Why Neck Strength Training Belongs in Your Program

A few years back, a friend of mine — mid-40s, still playing recreational hockey, had been doing jiu jitsu on and off for years — came out of a hard takedown with a stiff neck that wouldn’t quit. Not a serious injury. Just the kind of dull, grinding tightness that sits at the base of your skull and makes everything slightly worse for two weeks.

His chiropractor told him what a lot of people hear: his neck muscles were weak. They weren’t absorbing the force they were supposed to. His spine was taking on load that his musculature should have handled.

That’s the thing about the neck. It’s always working. It’s almost never trained.

For career officers and veterans in their late 30s and 40s — still doing BJJ, playing pickup sports, rucking, and lifting — direct neck work may be a useful but often overlooked part of a broader strength plan.

The Problem Most Athletes Overlook

Most training programs pay little direct attention to the neck. Upper traps get some work from shrugs and deadlifts, while cervical flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation may receive less deliberate loading.

That gap shows up in a few predictable ways:

• Chronic neck tightness that lingers after training, jiu jitsu, or contact sports
• Difficulty tolerating contact or controlling head position in sport
• Posture that degrades after years behind a desk or in a vehicle

Those observations do not prove that weak neck muscles caused a symptom, but they can justify assessing head-position control and direct strength alongside sport exposure and medical history.

The Belief That’s Holding You Back

Most athletes assume that if they’re doing deadlifts, shrugs, and heavy pressing, their neck is taken care of.

It isn’t.

The false belief here is that compound lifting provides sufficient neck training. For most people, it doesn’t.

Deadlifts and shrugs develop the upper traps.

That’s useful.

But the muscles responsible for cervical flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation may receive little direct stimulus from a typical strength program.

This isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about closing a gap that most athletes don’t know exists until they’re sitting in a PT office trying to figure out why their neck won’t stop hurting.

Why Neck Strength Actually Matters

Direct neck training has potential benefits and important limits.

First, neck strength and control improve. Direct, progressively loaded training can strengthen the muscles that flex, extend, rotate, and stabilize the neck. That is a useful capacity for grappling and contact sports, but it is not proof that training prevents whiplash injury.

Second, concussion prevention remains uncertain. Stronger necks are a plausible modifiable factor, and some observational studies report lower concussion incidence among stronger athletes. A 2023 systematic review found only very low-certainty evidence and a small, statistically nonsignificant association. Neck training should not be presented as concussion protection or a replacement for sport rules, technique, equipment, medical evaluation, and return-to-play protocols.

Third, some sports require head-position control under force. Clinches in grappling, heading in soccer, tackling, and absorbing contact all involve the neck. Improving a measured strength deficit may be useful, but transfer to performance should be assessed rather than assumed.

For a 42-year-old Army officer who still rolls on weekends, or a retired Marine who coaches youth football and still want to mix it up with the kids to show ‘em what you’ve got, this isn’t theoretical.

These are real exposure patterns where neck strength may be useful, even though injury reduction is not established.

How to Actually Train It

Neck training doesn’t need its own dedicated day. It needs 10 minutes, two to three times a week. Bolted onto an existing session — at the end of a strength day or after upper body work — it adds up fast.

The foundational movements:

Supine extension isometrics — lie on your back with the head supported, gently press the back of your head into a pad, and hold without lifting into a loaded bridge. Start with short, submaximal holds and build gradually.

Prone neck extension — lie face down, allow your head to drop toward the floor, then raise it slowly back to neutral. Controlled tempo. Three sets of 10–15 reps. This builds the extensors that get hammered by hours of screen time and driving.

Lateral flexion with resistance — seated or standing, use a hand or a resistance band to provide gentle lateral resistance while you press your ear toward your shoulder. Three sets of 10 per side. Develops the lateral stabilizers that absorb side-impact forces.

Neck flexion — on your back, lift your head slowly toward your chest, chin tucked. Three sets of 15. This is the movement most people’s necks are weakest in.

Manual resistance isometrics — use your own hand to provide resistance in all four directions (forward, back, left, right) and press against it for 10-second holds. Five to ten holds per direction. No equipment needed. Can be done anywhere.

If you want to go deeper on exercise selection, programming, and video demonstrations, the team at Stronger By Science has published one of the most thorough breakdowns of neck training available: Neck Strength Training: Are Deadlifts and Shrugs Enough?. It’s worth reading in full if you want the research context behind the recommendations.

What a Realistic Week Looks Like

Two short sessions per week is a conservative starting point for many healthy athletes. More is not automatically better, especially when contact practice already loads the neck.

A simple add-on to a strength day might look like this:

• Neck flexion: 3×15
• Prone neck extension: 3×15
• Lateral flexion: 3×10 per side
• Manual isometrics: 10 seconds × 4 directions × 2 rounds

Total time: 8–12 minutes. That’s it.

You don’t need special equipment.

You don’t need a machine.

You need a mat, your hands, and a consistent habit.

The progression is simple: once the basic movements feel easy at the rep targets above, add gentle resistance — a small weight plate on the back of your head for extensions, a resistance band for lateral work. The neck responds well to progressive overload just like any other muscle group.

What Changes When You Train It

Training studies show that neck strength can improve over several weeks, but individual response and transfer to sport vary. Progress the load conservatively; stop if an exercise causes dizziness, radiating symptoms, headache, numbness, or worsening pain, and seek qualified assessment when those symptoms occur.

For adults who still practice jiu jitsu, hockey, soccer, or other contact sports, neck training can be one small part of preparation. It should not be sold as insurance against injury.

Keep Learning

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• The Pareto Principle: How to Get Better Without Doing More

FAQ

Do deadlifts and shrugs provide enough neck training?

They train the upper traps but may provide limited direct loading for cervical flexion, extension, and lateral flexion. If those qualities matter to the athlete and can be trained without symptoms, direct work is one option.

How often should I train my neck?

One or two short, submaximal sessions is a reasonable starting point. Progress only when the work is well tolerated, and account for contact practice, soreness, headaches, and any prior neck injury.

Can neck training actually reduce concussion risk?

It is not established. Some observational studies associate greater neck strength with lower concussion incidence, but pooled evidence is very low certainty and has not shown a statistically significant protective relationship. Train the neck for strength and control, not as a guarantee against concussion.

What equipment do I need to train the neck?

None, to start. Manual resistance isometrics and bodyweight movements like neck flexion and prone extension require only a mat and your hands. As you progress, a small weight plate or resistance band can be added for more loading.

How long before I notice a difference?

Strength can improve within several weeks of consistent training, but soreness, posture, and sport transfer vary. Persistent pain or neurologic symptoms require assessment rather than more loading.

The neck is active during training, contact, and long periods at a desk. If direct work fits your needs and history, start conservatively, monitor symptoms, and build the same way you would with any unfamiliar exercise.

Sources

• Garrett, J. M., et al. (2023). The relationship between neck strength and sports-related concussion in team sports: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 53(10), 585–593.
• Daly, E., Pearce, A. J., & Ryan, L. (2021). Strength and conditioning protocols for improving neck strength and reducing concussion incidence and impact injury risk. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 6(1), 8.

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