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Although we do not pay enough attention to it, the neck is a very important part of our anatomy that we must care and strengthen, just like we do with the rest of the body when exercising it. In addition to avoid bad posture and movements that cause injury, doing specific exercises for the area can help stylize it so that it looks beautiful.

Often, discomfort or pain is felt in the neck, which often comes from poor posture, a sudden turn, lifting a weight inappropriately, or excess tension, which is sometimes caused by work.

“Only then do the alarms go off, when it causes a limitation in the simplest daily movements,” explains the expert. Inma Blanquer, director of Assaria clinical exercise and health center made up of doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, osteopaths and trainers, among others.

Blanquer points out that for the neck to be healthy, “You must have your main muscles toned: the scalenus, the splenius, the angular and the sternocleidomastoid”. These muscles fulfill important functions such as support our head and protect the cervical vertebrae.

Proper exercises

To achieve these goals, Blanquer explains some key exercises, which must always be done carefully and without straining the area.

– Isometric flexion. “Sitting or standing, with your chin pointing slightly down and your hands resting on your forehead, push your head forward while your hands try to prevent the movement. Hold the position for 5-10 seconds.”

– Lateral inclinations. “It’s about doing the same gesture, but this time placing one of your hands on the side of the head, at the level of the temple. He tries to tilt her and have your hand try to stop him. Tilt to the right and then to the left.

– Elevation and descent of the shoulders. “Another excellent exercise to especially strengthen the trapezius and work, at the same time, the neck and back. Standing with your shoulders relaxed, ‘pull’ them up and hold the position for as long as you can. Do the reverse movement, that is, descend as much as possible and also hold for a few seconds.”

– Stretching in extension. “The exercise consists of trying to stretch your neck as much as you can and in all directions, to make a complete turn (right, left, up and down). You must do it slowly, marking the movement, first clockwise and then counterclockwise.

And facial gymnastics?

In addition to strengthening the neck muscles, there are facial gymnastics exercises that can help improve the aesthetics of the neck, avoiding sagging, wrinkles or double chins. From the Assari Clinic they recommend four movements that can help and point out that “the ideal would be to perform 10 daily repetitions of each of them.”

1. Lift your chin and place your hand under your jaw muscles. Stretch forward and upward, holding for 10 seconds.

2. With the head upright, open the mouth as much as possible and move the lower jaw outwards and inwards, alternately, accentuating the tension.

3. With your gaze towards the ceiling and your neck stretched, purse your lips simulating a kiss and maintain the position for 10 seconds. You rest the same amount of time.

4. The head is turned to one side and the jaw is stretched forward and then returned to the starting position. Repeating it to the other side.

As with any other part of the body, there are also stretching effective to tone the area. Some of the most basic are the following:

1. “Standing or sitting, we stretch our neck laterally, tilting our head to one side using our hand. Do it for 10 seconds on each side.”

2. “Standing or sitting, we place one hand on the forehead and gently bring the head back without moving the trunk for 20 seconds.”

3. “Standing or sitting, we place our hands clasped behind the head above the nape of the neck and pull the head down (without moving the trunk), until the chin touches the chest, for 20 seconds.”

4. “Standing or sitting, place one hand on your forehead and gently bring your head back a little for 5 seconds.”

5. “Lying down, with legs bent, knees slightly apart, we raise our head, keeping our back in contact with the ground 3 times, for 5 seconds each.”

6. “Standing, with our legs apart and slightly bent, we lower our torso and hold our ankles. If we let go, we stretch our back upwards for 10 seconds.”

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