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Optimum performance mend 55 pounds to test muscle endurance for collegiate or professional football players who do neck training on a regular basis. This is based on the average weight our players can hold for 30 seconds. Though weights as low as two kilograms have been used in clinical tests, small amounts of weight are not a good idea for our
We saw significantly fewer concussions—50 percent less—during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Players who missed playing time due to a head or neck injury also decreased 50 percent over the past two years. test because they can be held for long periods of time, which can cause neck pain. Although all of our players use the same weight, I firmly believe that a lighter weight should be used when testing younger athletes. Since neck circumference is directly related to neck strength, a team’s average neck circumference can dictate how much weight to use. For example, our team’s average neck circumference is 17 inches and we use 55 pounds. So for each inch smaller your team’s average neck circumference is, you should drop the test weight by approximately 10 pounds. Most of our incoming players are deficient in neck strength, and can hold the weight for an average of only 10 seconds. For these players, a strengthening program is needed. Returning players and incoming athletes who test well also participate in neck strengthening to make sure we keep their strength up.
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• Left Lateral Flexion • Right Rotation • Left Rotation. The four secondary movements we target are: • Right cervical anterior oblique • Left cervical anterior oblique • Right cervical posterior oblique • Left cervical posterior oblique.
STRENGTH PROGRAM Too often, the only thing coaches require when it comes to neck training is two sets of 10 reps on the four-way neck machine. But if you wanted to increase strength in the bench press, would you do the exact same workout every day? Of course not. Training the neck should not be any different. We should approach the task with the same, if not more, meticulousness and serious thought process that we apply to working any other muscle group. The six major movements we target are: • Forward Flexion • Extension • Right Lateral Flexion
While the cervical obliques are predominantly slow twitch muscles, they need different forms of activation and stimulation just like any other muscles in the body. We utilize a variety of exercises, methods, ranges of motion, and tempos in our neck strengthening program. While most of our training involves manual eccentric-based work—manual work is the best because of the activation, hypertrophy, and kinesthetic awareness involved—we also use various resistances, including weights, bands, machines, stability balls, Airex pads, and combination methods. Some of the neck strengthening exercises we do include: • Seated neutral perturbations with eyes closed • Four-way rack attachment neck machine • Neck bridging on Airex pads • Six-way manual neck movements • Manual Xs for the oblique methods • Band neck rotations. Rotations should be done at least once or twice per week. Rotation is the most common mechanism of a concussion in football, so while we incorporate most of the neck movements into our weekly training program, we never neglect rotations. Flexion is also important because most head contact occurs as a direct hit to the front of the facemask. This movement is also typically 25 percent weaker than extension, which is why the neck strength test is based on forward flexion. In addition to the neck muscles, we train the upper trapezius, which is very important for dissipating forces, once or twice per week. The upper trapezius is one of the major superTR AINING-CONDITIONING.COM