Wrestling requires the body to move in all kinds of crazy angles and directions. Therefore it is important to look after the neck. The neck supports the cervical spine, skull and brain so it needs to be strong.
When seeing neck exercises for the first time it is natural to think, “doing that will injure my neck.” But these exercises are there to prevent injury.
Here are some basic neck exercises to help get you popping buttons off your shirt!
BACK BRIDGE
Lay on your back and leave your feet flat on the ground. Raise your knees and place your hands by either side of your head, with your elbows pointing out. Push yourself up but leave the top of your head resting on the ground. Elevate your hips as high as they can go.
Roll your head back and forth as far as they can go. Ideally you want your nose to touch the ground when you are rolling. Do ten of these.
Next, move your head side to side so that your ears touch the ground. Do ten of these too.
Once you feel more confident, you can do these exercises without the assistance of your hands, doing the same movements.
FRONT BRIDGE – HANDS AND KNEES
Start off on your hands and knees, and with your head resting on the ground (like the previous exercise).
You will do the same movements as the back bridge. However, when doing the back and forth exercise you want the back of your head to touch the ground when rolling forward as well as your nose touching the ground.
FRONT BRIDGE – TRIPOD POSITION
Start off in a tripod position, with your hands and feet on the floor and hips up high. As with the previous exercise, have the top of your head resting on the ground.
Do the same movement as the hands and knees front bridge. Like the back bridge, you can do this without your hands as you advance.
FLIPPING OVER
While in a front bridge position, perform a headstand by having your feet elevated above your body. Flip over so you are in a back bridge position again.
With your head resting on the ground and your face fixed to one spot, proceed to walk around your head until you are back in a front bridge position (the clip below goes more in depth)
You do not have to be a wrestler to do neck exercises. These routines can be used for any sport or fitness regiment
Check out this great video about neck strengthening by Martin Rooney: