Want to know a good neck exercise to do on a break? Or a neck exercise to help with your posture? Maybe you would like to know a simple neck exercise to maintain shoulder range of motions? All of these can be done with the arm swing up neck exercise. 

This arm swing up neck exercise will work on various parts of your body. In the front, your chest muscles or pectoralis major and minor will be stretched. When you arms are raised up, you’ll be squeezing your shoulder blades together to strengthen the rhomboids. You will be keeping your chin aligned with your shoulders and that will prevent the forward head position. All of these positions will help with your posture to keep you upright. 

This arm swing up should be an easy neck exercise to do to help relax your shoulder and neck muscles. You want to relax your shoulders by keeping your shoulders down when raising your arms. This will limit the upper trapezius muscle from bringing your shoulders up towards your ears. This neck exercise will also help reduce neck tension.

You can do this arm swing up neck exercise sitting or standing. Standing will be described here. You will have greater range of motion and feel the effects of the neck exercise better when standing. If you may lose balance, you can start off this arm swing up neck exercise sitting. Let’s begin!

Standing Position:

• Feet shoulders width apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Stand up tall
• Chest up and towards the wall
• Relax your arms by your side
• Bring your chin back towards your shoulders
• Relax your jaw
• Look straight ahead

Arm Swing Up Neck Exercise:

• Breathe in
• Bring your palms together in front of you
• Raise your arms up towards the ceiling
• Keep your elbows straight
• If you can go past your ears great
• Breathe out
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Hold for 10 seconds 
• Lower your arms slowly back to start
• Repeat 10 times

There should be no pain or discomfort with this arm swing up neck exercise. The motion should be smooth, slow and controlled. You may feel different areas being stretched when your arms are at the top. You want to be sure you don’t lean forward while doing this neck exercise. Other neck exercises will be described at a later time. 

Would you like to know how to loosen up your neck after a
long day or even in the middle of the day? Want to be able to keep your neck
range of motions and muscles from tightening up? Ever feel you need to shake
your head from side to side? Try doing some head up wobble neck exercises to
loosen your neck muscles and joints.

These head up wobble neck exercises are similar to other
side to side (lateral flexion) neck exercises. The added motion of tilting your
head up while doing a head up wobble neck exercises will loosen up the sides of
your neck. The first couple of levels in the neck or cervical spine are the focus
of these head up wobbles neck exercises.

These head up wobble neck exercises are good for releasing
shoulder and neck tension. These neck exercises can be done sitting or
standing. I’ll describe these head up wobble neck exercises in sitting to avoid
any balance deficits. These can also be done on a ball or on the bed. Let’s
begin!

Sitting Position:

• Feet flat on to the floor
• Sit up tall
• Bring your chest up and toward the facing wall
• Relax your hands in your lap
• Bring your shoulders down from your ears
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Perform a chin tuck by bring your chin back towards your
  shoulders
• Relax your jaw, by keeping your lips together but teeth
  apart
• Eyes looking straight ahead

Head Up Wobble Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Tilt the top of your head back by 45 degrees
• Have your eyes look up at the ceiling
• Breathe out
• Bring your left ear towards your left shoulder
• Then tilt your right ear towards your right shoulder
• Be sure that your head doesn’t twist away from the facing
  wall
• Repeat 10 times

There should be no pain or discomfort with these head up
wobble neck exercises. Begin with slow, smooth and controlled motions. You can
start with small tilts and then big tilts to the side when your neck is warmed
up. Avoid clenching your teeth with these neck exercises. These head up wobble
neck exercises can be done a couple of times a day to keep your neck range of
motion and limited neck tension. Other neck exercises will be described at a
later time.

Are you feeling tightness in your chest and the front of
your shoulders while working on the computer? Do you ever feel you need to do
some stretch exercises in these areas after a long and tiring day? Or do you
want to improve your posture and bring your shoulders back with neck exercises?
All of these can be accomplished with arm behind your back stretch exercises.

These arms behind your back stretch exercises will work on
your front chest muscle pectoralis major and your shoulder muscles anterior and
middle deltoids. You will also be strengthening your rhomboids while doing
shoulder blade pinches. These arms behind your back stretch exercises will help
relax your shoulders by strengthening your lower trapezius muscles. Other
muscles that may feel being stretched out are the levator scapulae (neck),
pectoralis minor (chest), supraspinatus (top of shoulder), serratus anterior
(rib cage) and coracobrachialis (inside of upper arm).

