Ever feel the side of your neck is tight or have neck pain? Do you find talking on the phone while holding the phone between your ear and shoulder and looking the opposite way difficult? Let’s learn to loosen the neck muscles up by doing head up rotation neck exercises with a twist! We are going to go through the head and neck motions as if you were talking on the phone without the neck pain. 

These head up rotation neck exercises will help to loosen up those neck muscles and give you more flexibility in the neck. This neck exercise will reduce tension on the Sternocleidomastoid muscle also known as SCM. Other muscles in these head rotation neck exercises are the upper trapezius, and splenius capitis and splenius cervicis. The splenius capitis and cervicis extend the neck when both muscles are activated and side bend and rotate to the same side when done on one side only. These splenius neck muscles are deep and also connected with the SCM.

The head up rotation neck exercises, SCM stretch exercises, and neck range of motion exercises are a great neck workout. These neck exercises will help to keep neck tension or stress down and reduce the forward head posture. Reducing neck tension in the SCM will prevent numbness and tingling sensation or even dizziness. I’ll teach the head up rotation neck exercises sitting.

Having the correct and good posture helps the neck motions and eliminates any other neck pain. Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor, relax your arms by your side or on your lap, bring your chin back towards your shoulders for chin tucks, relax your shoulders and look straight ahead. This is your starting position.

Take a breath in and bring your right ear towards the right shoulder while maintaining the chin tuck. Your eyes and nose should still be towards the wall in front of you. Now turn your head towards the left upper corner of the ceiling while still maintaining the right side towards the shoulder. Your eyes and nose should follow to the left. Breathe out and bring your nose and head towards the right chest/shoulder. Repeat the head up rotation neck exercises motion 10 times. You will feel the stretch and movement from the left SCM. Now bring your head back to starting position and reverse direction for the right side of head and neck motions and repeat for 10 repetitions.

There should be no pain, dizziness or numbness and tingling with the head up rotation neck exercises. There should be a gentle stretch. The neck motions should be slow and controlled with ease. You should feel looser when moving your head from shoulder to shoulder now. Other head rotation neck exercises will be described at a later time. Try this head up rotation neck exercise now and repeat daily until the head feels completely loose.

Have you been feeling tension in your shoulders lately? Or have you been carrying heavy bags on your shoulders? You may be experiencing tightness in your upper trapezius muscles that can elevate your shoulders to your ears. Stress and tension can affect both the neck and shoulder areas unless they are relieved. Doing stretch exercises will help reduce head and neck tension. The upper trapezius stretch exercises will help loosen up the neck and shoulder muscles to be more flexible.

The upper trapezius stretch exercise along with shoulder shrugs, shoulder rolls, shoulder blade pinches and chin tucks are a great neck workout to do for quick breaks. These neck exercises will help to reduce neck tension as well as improve posture. The upper trapezius stretch exercises can be done sitting or standing.  I’ll describe the upper trapezius stretch exercises in sitting with good posture.

It would be best if you have a supportive chair for your back. Sit straight up in the chair, your feet flat on the floor, your shoulders relaxed, your arms to your sides, your chin tucked, and your eyes looking straight ahead. 

I will describe how to do the upper trapezius stretch exercises for the left side of the neck.

Begin by taking a breath in and bringing your right arm up and placing your right palm on top of your head. Your fingers are pointing towards your left ear. Gently bring your right ear towards the right shoulder. The right hand should gently follow and guide your head to hold this position. Hold this position for 30 seconds and breathe out. You should feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Return back to the starting position and repeat three times. Switch sides to do the right upper trapezius stretch exercises. 

You want to feel a nice stretch with these stretch exercises. You will find that you are able to bring your head and ear closer to the shoulder after each repetition. You want to be sure that your eyes are still looking at the wall straight ahead and that your chin does not turn towards your shoulder. There should be no pain with any of these stretch exercises. Other upper trapezius neck exercises will be described at a later time.

The standing shoulder shrugs are a progression from the sitting shoulder shrugs neck exercises described earlier on. The standing shoulder shrugs, shoulder rolls, shoulder blade pinches and chin tucks are a great neck workout that relieves neck tension. These are also great exercises for neck breaks. 

These standing shoulder shrugs neck exercises help to take off the upper trapezius muscle tension when raising the shoulders up. This upward motion puts slack into the neck muscles and therefore gives relief off the neck. The up and down motion of the shoulder shrugs will also give flexibility to the upper trapezius muscles and other neck muscles. These shoulder shrugs neck exercises also will help to indirectly improve your neck posture as well.

