{"id":19474,"date":"2023-06-16T20:43:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T01:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=19474"},"modified":"2023-06-20T16:26:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T21:26:36","slug":"bjj-neck-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/bjj-neck-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"Best BJJ Neck Strengthening Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having a big, strong neck helps immensely in jiu-jitsu with injury prevention, better resistance to submissions, and withstanding attempts to break your posture through the head. Neglecting neck training is a grave mistake many practitioners make and one you should avoid. But what are the best neck exercises for BJJ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key part of neck training for BJJ is doing isometric holds, which directly translate to actions on the mat, like resisting pulling, pushing, and chokes. To make your neck bigger, you must do flexion and extension with progressive resistance using bands, weights, or other methods of loading the movements.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neck training is crucial for BJJ, and I will help you pick the best exercises and avoid some dangerous ones that bring more risk than reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Why You Need A Strong Neck For Jiu-Jitsu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a sport where the whole body plays a role, you are only as strong as your weakest link. The neck is a crucial element because it needs to resist constant pulling, is used as a support against the mats, and, most of all, is the target of half of the submissions in BJJ<\/a>, namely strangulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means the neck is as important as any other body part for jiu-jitsu, and a well-conditioned and robust neck will help you while rolling and in training in multiple ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better Submission Defence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Resisting chokeholds is part technique, mental fortitude, and pure neck strength. Even if you’ve never trained your neck specifically, you know how bad it felt to be in a guillotine when you started and how much more “comfortable” you feel now. This is because the neck gets conditioned by the constant pressure it’s subjected to during drills and rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding neck conditioning to your training regimen will hasten the process and reach levels of strength impossible with BJJ training alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stronger your neck and upper back muscles are, the harder it will be for someone to choke you out. Increasing the size of the neck also makes chokes mechanically more difficult for the opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neck cranks<\/a> are even worse, and a powerful neck may get you out of trouble because cranks aim to take your neck outside of its normal range of motion, and through strong musculature, you can resist the attempt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I advise you not to try and tough out tight-neck cranks because they can be dangerous and have dire consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resisting Attempts To Break Your Posture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"BJJ<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When standing, pulling the head of the opponent from behind is one of the main methods of breaking their posture. Having a weak neck will make it a piece of cake to get folded in two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the neck is not used to manipulate positions and posture only on the feet. When you end up in someone’s guard, he will pull your head for dear life and not let you posture up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s easy to understand how a strong neck will benefit you in every position where you must resist pulling and pushing, and isometric exercises are great at building resistance capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less Chance Of Injury<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While you cannot prevent the occasional neck pain<\/a> and some injuries, mobility and strength play a key role in injury prevention for most body parts, including the neck. The neck is often placed in extended ranges of motion under heavy force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By training the neck in a full range of motion and with controlled resistance, you will prepare the soft tissues for the strain they must endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best BJJ Neck Strengthening Exercises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Quite a few exercises can make the neck healthy and strong. For a complete package of strength and mobility, you need isometric holds, full range of motion exercises with resistance, and some static stretches after training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isometric Holds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Isometric strength is crucial for BJJ. Many of the actions during rolling require isometric tension, from takedown attempts to resisting collar ties. You can do four-way isometric holds using various equipment to prepare for this. Four-way holds mean resisting force from the front, back, left, and right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isometric holds can be done in a few ways. The first is by using rubber bands. Just tie the band to a post, step away at a sufficient distance, and hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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