These arms behind your back stretch exercises can be done
sitting or standing. The best way to feel the stretch is standing up straight. When
bringing your arm behind your back, avoid bending forward or you will lose the
stretch at your chest. These arm behind your back stretch exercises works on
your shoulder and arm range of motions. Let’s begin with this standing arm
behind your back stretch exercises!

Standing Position:

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Your hips and pelvis should be pointing forward
• Have your chest up and out towards the wall
• Relax your shoulders down
• Pinch your shoulder blades together
• Perform a chin tuck by bring your chin back towards your
  shoulder blades
• Relax y our jaw
• Look straight ahead

Arm Behind Your Back Stretch Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Raise your right arm behind your back
• Bend your right elbow up to 90 degrees
• Place the back of your right hand on your back
• With your left hand, hold on to your right elbow
• Breathe out
• Using your left hand, guide your right arm across your back
  and up towards your shoulders
• Hold this position for 30 seconds
• Repeat 3 times
• Relax and switch arms to stretch the left side

You should feel various muscles stretched but no pain in any
direction. Only bring your arm up as far up your back to feel a stretch. You
can adjust bring your arm across by holding on to your wrist instead of your
elbow. You will feel the extra stretch by focusing on pinching your shoulder
blades together. Overall, this arm behind the back stretch exercises should
give you more range of motions in the shoulders and arms as well as relieve
neck tension and improve posture. Avoid any over stretching with this stretch
exercise. Other stretch exercises will be described at a later time.

Do you ever catch yourself with your neck and chin out forward? Want to strengthen the front of your neck and stretch the back of your neck? Are you just tired of doing regular chin tucks? How about trying doing the chin tucks in different angles and directions for your neck exercises? By doing chin tuck neck exercises, you will relieve both shoulder and neck tension.  

What are chin tucks? Chin tucks are where you bring your chin back, sort of like a drawer being closed shut. Isn’t a chin tuck just a chin tuck?  It’s true that a chin tuck is just a chin tuck but by doing them in different directions you can also work on your overall neck posture. When you strengthen a neck muscle, just like any other strength training, you want to go through all of the range of motions for the neck. These chin tuck neck exercises are a great way to make sure your neck gets training in all areas.

I’ll describe chin tucks in sitting but you can choose to do them in standing as well. People may never know you are doing chin tuck neck exercises and they are simple to do. There are different directions I want you to think of, the up and down or nodding motion and the rotation or side to side motion. This chin tucks neck exercises will focus on both directions. 

For the up and down or nodding motion, think of 12 o’clock above the top of your head, 9 o’clock is your starting position looking forward and 6 o’clock is where you chest is. When you do the neck rotation motions, think of 12 o’clock your right shoulder, 9 o’clock is your starting position and 6 o’clock is your left shoulder. Let’s begin!

Sitting Position:

• Feet flat on the floor
• Sit up straight
• Your chest up and facing the wall in front of you
• Place your hands on your lap
• Relax your shoulders
• Perform a chin tuck by bringing your chin back towards your shoulder blades
• Relax your jaw
• Eyes look straight ahead

Nodding Chin Tucks Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Tilt the top of your head back to 12 o’clock
• Don’t let your mouth open when you tilt back
• Bring your chin back towards your shoulder blades
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Breathe in
• Return back to starting at 9 o’clock
• Perform a regular chin tuck
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Breathe in
• Bring your chin down towards your chest or 6’clock
• Tuck your chin in towards your chest and up towards the ceiling
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Repeat these chin tucks for the 11 and then 7 o’clock positions
• Then perform these chin tucks again for the 10 and 8 o’clock positions
• Be sure after each motion to go back to the starting position
• Repeat each direction 10 times

Neck Rotation Chin Tuck Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Turn your head to your right shoulder to 12 o’clock 
• Perform a chin tuck towards your left shoulder blade
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Breathe in
• Return to the starting position at 9 o’clock
• Bring your chin directly back to your shoulder blades
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Turn your head to your left shoulder towards 6 o’clock
• Bring your chin back towards your right shoulder
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Return back to starting and go through the rest of the clock 11 and 7, 10 and 8
• Repeat 10 times each

You should not feel any pain in any chin tuck neck exercises. You may begin to feel a burning like sensation in the back of your neck after all these chin tuck neck exercises. When you do these chin tucks neck exercises a few times a week, your overall neck muscle strength will increase. Your endurance to do these neck exercises will also increase. This chin tucks neck exercises will improve your overall neck posture and avoid postural related conditions. Other chin tuck neck exercises will be described at a later time.

