Why Neutral Neck is Important

Its a beautiful afternoon here in Charlotte. I am currently sitting on my back porch, listening to classical music, and watching the two squirrels in my backyard duke it out (or try to hump each other, I'm not exactly sure what is going on here). Anyway I thought I would elaborate on a coaching cue that I use probably 20+ times per day. Most of my clients will probably attest that am pretty merciless with coaching cues and trying to get them in the correct position. I feel like that's part of what makes me (or any fitness professional) good at my job. I've seen many trainers simply let their clients go through the motions, day in and day out, with crappy execution and they are none the wiser. Poor technique perpetuates dysfunction, injury, and kills progress in the long run. Before I get too off topic here, let me get back to that coaching cue I was talking about.

Keep Your Chin Down!

I give this cue all. the. time. I'm not kidding when I say 20+ times per day. The cue is given in response to one going into sub-occipital and cervical spine extension during several movement patterns. Mostly during squat and hinge movements. Here is an example of what it looks like:

Notice how the individual in the picture above has his chin tilted upward while preparing to deadlift. By doing this he has lost stability through the trunk (which you can see by his rounded lumbar spine)
and puts a ton of strain on the neck. Ever have a super sore neck after a deadlift session? This is probably why.

Many get into this incorrect position for three reasons:

1. Humans always want to see what is in front of them. Its a physiological response to being in danger. When you are about to pick up something heavy you impose a demand on the nervous system that the body perceives as stress. Your 'fight or flight' response is to immediate look up to make sure a monkey isn't going to jump out of a tree and throw his poop at you.
2. Many trainees are coached into this position in early stages of strength training. They are told 'head up' or 'look up' right from the get go. That's how I was coached in high school. Some coaches advocate this position because it helps one maintain lumbar extension through the movement and keeps one from falling over. More on exactly why this is bad later.
3. Poor respiratory patterns. This is a topic for another (or several other) posts. Basically if you don't breathe correctly, you don't use the core correctly and will default to a poor stabilization pattern.

Neutral neck or 'packing the neck' is a position that you should strive to achieve on nearly every lift you perform. It looks like this:

Now the individual in the picture above has his chin down so the neck is neutral and lined up with the rest of his spine. Notice the slight shift in the lumbar spine compared to the first picture. He now has a natural lordosis and has achieved a neutral spine position.

Why I Coach Neutral Neck

1. Decreased Risk of Injury

As a trainer, my first responsibility is to do no harm. I am always on the lookout for the best possible way to get my clients great results in the safest possible manner. Cervical hyperexension and suboccipital extension are NEVER a good thing ESPECIALLY under load.  It places a tremendous amount of strain on the neck and shoulders and crushes the facet joints in your spine. Any time there is a bar in your hands or on your back, make sure the neck is in neutral.

2. Better Stabilization Strategy

The cervical and lumbar spine are linked in their function. Any time you tilt your head back, your lower back will follow suit and extend right along with it. When this happens, the muscles on the front side of the body (abs and cervical flexors) will not work as much and your low back, neck muscles (erector spinae and cervical extensors), and bones will take the majority of the load in the attempt to stabilize the spine. This can lead to injury down the road. When the neck is packed, it forces one to use the entire trunk to stabilize rather than rely on one muscle group.

3. Keeps Neural Pathways Open

When the neck is packed, it keeps an open path for the nerves to communicate all the way down the spine to the entire body. If you look up, it has a trickle down effect to the entire rest of the spine. In cervical extension, the neck is less stable, therefore the spine also less stable. More stability also translates into greater force production. So for the layman:

 

Neutral Neck = Open Neural Pathways = More Stability = Better Force Production

 

Check out this video by Kelly Starrett for a cool example on the subject.

 



 

More Cues to Help You Maintain Neutral Neck

• Keep your neck long like brontosaurus.
• CHIN DOWN!!
• Hold a grapefruit between your chin and neck
• Make a double chin
• Pretend like you just smelled a fart (trust me it works)

 

Summary

 

Maintaining a neutral neck will help you lift more weight faster and make you less susceptible to injury in the long run. Make sure you practice it during movements like squats, deadlifts, kettlebell lifts, Olympic lifts, and presses.