Its seems if you are a desk jockey you should be doing this type of neck flexion work:
hartman—Forward Head-Where pain strikes: Your neck…
The problem: Stiff muscles in the back of your neck
Fix it: Stretch with head nods daily: Moving only your head, drop your chin down and in toward your neck while stretching the back of your neck. Hold for a 5 count; do this 10 times.
The problem: Weak front neck muscles
Fix it: Do this neck crunch every day: Lying faceup on the floor, lift your head so it just clears the floor. Raise your head, and hold for 5 seconds; do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.
cressey----Weak Neck Musculature: The neck is especially important in contact sports such as football and rugby, where neck strength in all planes is highly valuable in preventing injuries that may result from collisions and violent jerking of the neck. Neck harnesses, manual resistance, and even four-way neck machines are all good bets along these lines, as training the neck can be somewhat awkward. From a postural standpoint, specific work for the neck flexors is an effective means of correcting forward head posture when paired with stretches for the levator scapulae and upper traps as well as specific interventions to reduce postural abnormalities at the scapulae, humeri, and thoracic spine. In this regard, unweighted chin tucks for high reps throughout the day are all that one really needs. This is a small training price to pay when you consider that forward head posture has been linked with chronic headaches.
alessi----Add to this a forward rotation on the shoulder girdle from chronically tight pec minor muscles and throw in some lateral neck tightness…Neck, lateral flexion
Roll a towel tightly around a weight plate. Next, position yourself side lying on a bench or floor. Grasp the plate and place it on the midline of the neck, prevent it from sliding. Laterally flex the neck (to the side). Sets: 2 Reps: 6-8
Cervical P-N-F stretch, a.k.a. The Turtle
Lie supine on a hard surface. Place fingers on chin. Slowly flatten your cervical spine by retracting your chin down and in toward the floor. Hold isometrically for ten seconds. Then push in the opposite direction against your fingers to create an opposing force. Again, hold isometrically for ten seconds. Repeat three times each direction.
Done correctly, this program should make any upper back and neck strain problems a thing of the past.
then we have this…for extension…
poliquin-----------Neck Bridge
Activating the long cervical extensors can help reposition C5 and C6, two vertebrae in your neck that innervate the biceps. This will increase curling and pulling strength. In fact, according to Poliquin, it may increase biceps strength by as much as 10%, so try this technique just before back and biceps exercises.
Sit on a Swiss ball. Walk forward until only the back of your head is supported on the ball. Keep the hips up and make sure to accentuate the rib cage. Now try to hold that position for up to a minute. You may not reach that duration the first time; just work up to it gradually over sessions."
Poliquin-----------Atlantis Neck Extensions 3 x12-15 on a 2020 tempo, or neck supports on Swiss Balls, 4-6 reps on a 1018 tempo. Very few people realize the neck extensions will help you thicken the traps, because when the shoulders are fixed, the clavicular division of the upper trapezius draws the occiput towards the shoulder.
Okay so if I have this right…chin tucks should be done all the time as much as possible to correct forward head posture…then only before upper body work you do some neck extensions?
I have been straining my neck and levator for the last few years and have been trying to figure this out…
any thoughts?