Do you ever feel stiff looking over your shoulders? Do you ever feel you need to do more than just turning your head to release neck tension? How about combining some neck exercises to give you more range of motion as a neck workout? Here I will talk about taking your neck rotation and adding a head or face clock. You can do these neck exercises through the whole range of your neck rotations.

Sometimes, just turning your head left or right doesn’t quite give you the relief you would like. I’ve added a new twist to the normal neck rotation neck exercise. The neck muscles that help rotate your head are: transversospinalis rotatores, splenius capitis, sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and levator scapula. The transversospinalis rotatores and SCM rotate the head to the opposite side where as splenius capitis and levator scapula rotate the head to the same side.

You can do this neck workout sitting or standing. I’ll describe the neck rotation and face clock in sitting. When doing the head or face clock portion of the neck exercise, think of 12 o’clock above your forehead, 3 o’clock your left ear, 6 o’clock below your chin and 9 o’clock your right ear. When doing the neck rotation, be sure to go as far as you are comfortable without any neck pain. Let’s begin!

Sitting Position:

• Feet flat on the floor
• Sit up tall
• Your chest up and towards the wall in front of you
• Do shoulder blade pinches by squeezing them together
• Rest your hands in your lap
• Drop your shoulders away from your ears
• Perform a chin tuck by bring your chin back towards your shoulder blades
• Relax your jaw
• Eyes looking straight ahead

Neck Workout: Rotation and Clock

• Breathe in
• Lead with your nose and turn towards your right shoulder
• Breathe out
• Do a face clock by starting at 12 o’clock
• Repeat 10 times
• Reverse and go counter clockwise
• Repeat 10 times
• Breathe in
• Turn your head to your left shoulder
• Breathe out
• Perform a face clock
• Repeat 10 times
• Reverse the direction and go counter clockwise
• Repeat 10 times
• Return your head back to the starting position
• Repeat this neck workout 10 times

There should be no pain or discomfort with this neck workout. If you begin to feel dizzy, stop and avoid rotating all the way to your shoulder. After this neck workout, you should feel your neck looser. Any neck tension or stiffness should be less than when you first started. Other neck workouts will be described at a later time. Enjoy your neck workout today.  

When you are standing, do you ever feel you need to stretch the back of your arms or triceps? How about stretching the chest while you are bringing your arm up and over your head? Today, I’ll go over the over the head triceps stretch exercises.

These over head triceps stretch exercises not only help stretch the triceps out but works on improving your posture. These are good neck exercises as well for the chest muscles to improve your posture and reduce neck tension. Your neck can also feel relief when the upper trapezius muscles are relaxed with these stretch exercises.

These elbow extensors or triceps stretch exercises actually stretches more than just the triceps. When you bring your arm up and over your head, you actually stretch latissimus dorsi, teres major and minor and posterior deltoid. When you bring your shoulders back and squeeze your shoulder blades, you actually stretch the pectoralis major and minor. These over head triceps stretch exercises are great for when you are taking breaks at the office or school.

These over head triceps stretch exercises can be done sitting or standing. When you do these sitting you have a good back support but may not feel the stretch as much. A compensation that is seen with these stretch exercises is to arch your back when you bring your arms back. You will have better control and balance when sitting. I’ll be describing these over head triceps stretch exercises in standing.

Standing Position:

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Your pelvis tucked in where your tailbone is pointing to the opposite wall in front of you
• Tighten your abs or stomach muscles as if there were a belt around you
• Your chest up and pointing in the direction of the wall in front of you
• Relax your shoulders
• Perform a chin tuck where your chin is drawn back towards your shoulder blades
• Relax your jaw
• Keep your eyes level and straight ahead

Over Head Triceps Stretch Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Raise your right arm up so that your arm is near your right ear
• Bend your right elbow and have your forearm go behind your head
• Your right elbow should be pointing up towards the ceiling
• Your right palm should try to reach towards your left shoulder blade
• Take your left hand and place it on your right elbow
• Breathe out
• Gently bring your right elbow towards your left shoulder
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Relax your shoulders
• Hold this position for 30 seconds
• Repeat 3 times
• Slowly bring your right arm back to the start position
• Reverse directions to stretch your left triceps

You should feel a stretch feeling in your chest, triceps and in the back. There should be no pain or numbness or tingling while doing these stretch exercises. Be sure to keep your shoulders down with these neck exercises. After these over head triceps stretch exercises, you can do other neck exercises to reduce any neck tension or stiffness. When your chest is stretched out, you can keep your shoulders back and maintain good posture. Other triceps exercises will be described at a later time.

Ever feel tight in the back of neck? Do you feel neck stiffness when looking down? How about doing a quick and simple head roll down neck exercises? These head roll downs are similar to the behind the head stretch exercises described in an earlier post. These head roll downs neck exercises will help reduce neck tension in the back of the neck.

The focus of these head roll downs neck exercises is to keep your neck mobile and flexible. The roll downs is to concentrate on each level of the cervical spine. There are seven cervical bones in your neck. The purpose of the head roll downs neck exercises is to open up the back of each cervical spine bones. By opening up the back of the cervical spine, you feel a stretch in the back of the neck.

I want you think of these head roll downs neck exercises where the tip of your chin is rolling over a ball underneath your chin. Your chin will be in a tucked position to start off with. You want to avoid the forward head position when starting this neck exercise. These head roll downs will be described in a sitting position but can be done standing as well.

Sitting Position:

• Feet flat on the floor
• Sit up straight
• Have your hands relax in your lap
• Relax your shoulders
• You chest should be up and towards the wall you are facing
• Perform a chin tuck by bringing your chin back towards your shoulder blades
• Relax your jaw
• Keep your eyes level and look straight ahead

Head Roll Downs Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Tilt the tip of your chin towards your chest
• Tuck your chin in towards your chest
• Roll your head down 
• Let your eyes follow your head down
• Breathe out
• Breathe in
• At the end of the head roll, place your right hand on the top of your head
• Bring your chin in more with your right hand rolling it towards your chest
• You should feel a stretch in the back of the neck
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Breathe out
• Slowly roll your head back to the starting position
• Repeat this 10 times

There should be no pain when doing these head roll downs neck exercises. The key is to keep the motion as rolling over a ball. These movements should be slow, smooth and controlled. You should feel the stretch in the back of the neck the majority of the neck exercise. Be sure to avoid clenching your teeth or keeping your mouth open where you will lose the effect of these head roll neck exercises. Other neck exercises will be discussed at a later time.

Want to be able to keep your shoulders from going forward and working on your neck muscles at the same time? How about doing some neck exercises that help with your neck and chest at the same time? Head nods with a chest stretch neck exercises will be able to loosen your neck muscles and open up your chest muscles. These neck exercises are good to help with your posture and improve your breathing. 

Opening up your chest by bringing your shoulders back will help you be able to breathe better. When you are leaning forward with your head and rounded shoulders, your diaphragm does not expand as much as it can. The chest muscles in these neck exercises that are being stretched out are the pectoralis minor and major. 

The head nods of the neck exercises work on strengthening the front neck muscles and stretching out the back neck muscles. By working both the front and back of your neck, you can improve your neck posture. These head nods neck exercises will also help relieve neck tension. 

These head nods and chest stretch neck exercises can be done sitting or standing. These head nods neck exercises can also be done on the big stability balls or swiss balls for an added challenge. I’ll describe these head nods and chest stretch neck exercises in a sitting position. These neck exercises won’t work with regular chairs with backs or arm rests. You can try these head nods with chest neck exercises on a bed or a bench. Let’s begin!

Sitting Position:

Head Nods and Chest Stretch Neck Exercises:

Head Nod to the Right

• Breathe in
• Turn your head to the right
• Raise your head up and lower you head down
• Repeat 10 times
• Release your hands
• Breathe out

Head Nod in Neutral

• Breathe in
• Put your hands together like before
• Turn your head back to the middle
• Do 10 head nods
• Relax your hands
• Breathe out

Head Nod to the Left

• Breathe in
• Clasp your hands together
• Turn your head to your left shoulder
• Do 10 head nods
• Relax your hands and shoulders

These head nods and chest stretch neck exercises should be pain free. Do these head nods slow, controlled and smooth motions. You may feel a stretching feeling in the front of your chest. You also want to make sure you are not leaning forward otherwise you will lose the stretch in the chest muscles. Be sure that you keep your mouth closed during these head nods otherwise you will lose the effect of the stretching of the neck muscles. After these head nods neck exercises are done you should feel less neck tension and neck your posture should be better. Other neck exercises will be described at a later time.

