Exercises for Gamers: Neck Muscle Strengthening
By Dr. Matthew Hwu, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS·
Quick answer
A quadruped chin tuck with rotation builds endurance in the postural and deep neck muscles. Get on hands and knees with your head over your shoulders. Press into the floor with straight elbows so your shoulder blades round slightly, and keep your mid-back straight, which is the most common mistake.
Tuck your chin, then slowly turn your head to each side. Both sides count as one rep. The post suggests 2 sets of 12, twice a day.
Exercise: Quadruped+ Chin Tuck with Rotation
Frequency and Duration: 2x12, 2x/day
This exercise again focuses on the postural muscles along with developing endurance for the deep neck muscles.
To perform this exercise you will again be on the ground but this time in the quadruped position (hands and knees as shown). Make sure again your head is stacked right over your shoulder - press into the floor with your elbows straight to ensure an important muscle of the shoulder is activated. This should allow your shoulder blades to round slightly around your back. KEEP YOUR MID-BACK STRAIGHT - That is a common mistake for this exercise!!
From there you will be performing a chin tuck then slowly rotating on to each side. One repetition is complete when you complete rotating on both sides. Relax your shoulders and repeat the sequence the sequence below
- Press into the floor
- Chin Tuck
- Rotate both sides
