Neck Muscles

A good exercise to train the neck muscles is the “Barbell Upright Row” on the barbell. Especially the trapezius muscle benefits a lot from this exercise. The starting position is a shoulder-wide stand with the upper body straightened.

The barbell is held by the long arms and is grasped slightly wider than the feet apart. To begin the exercise, bend the elbows and bring the barbell to chest level. The elbows remain on the upper body and do not bend outwards.

The upper body is kept straight during the entire exercise. Now let the barbell slowly sink back to the starting position. For training the shoulder muscles, “front lifting with dumbbells” is recommended.

The muscles used are the front, middle and rear part of the deltoid, triceps, the large chest muscle and the hood muscle. The starting position is shoulder-wide and upper body straightened. The dumbbells lie down in the hands on stretched arms.

Now the arms are raised upwards, so that a 90° angle is created between the torso and the upper arm. The elbows remain stretched. When the 90° angle is reached, the exercise is reversed and the arms are slowly returned to the starting position.

Another exercise for the shoulders is the “Cuban Turn” and is particularly good for strengthening the muscles around the shoulder joint. The starting position is identical to front lifting with dumbbells, only that a barbell is used in this exercise. This exercise should preferably be started with a light weight.

The barbell is held at about belly button height, so that a 90° angle is created in the shoulder and elbow joints. From this position the barbell is brought over the head without changing the angles in shoulder and elbow joint. The dumbbell is rotated up about half a time around the shoulder axis, hence the name “Cuban rotation”. Once the barbell is placed over the head, it is then returned to the starting position on the abdomen and the exercise is repeated as often as desired.