Name: Playbook - TrickStrong RX - Protect Ya Neck Vol. 1
Uploaded: 2024-02-28T17:25:32.137Z
Duration: 30 min
Description: Protect Ya Neck Vol. 1

Upper body training doesn’t stop at the shoulders ❌
Protect Ya Neck vol 1. Is about improving the mobility, strength and coordination of your neck to become more athletic, resilient and less prone to injuries like whiplash and concussions. We address the following:  

1️⃣ Spotting is a crucial skill in Tricking, demanding quick head movements and precise coordination. We include drills to enhance your ability to spot effectively, allowing you to maintain control, accuracy and confidence in your movement.

2️⃣ A strong neck contributes to optimal body alignment, control, and posture. By incorporating neck training into your routine, you'll develop improved stability and body awareness. 

3️⃣ Most of us have fallen on our heads or faces! The neck acts as a crucial link between your head and spine, making it vital to protect against potential injuries. It has been well-documented in the research that increasing neck strength reduces risk and severity of concussions as well as other traumatic injuries to the head and spine.
Using this workout, you’ll improve your spotting, up your technique and efficiency through improved neck control and enjoy a reduced risk of head injuries, including concussions and spinal injuries 🛡
Training this area can also improve postural imbalances that often cause persistent neck tightness and pain ✅

All you need is a CLEAN towel (please 🤣) and some bands!

Neck training 1x/week has been shown to be effective and is what we recommend for performance & prevention. If you are rehabbing from something specific and find this routine helpful, you may choose to do this up to 3x/week.

The rep numbers are a guideline. The goal is that you feel prepared to move!

While we are doing a rotational lunge, the focus here is actually on keeping your eyes forward. This drill helps dissociate the head and neck from the rest of the spine, thereby improving mobility and control. 

In Tricking, it is huge to be able to spot without breaking position. If we don't, we lose efficiency in our set, twisting and even landings.

Rotational Lunge (Eyes Forward)

Get into a quadruped position. Slowly alternate between arched back to rounded back positions, feeling movement at each vertebrae.

We can put additional focus into our neck for this workout.
 
Look up as you arch, look down as you round and push through your arms.

With Cat Camel, we are training spinal mobility and hip/spine dissociation, which is important for proper articulation with movement. We want each segment of your spine to be able to move and interact with each other. Typically after injury, segments of the spine have reduced range of motion. 

The old adage – if you don’t use it, you lose it – applies here. 

Our ability to compensate and use only certain parts of our spines can trick us into thinking we are more mobile than we are. These areas that have forgotten how to move can lead to other issues if left unaddressed.

Cat Camel (5 sec holds)

Chin Tuck Rotations are great for mobility and stability of the cervical (neck) and upper thoracic (mid-back) spine and should be a staple in your routine.
 
Neck mobility is extremely important in not only improving postural function, but in giving us the space to perform athletic movement without limitations.

The plank adds difficulty by making us stabilize while we move our neck. This helps improve neck control.

Chin Tuck Rotations (Plank)

By design, our necks are quite mobile. Our mobility and stability training needs to reflect this for maximum benefit and carryover to functional tasks such as looking around, driving or athletics. 

These are not neck rolls. Cervical CARs are done in a specific sequence to involve all of the joint capacity that the neck joints allow. Before beginning, it’s important to understand that if there is any pain or pinching to do this exercise JUST outside of that ROM. 

Begin with:
Neck long (slight chin tuck) 
Jaw closed
Tongue on roof of mouth
 
1.	Flexion
2.	Rotation (follow the collarbone with your chin)
3.	Sidebending (get your ear to your shoulder while looking as far as you can to one side)
4.	Extension (look back)
5.	Sidebending + Rotation (look to your other side)
6.	Rotation (get ear away from shoulder)
7.	End position (follow chin along collarbone to return to the starting position).

Be sure to do both sides!

Cervical CARs

Warmup

Neck planks are an awesome way to strengthen the flexors of the neck, which help us keep a hollow position and spot aggressively. 

These are also the ones that need to kick in to prevent whiplash or concussion, especially when landing on your back.  

Tips: 
1. Go to your level. Watch the whole video to see progressions (in full screen)
2. There should be no pain, just muscular work
3. Always have your hands ready to support you
4. Make hard fists to create total body tension. This will help you produce more force.

Primer: Neck Plank (Start easy!)

Remember to do both sides!