So let’s get started with the standing shoulder shrugs neck exercises! Begin with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, your arms dangling, perform a chin tuck, and looking straight ahead. Breathe in and slowly raise the top of your shoulders towards your ears. Hold for 10 seconds and slowly breathe out. Slowly, return to the starting position and repeat these neck exercises for 10 repetitions. 

Be sure that your shoulders are brought straight up and not angled towards the front or the back. There should be no pain or any symptoms with these standing shoulder shrugs neck exercises. The motion should be slow and controlled. You might feel some clicking in the shoulders and as long as it is not painful, you can continue with this neck exercise.

 Try these standing shoulder shrugs neck exercises as a break and see how you can relieve your neck tension. Do these exercises for neck a couple of times a day. To see the greatest benefits combine this neck exercise with other neck exercises and stretch exercises to relieve neck tension. Other shoulder shrugs neck exercises will be described at a later time.

Ever feel that your shoulders are up to your ears by the end of the day? Does your neck feel tight and tensed? Doing shoulder blade depression neck exercises will help relieve the neck and shoulder tension.  This shoulder blade depression neck exercises with shoulder shrugs, shoulder rolls and shoulder blade pinches make a great neck workout to relieve stress in the neck. Even just doing a few of these neck exercises will improve your neck posture and your neck discomfort.

The shoulder blade depressor is simple and easy neck exercise that strengthens the shoulder blade muscles. The muscles that are targeted in the shoulder blades neck exercises are the rhomboids and teres. Other muscles that are involved in the neck exercises are the middle and lower trapezius, pectoralis minor and levator scapula. These muscles help to bring the shoulder blades together, down and rotated towards the spine.

The shoulder blade depression neck exercises is best to do while standing. This is another shoulder blade pinch neck exercise with an added component of bringing the bottom of the shoulder blade down. When standing up tall, start with your feet shoulders width apart, bend the knees slightly, your arms relaxed at your sides, do a chin tuck, and look straight ahead. This will be your starting position for the shoulder blades depressor neck exercises.

Take a breath in, bring your shoulders back and pinch your shoulder blades together. Now imagine bringing you’re the bottom tips of your shoulder blades into your back pockets.  Your chest will begin to open up with this movement. Your arms will move and your palms will face away from you while doing this neck exercises. Think of “in and down” for your shoulder blades. Hold this position for 10 seconds and breathe out. Release slowly and repeat 10 times. 

Remember to keep your shoulders down and not have them rise up towards your ears.  Be sure to maintain good posture to help reduce neck tension. This shoulder blade depression neck exercises will improve your posture by stretching your chest muscle and strengthening your shoulder blade muscles. There should be no pain with any neck exercises or stretch exercises. 

I realized that after nursing my 10 month old that my neck was bothering me and my shoulders were forward a lot more. I was reminded by the doctor that having an older and heavier baby will strain my neck and shoulders more while breastfeeding when not properly supported. I’ve been using the wall to help with my posture and the Boppy to bring my son closer to my chest but would look down at him.

With the increase in neck discomfort, I needed to do more neck exercises and target my front chest muscles as well as strengthening my shoulder blade muscles. The shoulder blade pinches that I will describe will also help with my neck posture. When the shoulder blade pinches neck exercises is done with the chin tuck neck exercises these will help to improve your neck posture and decrease stress on the neck.

You can do this sitting or standing but I will describe this shoulder blade pinches neck exercise standing. I found this to be more effective than the sitting shoulder blade pinches neck exercise, in that this alternative neck exercise opens up my chest, brings my shoulders back and strengthens my neck muscles more. This shoulder blade pinches neck exercise also helps with breathing and relieve neck tension.

To start this neck exercise, stand up straight with your feet shoulders width apart, a slight bend in the knees, arms by your sides, shoulders relaxed, chin tucked, and your eyes should be looking straight ahead.  You want to begin this neck exercise by bringing your arms and hands behind your back. Your arms should be straight and your fingers together behind your back. You will notice that your shoulders are forward.

To begin this neck exercises, take a breath in and slowly bring your shoulders towards your back. You want to think and feel your shoulder blades coming closer together and “pinch” in the back. Hold this position for 10 seconds and slowly breathe out. Relax and let your shoulders come back to the beginning position. Repeat this neck exercise 10 times.

You should not feel any pain while doing this shoulder blade pinch alternative with the chin tuck, these neck exercises should be done within your tolerance. There will be a stretching feeling in the front in your chest and the front of your shoulders. Remember to relax the shoulders and avoid the shoulders coming up towards the ears. 

This is a good office and computer break neck exercise to do to relieve any neck tension or discomfort. When this shoulder blade pinches neck exercises are done on a daily basis as part of a neck workout with other neck exercises, they will help alleviate neck pain and improve neck posture. Other shoulder blade pinches will be described at a later time.