 Ever feel the front of your chest and shoulders need loosening up? How about trying some neck exercises by doing arm circles? These arm circles neck exercises are focusing on the movement in the front of your chest. Think of arm circles as propellers of the airplane engines. These arm circle neck exercises movements will help loosen the shoulder and chest muscles.

When the shoulder and chest muscles are flexible, they are able to maintain good posture, mobility and good breathing mechanics. These front arm circles neck exercises are simple to do and great when waking up. The shoulder muscles that being focused are the rotator cuff muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. These shoulder muscles hold the shoulder in place.

The chest muscles that are being focused on are the pectoralis minor and major. These chest muscles attach to the shoulder and upper arm. By maintaining flexibility in the chest, you are able to maintain proper posture. The front arm circles neck exercises help to keep the chest flexible near the shoulder area. 

The front arm circles neck exercises can be done sitting or standing. I’ll describe them in standing. Give yourself plenty of room so you don’t hit anything or anyone! You’ll need your arm length for space on each side. Let’s get started!

Standing Position:

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Your pelvis tucked in
• Be upright with your chest towards the wall in front
• Relax your shoulders
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Do a chin tuck by bringing your chin towards the back of your shoulders
• Look straight ahead

Front Arm Circles Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Keep your arms straight
• Starting from your left side – raise your left arm 
• Lead with your thumb and your palm facing away from you
• Make a clock circle with your left arm
• Breathe out
• Breathe in
• Start with your right arm at the side
• Raise your right arm up
• Lead with your right thumb and your palm facing away from you
• Make a counter clock circle with your right arm
• Breathe out
• Count to 10 with each circle
• Repeat 10 times on each side

There should be no pain with these arm movements. These front arm circle neck exercises should be done in a slow, smooth and controlled motion. You should feel looser in the arms, neck and shoulders after these neck exercises. You should feel less shoulder and neck tension. Other arm circles will be described at a later time.

Happy New Year’s to everyone! Today, let’s do quick hands on shoulder neck workout. The hands on shoulder neck workout will consist of raises, squeezes and circles. Most of these hands on shoulder neck workout are variations of previous neck exercises. These exercises for neck will give you a relaxing start to the New Year. 

The series of hands on shoulder neck exercises will help loosen up the upper trapezius muscles. The upper trapezius muscles are attached from the base of your head or skull to the top of your shoulders. The other neck muscles that will be used in this neck workout are the rhomboids and levator scapulae. The rhomboids will help to squeeze the shoulder blades together and the levator scapulae will help raise your shoulder blade up. 

This neck workout should help with neck tension and shoulder stiffness. You can do them standing or sitting. I’ll describe the hands on shoulders neck workout standing. 

Standing Position:

• Feet shoulders width apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Stand straight up
• Relax your shoulders
• Perform a chin tuck where your chin is brought back towards your shoulders
• Your eyes should be level and looking straight ahead

Hands on Shoulder Neck Workout:

Starting Position:

• Raise your hands 
• Place the tips of your fingers on top of your shoulders
• Your elbows should be pointing out away from your side

Raises:

• Breathe in
• Bring your shoulders up towards your ears
• Breathe out
• Lower your shoulders down 
• Repeat 10 times

Squeezes:

• Breathe in
• Bring your elbows back towards your shoulder blades
• Breathe out
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Bring your elbows towards your chest
• Repeat 10 times

Circles:

• Breathe in
• Circle the tips of your elbows clockwise
• Breathe out
• Repeat 10 times
• Breathe in
• Now circle the tips of your elbows counter clockwise
• Breathe out
• Repeat 10 times

All these hands on shoulder neck exercises are a great neck workout for breaks. This neck workout should be pain free. All these exercises for neck should be done in slow, smooth and controlled motions. Remember to breathe with each neck exercise and avoid clenching your jaw. Other hands on shoulder neck exercises will be described later. Have a good day!