Neck Extension

How to do it

1. Lie face down on a flat bench with your hips centered and your chest past the front edge.
2. Place your hands flat on the bench under your shoulders to support your upper body.
3. Let your head and neck hang past the edge with your face toward the floor.
4. Lift your head back until your neck lines up with your upper back.
5. Hold the top for a beat with your jaw and shoulders relaxed.
6. Lower your head slowly to the start and repeat for the prescribed reps.

Common mistakes

• Throwing the head back into full hyperextension, which jams the neck joints instead of loading the extensors.
• Adding load before the neck can hold a clean range, which turns the set into a jerky swing.
• Shrugging the shoulders to help, which hides how much work the neck is actually doing.
• Letting the chest lift off the bench, so the movement becomes a back extension instead of a neck extension.