Do you feel that your front neck muscles are weak? Here’s a quick neck exercise that you can do in the morning and evening. By doing the front neck exercise with the chin tucks will have a good neck workout. These neck exercises will help to strengthen the deep front neck muscles and help eliminate neck pain.

You can do this in any position – lying down, sitting or standing. I’ll tell you how to do them in sitting. Your starting position should be sitting up straight, feet flat on the floor, shoulders relaxed, head should be up, eyes looking straight ahead and the chin is parallel to the floor. Make loose fists and put your palms together. Your elbows will be bent and close to your body. Now place your fists under your chin.

Take a breath in and bring your chin towards your fists. Breathe out and hold the position for 10 seconds. Relax your chin by gently lifting off your fists. Repeat this neck exercise 10 times. Do this twice daily. 

You should feel the front neck muscles work and the back neck muscles begin to stretch. There should be no pain when you do these neck exercises. Be careful not to clench your teeth or push really hard on the bottom jaw. Your fists should just match the resistance of your chin and not over power the chin.

Try this neck exercise now and feel release from neck tension. This neck exercise will help with posture and the looks of the front of the neck. This will help you from having a forward head posture that causes neck pain. 

I will assume that you are reading this while at the computer. I will also assume that more than likely your shoulders and your chin are forward towards the screen. Since most of our days consist of everything in front of us – using the computer, driving, cooking, etc, there are very few things that we do towards the back of us (putting on a belt, bra hooking, etc). We will do a simple neck exercise that will stretch the chest muscles and strengthen the muscles in the back. This neck exercise is called shoulder blade pinches also known as scapular pinches.

This simple neck exercise will help correct the forward head and forward rounded shoulders. This neck exercise will be described in a sitting position. Start with by sitting up straight, feet flat on the floor, your arms hanging by your side with the palms towards you, head up and eyes level, and perform a chin tuck. Take a breath in and while maintaining a chin tuck position, bring your shoulders towards the back of the chair. You want to bring your shoulder blades close together in a pinching like motion. Breathe out. Hold this position for 10 seconds and slowly bring your shoulders forward back to the starting position. Repeat this 10 times.

There should be no pain with this neck exercise. You may feel a slight stretch in the chest area while bringing your shoulder blades together. This neck exercise will begin to strengthen the shoulder blade muscles in the back to help with an upright posture. This position will also help with breathing, letting your lungs have a bigger capacity to bring oxygen to your muscles and brain.

This neck exercise combined with the chin tuck, shoulder rolls, shoulder shrugs, neck active range of motions will be just the beginning of a neck workout program. These neck exercises will help with correct posture and reduce tension in the neck and surrounding muscles. All of these neck exercises should be done on a daily basis to maintain flexibility in the neck. The progression of this neck exercise will described at a later time. 

What exactly are isometric neck exercises? Isometric neck exercises are head exercises that only require your hands for strengthening your neck muscles. Isometric exercises are the very basic strengthening exercises to help build endurance to the muscle. The isometric neck exercises will help protect the vital throat and surrounding structures. Isometric exercises will recruit muscles in order to strengthen without pain or movement.

There are different ways to do isometric neck exercises and with various positions. I will describe the sitting isometric neck exercises in a “neutral” position. Neutral position meaning the head is aligned with the shoulders, looking straight ahead with no tilt in any directions. In other words, perform a sitting chin tuck. A neutral position will train your neck muscles while in good posture.

Start by sitting in a supportive chair and sit straight up. Keep your feet flat on the floor, relax your shoulders, look straight ahead and perform a chin tuck. This position will be the starting positions for all of the isometric neck exercises described here. I will describe the four basic isometric neck exercises: forward, backwards, sideways and rotation.

Isometric Neck Exercise: Front neck muscles (Neck Flexors) 

Begin with starting position. Place the palm of your non-dominant hand on the top of your forehead. Take a deep breath in through the nose. Have your forehead match the resistance of your palm. Breathe out slowly through your mouth to the count of 10. Repeat 10 times.

Isometric Neck Exercise: Back of the neck (Neck Extensors) 

Repeat the starting position. Place both hands behind the top of your head. Take a breath in. Be sure to press the back of your head against your hands and breathe out. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.

Isometric Neck Exercise: Side bending (Neck Lateral Flexors) 

Start with your palm up against the top of your right side of your head. This is also known as the temple area. Take a breath. Have your head match the resistance on the right side without bringing your ear towards the shoulder. Breathe out to 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times. Switch sides to work your left side.

Isometric Neck Exercise: Rotation (Neck Rotators) 

Same as the side bending neck exercises but avoid your right side of your head to turn right. You can also place your left hand on the top of your right head to avoid turning. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.

