the other crucial part of the scam that leads people to believe that you've found the secret to adding on "tons of muscle while burning fat like a furnace" in several months.

 

Check out the link below and think about what's written there for a bit, it's hard to argue with the logic presented.  

http://nattyornot.com/elliott-hulse-steroids/ 

Lol bro, elliot hulse has said that he did briefly use steroids, but stopped cause he didn't like his balls shriveling up, and you gotta put into context that the dude used ot be an extra fat strongman competitor, then he leaned out a lot over an extended period of time, all the muscle didn't disappear...

tennissports said:

Lol bro, elliot hulse has said that he did briefly use steroids, but stopped cause he didn't like his balls shriveling up, and you gotta put into context that the dude used ot be an extra fat strongman competitor, then he leaned out a lot over an extended period of time, all the muscle didn't disappear...

I stand corrected bro; if Elliot Hulse says he no longer uses, it must be true. 

lol, not trynna defend, just showin another side

Bipocni said:

The biggest muscles of the neck are the upper traps, which are crucial for strength in any sport, not just GST. The smaller muscles will presumably be trained in whatever position you do your exercises in. I recommend a neutral head position when at all possible for healthy neck development.

I find my neck posture tends to improve after a real good 30 minute headstand session. It's the only thin ice found that works for me. I don't know of any specific exercises you can do that improve neck posture. Or rather, I can't endorse any because none of them worked for me...

Few times a week I do neck circles after my training sesion. 10 to each side. Sometimes I wake up with sore neck the following day.

I only recently started to feel that I actually do have working muscles in my traps, lol. This is all because of shoulder dislocates and H1 training. I find HS training to be working well as well. Thanks for sharing this.

Posture is one of the easiest things to train. The only issue is finding out why you have bad posture. It could start from your hips, your torso or your upper back/shoulder region. Stretching those areas will assist in good posture, but after that you have to train good posture. From walking around with your head tall, to keeping your head in a good position during planks instead of letting it sag. Neck bridges strengthens the entire spine quite well. I've always felt I stood with my best posture without having to think about it, when I did neck bridges.

Don't mean to resurrect an old thread, but I used to do a great deal of neck bridges and never saw significant growth in my neck muscles. I actually didn't see a huge boost of muscular strength or size until I started doing static neck holds (while lying down) for the front and sides of my neck combined with high rep neck curls and neck extensions with a neck weight. The traps are definitely important, but I think if you want that masculine look of a well defined neck, you need to do flexions, extensions, and front/side static holds. 3-5 times a week for about 5-10 minutes each and you'll probably have a pretty well defined neck. It works for me, anyhow, and I've always had trouble growing my neck.

If heavily developed neck muscles are the goal, then go wrestle.  Most very serious wrestlers I know have very developed necks.  My sense is that they both train the neck directly, and that the sport itself puts demands on the neck.  

For myself, because my neck and head posture are awful, I have been doing some ballet practice, from video and books.  My wife used to dance, so she can point out how bad I look.  But really, there is no better discipline I have found for getting your head above your spine.

I also do some neck bridging in warm  and cool down, but much less so than when I did grappling arts.  

Yea, if heavy neck muscle development is the goal then you definitely need volume concentric training. But if it's just basic strength you don't need nearly as much. might as well do you strongman. Training that gives you a thick neck and thicker wrists.

Patrick Smith said:

Don't mean to resurrect an old thread...

We love resurrecting old threads around here! Resurrect as many as you want.

Bipocni said:

We love resurrecting old threads around here! Resurrect as many as you want.

It hath been resurrected! 

What do you guys think of performing neck flexion/extension/translation exercises with one's relaxed arms as resistance? Is it worth the effort, or would the strength gains be little to none? With very little work, my family members have commented on me having a bigger neck, though they couldn't tell why.

There are many muscles in the neck, the most superficial ones like trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) unite the base of the skull with the shoulder girdle (scapulae, clavicles and manubrium). These muscles produce large movements and span the entire neck without directly attaching to any of the neck vertebrae. These muscles would develop more with larger movements of the head as in neck bridges, bridge rolls and shrugs. Levator scapule could also be included here uniting the upper cervical vertebrae with the Scapulae.

The deeper muscles such as the scalenes, longus coli, splenius cervicis & capitis are more involved in spinal stability, control, support and posture. These would naturally be more inclined for endurance work so static holds would be more likely to produce better results here.

Forward head posture as has been alluded to above, is the result of shifts in the AP (anteroposterior plane/ forward & backward plane) at other points along the spine. Thoracic kyphosis, anterior pelvic tilt, even the arches of the feet can influence these. Only way to change head posture is tackle all of these simultaneously. Forward head posture usually has shortened and contracted SCM with weakness in the deeper underlying longus coli. Static holds and more subtle neck movements such as controlling the negative of a shoulder bridge can help these as to subtle neck flexion lying supine. 

I have find that GST can correct and improve posture substantially. The key is working on those movements that are restricted and muscle groups that are weak. Changing the myofascial balance so to speak will change posture.

Wes Tan said:

There are many muscles in the neck, the most superficial ones like trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) unite the base of the skull with the shoulder girdle (scapulae, clavicles and manubrium). These muscles produce large movements and span the entire neck without directly attaching to any of the neck vertebrae. These muscles would develop more with larger movements of the head as in neck bridges, bridge rolls and shrugs. Levator scapule could also be included here uniting the upper cervical vertebrae with the Scapulae.

 

The deeper muscles such as the scalenes, longus coli, splenius cervicis & capitis are more involved in spinal stability, control, support and posture. These would naturally be more inclined for endurance work so static holds would be more likely to produce better results here.

 

Forward head posture as has been alluded to above, is the result of shifts in the AP (anteroposterior plane/ forward & backward plane) at other points along the spine. Thoracic kyphosis, anterior pelvic tilt, even the arches of the feet can influence these. Only way to change head posture is tackle all of these simultaneously. Forward head posture usually has shortened and contracted SCM with weakness in the deeper underlying longus coli. Static holds and more subtle neck movements such as controlling the negative of a shoulder bridge can help these as to subtle neck flexion lying supine. 

 

I have find that GST can correct and improve posture substantially. The key is working on those movements that are restricted and muscle groups that are weak. Changing the myofascial balance so to speak will change posture.

Thank you for taking your time to write that. That helps me understand my neck problems much better

Wes Tan said:

There are many muscles in the neck, the most superficial ones like trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) unite the base of the skull with the shoulder girdle (scapulae, clavicles and manubrium). These muscles produce large movements and span the entire neck without directly attaching to any of the neck vertebrae. 

 

I have find that GST can correct and improve posture substantially. The key is working on those movements that are restricted and muscle groups that are weak. Changing the myofascial balance so to speak will change posture.

Thank you Wes. I didn't know that I had a bad case of forward head posture until I started doing GST and realized that it was something that I had to fix. 

It's still a work-in-progress, but getting better by the day.