In this drill, we pick a target in front of us and behind us. We perform a small hop, trying to see the target behind us as quickly as possible. Sticking each landing demonstrates that you are keeping your body position stable as you aggressively spot. 

Once you can do it with a 180 consistently and cleanly, progress to a 360, still leading the twist with your head.

Spotting Drill: Lead With Head

Remember to do both sides!

In this drill, we pick a target in front of us and behind us. We perform a small hop, fixing our gaze on the target in front of us for as long as possible. At the last second, we then look at the target that was originally behind us. This drill can really help with variation twisting (i.e. cork snapu). Sticking each landing demonstrates that you are keeping your body position stable as you spot. 

Once you can do it with a 180 consistently and cleanly, progress to a 360, still spotting in front of you as long as possible during the twist.

Spotting Drill: Fixed Gaze

Make sure it is in full screen so the captions are visible for this video tutorial. 

Challenge: do both sides!

Modification: If you are not comfortable rolling for whatever reason (space, safety, etc.), you can substitute with a Cat-Camel. Play with performing it quicker, mimicking the speed of a trick. Be sure to practice your spotting here too.

Inversion Drill: Forward Shoulder Roll

Inversion Drill: Backwards Shoulder Roll

Jaw and neck strength go hand-in-hand. This is an excellent way to develop the rotational power and stability your neck needs to aggressively spot and take impacts (both crashes AND landings). 

Loop a clean towel around a resistance band or cable column attachment that's challenging for you. I am using a light pullup assist band (aka "superband") here.

Do your best to only move at your neck. The goal with this exercise is strength, so progress in difficulty as you would with any other area.

Banded Neck Rotations (Towel)

Jaw and neck strength go hand-in-hand. This is an excellent way to develop the power and stability your neck needs to aggressively spot and take impacts (both crashes AND landings). This drill can also help improve your tuck and hollow shapes. 

Loop a clean towel around a resistance band or cable column attachment that's challenging for you. I am using a light pullup assist band (aka "superband") here.

Do your best to only move at your neck. The goal with this exercise is strength, so progress in difficulty as you would with any other area.

Banded Neck Flexion (Towel)

Jaw and neck strength go hand-in-hand. This is an excellent way to develop the power and stability your neck needs to aggressively spot and take impacts (both crashes AND landings). This drill can also help improve your arch shapes which will be helpful during spotting/eagles. 

Loop a clean towel around a resistance band or cable column attachment that's challenging for you. I am using a light pullup assist band (aka "superband") here.

Do your best to only move at your neck. The goal with this exercise is strength, so progress in difficulty as you would with any other area.

Banded Neck Extensions (Towel)

Jaw and neck strength go hand-in-hand. This is an excellent way to develop the rotational power and stability your neck needs to aggressively spot and take impacts (both crashes AND landings).

These diagonal patterns are extremely functional and seen in many tricks (think front twisting). Oftentimes form can get broken when the head and body are out of sync. 

Loop a clean towel around a resistance band or cable column attachment that's challenging for you. I am using a light pullup assist band (aka "superband") here.

Do your best to only move at your neck. The goal with this exercise is strength, so progress in difficulty as you would with any other area.

Banded Neck Chops (Towel)

Jaw and neck strength go hand-in-hand. This is an excellent way to develop the rotational power and stability your neck needs to aggressively spot and take impacts (both crashes AND landings).

These diagonal patterns are extremely functional and seen in many tricks (think eagles, raiz, etc.). Oftentimes form can get broken when the head and body are out of sync. 

Loop a clean towel around a resistance band or cable column attachment that's challenging for you. I am using a light pullup assist band (aka "superband") here.

Do your best to only move at your neck. The goal with this exercise is strength, so progress in difficulty as you would with any other area.

Banded Neck Diagonal Lifts (Towel)

Thoracic extension mobility is often restricted due to the forward head, rounded shoulder posture we often assume in the modern day. 

This can not only make the muscles tight in this region, but the joints of our spine get used to being in a flexed posture as well. 

If this is you, you will feel closed off in the front and tight in the neck and upper back. Tightness in this region can sometimes feel like a stiffness or pinch when we try to extend through the thoracic spine, or upper to mid back. 

For this mobilization, simply kneel in front of a box, put your elbows up and actively pull your chest through your arms using your back muscles. You can use your hands for feedback. 

Note that we limit lower back arch here to focus on the upper spine.

Protect Ya Neck Vol. 1

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