No movement in any direction should take place in any of these isometric neck exercises. Be sure to continuously breathe. Holding your breath will cause an increase in your blood pressure that can result in becoming dizzy or lightheaded. There should be no pain in any neck exercises. When isometric neck exercises are performed as a daily neck workout results should be seen in a matter of weeks. Isometric exercises are the beginning and not functional exercises. Other isometric neck exercises will be described at a later time.

Here’s a quick history on how isometric exercises started:

• What Is Isometric Exercises ? – Tags: bodybuilding methods, exercise, exercises, green bay packers, Isometric exercises, Isometrics, max planck institute, professional sports teams, What is isometric exercises. Filed under Isometric exercises, Isometrics by Admin # …

After reading about the near fatality of Stafon Johnson, a USC tailback football player’s injury to the throat, reminded me of how important the neck muscles are. The front neck muscles surround the throat and larynx (vocal cords) that are vital for talking, breathing and eating. These throat structures can be easily damaged from pressure. There are a few simple strengthening neck exercises that will help protect the vital throat structures. These neck exercises provide a good neck workout for endurance and strength. These neck exercises can be done in various positions and with or without resistance. I will describe this neck workout in the lying down position with no resistance.

Lying down neck flexor exercise:

This neck exercises strengthens the front deep neck muscles. If you are on the bed, lie down on your back without a pillow underneath your head. Place your arms by your side, bend your knees comfortably and place the bottom of your feet on the bed. Be sure to look at the seeing and have your chin be parallel to the bed. Slowly bring your chin towards your chest while keeping your head on the bed. Your eyes should also follow your chin. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Bring your chin back to the starting position. Repeat this neck exercise 10 times.

Lying down neck extensor exercise:

This neck exercise will strengthen the back deep neck muscles. You will be on your stomach for this neck exercise with your head off the edge of the bed. Be comfortable and make sure you are situated on the bed. Start with your head down, bend your neck and have your chin towards the bed. Slowly bring your head up so that you are either parallel to the floor or able to lift your head to see a wall. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Slowly bring your head back to the starting position. Repeat this neck exercise 10 times.

Lying down neck lateral flexion exercises:

These neck exercises will strengthen the side neck muscles. You will be lying down on one side with your head off the edge of the bed. You will start with your head towards the bed so that your neck is bending towards the floor. Slowly bring your head towards the ceiling. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Bring your head back to the starting position and repeat this neck exercise 10 times. Repeat on the other side to work the other neck lateral flexor muscles.

All of these neck exercises should be done in a pain free zone and within your tolerance. If there is any pain in any direction, stop the neck exercise. You may feel a burning warm sensation as your neck muscles are building endurance and strength. If 10 seconds seem too hold a position then try 5 seconds. This neck workout can be done daily for these neck exercises. More advance neck exercises of this series will be described at another time.

 Here is an interesting article about preventing neck injuries while weight training:

• Preventing Neck Injuries while Weight Training – Denver Chiropractor, Dr. Michelle Clark is a Colorado Board Certified Chiropractor and a graduate of Western States Chiropractic College. Dr. Michelle Clark, DC, Denver Chiropractor, received her Bachelors of Science in Biological …

Shoulder rolls are great neck exercises to help reduce neck tension. The shoulder roll helps to loosen the shoulder joints and the surrounding muscles. The shoulder (glenohumeral) joint is a ball and socket joint which gives the shoulder the ability to move in many directions. The shoulder joint is maintained by the capsule, ligaments and muscles and all of them need to be stretched to be healthy. There are various shoulder rolls exercises with and without resistance or weights. The shoulder rolls described will be the basic neck exercises to be performed while sitting. 

Start with good posture by sitting up straight, chin tuck, looking straight ahead and the arms by your side with your palms towards your body. Take a deep breath in. Exhale while bringing your shoulders up to your ears. Take another deep breath in. Breathe out when rolling your shoulders forward. Breathe in and exhale to roll your shoulders down. One last breath in and slowly breathe out while rolling the shoulders to the back. Perform this neck exercise 10 times. Reverse the direction and repeat another 10 times.

Variations to these neck exercises with the shoulder rolls are to start big and repeat with small shoulder rolls. Eventually, you would like to take one breath in and a slow breath out while rolling in the shoulder in all directions. An advance shoulder roll is to roll both shoulders in different directions. Another variation is the shoulder clock. There should be no pain in any directions. These neck exercises should help to relieve stress in the neck and keep the shoulder flexible.  

This neck exercise with the chin tuck is a good neck workout and best done on a daily basis. These neck exercises are great to do while taking a break from the computer or driving. They can be done easily and anywhere. This neck exercise is also done with dancing. Did this neck exercise help?