- The Moves
- Trainer Tips
After I wrote this story about increasing the range of motion of our necks to be able to better turn our heads and look behind us while we’re riding, I got a bunch of emails from readers saying that the topic resonated with them.
And that got me thinking about necks. About all we put them through during our modern day-to-day lives of looking down at various technologies, sleeping funny, bad posture, and just overall neglect. And how that leads to problems. Problems like pain, loss of flexibility and mobility, and worsening posture over time that can even affect our mood.
After all that, we then expect them to hold our heads up while we’re in the riding position for hours and hours and be able to look around freely on top of it.
If you think about it, that's a lot to ask of the 7 little vertebrae that make up our cervical spine.
Some of the super effective ways we can counteract some of these stressors we put on our poor little necks is by releasing trigger points and stretching. But there’s another thing we must also pay attention to and maintain, and that’s strength. Specifically, the strength of the muscles in our necks that we use when we ride.
To that end, check out these three super-effective moves below. They even include what I call “sneaky core work” — moves that involve recruiting and strengthening our core through the course of any given exercise. To that end, one of the benefits of doing these exercises on a stability ball is to sneak core stabilization work into the move, which will translate to better stability and balance on the bike.
Be sure to read through the tips at the bottom, because there are some super important things to pay attention to while you perform these exercises.
The Moves
1. Neck Extender on Stability Ball
Reps: 5-10
2. Neck Flexor on Stability Ball
Reps: 5-10
3. Side Neck Lift on Stability Ball
Reps: 5-10
Trainer Tips
Take a moment to stabilize yourself on the stability ball for activating your core before you start the move. You want to perform the neck exercises from a stable place. It’s possible that this may need to be mastered prior to adding the moves themselves.
Make sure to use a stability ball that is fully inflated—the ball should be as firm as a blown-up beach ball
Perform these movements slowly, ideally a 3-second tempo, which means it takes three seconds to lift and three seconds to lower. (I’m repeating this here because of how important it is).
Make sure you have clearance from your physician or chiropractor before you start these exercises, especially if you have a history of neck pain or injury. Stop doing the move if you feel any dizziness.
Natascha Grief, NASM-CPT, -CES, -CNC, -BCS, -SFC
Health & Fitness Editor
Natascha Grief is Bicycling’s Health & Fitness Editor. She started in the cycling industry as a bike mechanic a couple of decades ago, earning a couple pro-mechanic certifications and her USA Cycling Race Mechanic license. She went on to apprentice for framebuilder Brent Steelman in her hometown of Redwood City, California before spending several years working for both large and not-so-large cycling brands. She then switched gears and industries to earn multiple personal training certifications while honing her skills as a trainer and coach, specializing in functional training, corrective exercise, and body positive personal training. She began contributing regularly to Runner’s World and Bicycling as a freelance writer in 2020, and joined the editorial staff of Bicycling in 2022.
