With the acceleration of the pace of modern life and the increase of work pressure, many young people ignore their physical health, and even many people suffer from diseases such as "three highs" very early, especially cervical spondylosis for people who work at the desk for a long time. Of course, you can't ignore neck muscle training when you are working. Muscle building is not only the only way to maintain your body and temperament, but also to maintain your physical fitness in a healthy and energetic state.

1. Neck muscle training

Thick neck muscles don't just look strong, they are also very useful in sports, especially in martial arts. When an athlete's head is hit and swings violently, it will cause brain concussion, and the thick neck can help resist external impact to reduce the swing amplitude of the head, which can reduce the intensity of brain concussion and reduce the dizziness caused by the blow; Second, when the neck side is hit, it will compress the carotid artery and cause cerebral ischemia and dizziness, and the strong and powerful neck muscles can slow down the impact of the blow and reduce the pressure on the carotid artery. From both perspectives, the muscle circumference and strength of the neck are very important for the ability to resist blows.

How can I do scientific neck muscle training?

The basic method without equipment is hand-to-hand resistance training, in which the hand is applied to the head in a forward, backward or lateral direction, and the neck is applied in the opposite direction to resist flexion and extension.

The advanced non-instrumental muscle training method is the cervical bridge, which is divided into the anterior and posterior axles, which are the anterior and posterior parts of the neck muscle training. Note that cervical bridge muscle training is dangerous to the cervical spine, not suitable for beginners, and must not be easily imitated without professional guidance! When there is a weight, the head can be applied to the head in different directions with the help of a hood, which works the same way as the hand-to-hand resistance muscle training. Elastic bands can do a similar job.

One of the main functions of the trapezius upper bundle is to lift the shoulder blades, and the most targeted training movements are various weight-bearing shrugs, such as farmer walking and deadlifting, which can also be used as part of muscle training.

Neck muscle training is not an easy task compared to the muscles in other parts of the body, and it is possible to achieve the above results with long-term training. Remind all friends to do a good job of warm-up and protection in training, protect yourself and do what you can, do not do training plans beyond the range of your strength, of course, it is best to do muscle training under the guidance of a fitness coach.

2. What muscles are in the neck muscle exercise

The bones of the neck include seven vertebrae, also known as cervical vertebrae, which are part of the spine that can flex, stretch and rotate in all directions. The inside of the cervical spine is where the vertebral arteries and spinal cord and branch nerves that supply blood to the brain meet, and there are many ligaments and muscles attached to it.

1. Superficial muscles

Among the neck muscles, the most visually influential are the superficial sternocleidomastoid and superior trapezius muscles, where the sternocleidomastoid muscle is located on the side of the neck and the superior trapezius muscle is located at the back of the neck.

The sternocleidomastoid muscle arises from the sternal stem and the medial superior border of the clavicle and terminates diagonally up to the mastoid process of the mandible on the side of the face. Contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on one side causes the head to flex ipsilaterally and turn to the opposite side – crooked neck and head turned. Shrinking both sides at the same time causes the head to stretch back. Those who have experienced stiff neck will remember this uncomfortable feeling, which is caused by spasmodic pain in the sternocleidomastoid muscle and its surrounding tissues. Stiff neck itself is self-limited, and once it occurs, it will limit the patient's neck range of motion and accelerate self-healing, but if it is often stiff neck, it may be related to cervical spondylosis, and it is necessary to actively check it after ruling out external factors such as improper pillow height. In addition, long-term tension in the unilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle can cause the muscles of both sides to become unbalanced, resulting in torticollis.

The superior trapezius muscle fascicle is located behind the neck, originating from the neck ligament and the spinous process of the cervical vertebrae, and terminating at the clavicle and the medial border of the acromion and the inferior border of the scapula. Simultaneous contraction on both sides causes the head to tilt back, and unilateral contraction tilts the neck to the same side and tilts back to the opposite side – crooked neck + head turn + head up, which is similar to "looking up at the sky at a 45 degree angle".

These two superficial neck muscles have a great influence on the visual shape of the neck, and a thick neck can make you look very strong.

There is a misconception about the superior trapezius tract - too large trapezius muscles cause shoulder slip, in fact, on the contrary, muscles such as the superior trapezius tract and levator scapulae can lift the scapula, and when these are too weak and the strength is insufficient, the shoulder slip will occur.

Students with narrow shoulders and backs, if the trapezius muscles are too developed, it does look a little like a slippery shoulder, in addition to trying to make the triangle and back broad, but also pay attention to reducing the trapezius muscle in shoulder and back training. However, it is actually difficult to achieve a large trapezius bag.

For girls, beautiful neck muscles can allow you to wear all kinds of off-the-shoulder outfits such as suspenders, evening dresses, and wedding dresses.

2. Deep muscles

There are many deep muscles in the neck, which can be simply divided into two categories according to function for ease of understanding and memory:

Category 1:It is a bone or ligament that originates in the cervical spine and ends outside the cervical spine and acts as a tilt or rotation of the cervical spine in different directions. The first type of muscles in the anterior neck are the scalene muscles, which start from the transverse process of the cervical spine and end at the ribs, which tilt the neck forward when the two sides are contracted, and the neck tilts forward to the side when the two sides are contracted. The first type of muscles in the back of the neck are the levator scapularis, rhomboid muscle, cephalic clamp, and neck clamp muscle, which are located on both sides, and the contraction of both sides causes the neck to tilt backwards, and unilateral contraction causes the neck to tilt backward to the side.

Category II:It starts in the cervical spine and ends at other cervical or thoracic vertebrae, and its effect is to bend the cervical spine in different directions. The longus neck and cephalic muscles attach to the anterior part of the cervical spine and flex the neck forward when contracted, and unilateral contraction causes the neck to flex ipsilateral anteriorly. The semispinous muscle, which attaches to the posterior part of the cervical spine, also belongs to the second category, extending the neck backward when contracted, and flexing unilaterally to the posterior side of the same side.