# NeckTraining.com > A reference archive on the history, science, and methodology of neck training. Every claim traces to a named source. Historical material is transcribed from verified originals; where an original could not be verified, the page says so. Published by Gonza LLC, maker of Neck Flex® neck-training equipment. Neck Flex appears in the device taxonomy alongside competing equipment and is held to the same evidentiary standard as everything else here. Ownership is disclosed at https://necktraining.com/disclosure/. Author: Thomas Hunt, co-founder of Neck Flex. Biography and credentials at https://necktraining.com/about/ ## Editorial standards - Every study cited is verified against PubMed or a DOI before publication and screened for retraction. - Concussion and head-impact content uses risk-reduction language only. This site makes no injury-prevention guarantees. - Clinical content is educational, not diagnostic or prescriptive. - Where evidence is weak or contested, the page states this rather than resolving it artificially. ## About - [About This Site](https://necktraining.com/about/): NeckTraining.com is written by Thomas Hunt, co-founder of Neck Flex, who has spent fifteen years designing neck-training equipment. What that qualifies him to say, and what it doesn't. ## Biomechanics - [Cervical Spine Biomechanics](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/): The biomechanics of the cervical spine — the six movements, the muscles that produce them, how load behaves through range, and the measured angle thresholds beyond which joint reaction forces rise sharply. - [The Muscles of the Neck](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/anatomy/): Cervical muscle anatomy organised by layer — superficial, intermediate, and deep — with each muscle's action and the measured growth each shows in response to twelve weeks of training. - [How Load Reaches the Neck](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/loading/): The mechanics of loading the cervical spine — moment arms, resistance profiles, isometric versus dynamic loading, and why attachment point determines what actually gets trained. - [The Movements of the Neck](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/): The movements of the cervical spine — flexion, extension, lateral flexion, rotation, and protraction-retraction — with the angular tolerance threshold for each. - [Cervical Extension](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/extension/): Cervical extension — the muscles that produce it, why it is the strongest cervical direction and shows the largest training response, and how to train it safely. - [Cervical Flexion](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/flexion/): Cervical flexion — the muscles that produce it, why it is the least load-tolerant cervical movement, the 15-degree threshold, and how to train it. - [Cervical Lateral Flexion](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/lateral-flexion/): Cervical lateral flexion — the muscles involved, why it has the lowest injury tolerance in the crash data, why asymmetry is normal, and how to train it. - [Protraction and Retraction](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/protraction-retraction/): Cervical protraction and retraction — what the movement actually is, why it is a combination rather than a single joint action, and why the chin tuck is the most misunderstood exercise in neck training. - [Cervical Rotation](https://necktraining.com/biomechanics/movements/rotation/): Cervical rotation — why over half of it happens at one joint, the 35-degree threshold, and why it is the most under-trained direction in neck training. ## Conditions - [Neck Pain and Cervical Conditions](https://necktraining.com/conditions/): Educational coverage of common cervical conditions — neck pain, whiplash, tech neck, cervicogenic headache — including what the evidence supports and when to see a clinician. - [Cervicogenic Headache](https://necktraining.com/conditions/cervicogenic-headache/): Cervicogenic headache — what it is, how it is distinguished from migraine and tension-type headache, and what is known about the role of the upper cervical spine. - [Neck Pain](https://necktraining.com/conditions/neck-pain/): Understanding neck pain — causes, prevalence, what the evidence says about exercise, and why "my neck hurts so I should strengthen it" is not sound reasoning. - [Returning to Neck Training After Injury](https://necktraining.com/conditions/return-to-training/): General principles for returning to neck training after injury — how to progress, what to watch for, and why the specific protocol has to come from your clinician. - [Tech Neck and Forward Head Posture](https://necktraining.com/conditions/tech-neck/): Tech neck and forward head posture — what the load actually is, where the widely cited 60-pound figure comes from, and what the evidence does and does not support. - [Whiplash](https://necktraining.com/conditions/whiplash/): Whiplash — the injury mechanism, the crash-research injury criteria and thresholds, what recovery typically looks like, and what the evidence says about exercise. ## Devices - [Neck Training Device Taxonomy](https://necktraining.com/devices/): A complete taxonomy of neck-training equipment — harnesses, weighted headgear, four-way machines, ring-and-track devices, bands, and manual resistance — with the mechanics, limits, and evidence for each. - [Elastic Resistance](https://necktraining.com/devices/elastic-resistance/): Elastic bands for neck training — how ascending resistance behaves, the measured ceiling of roughly 15% MVC, and the twelve-week trial where band effects decayed while weighted training compounded. - [Head Harnesses](https://necktraining.com/devices/harnesses/): Choosing a head harness for neck training — construction types, fit, the failure modes that matter, and what the evidence does and does not establish about the category. - [Neck Training Machines](https://necktraining.com/devices/machines/): Four-way neck machines and pad-driven neck training equipment — how fixed-path loading works, what the EMG evidence shows about intensity, and what the category cannot do. - [Manual and Partner Resistance](https://necktraining.com/devices/manual-resistance/): Manual and partner resistance for neck training — what it is genuinely good for, why no controlled study uses it as an intervention, and the specific risks of partner-applied force. - [Neck Training Devices, 1891–1970](https://necktraining.com/devices/patents/): The complete patent record of neck-training devices from 1891 to 1970 — eighteen confirmed patents with inventors, filing dates, mechanisms, and verbatim quotations of the reasoning each inventor gave. - [Ring-and-Track Devices](https://necktraining.com/devices/ring-and-track/): Ring-and-track neck training devices — how they work mechanically, what they do that other categories cannot, their limitations, and what evidence exists. - [Weighted Headgear](https://necktraining.com/devices/weighted-headgear/): Weighted helmets and caps for neck training — how the load behaves, what the controlled evidence shows, how to progress, and where the category falls short. ## Disclosure - [Ownership and Commercial Disclosure](https://necktraining.com/disclosure/): NeckTraining.com is owned and published by Gonza LLC, maker of Neck Flex neck-training equipment. Full disclosure of the commercial relationship and the rules governing it. ## Editorial Standards - [Editorial Standards](https://necktraining.com/editorial-standards/): The sourcing and verification rules governing NeckTraining.com — how studies are checked, how historical transcriptions are verified, and what happens when something turns out to be wrong. ## Faq - [Neck Training: Frequently Asked Questions](https://necktraining.com/faq/): Answers to common neck training questions — how often to train, how long results take, whether it prevents concussions, what equipment you need, and whether it is safe. ## Glossary - [Neck Training Glossary](https://necktraining.com/glossary/): A glossary of neck training terminology covering anatomy, biomechanics, training methods, injury criteria, equipment, and the period vocabulary of early physical culture. ## History - [The History of Neck Training](https://necktraining.com/history/): A primary-source history of neck training — the first patented neck apparatus in 1891, the exercises strongmen and wrestlers actually prescribed, and how the justification changed while the exercises did not. - [The People Who Wrote It Down](https://necktraining.com/history/figures/): The figures who documented early neck training — Hackenschmidt, Macfadden, Liederman, Jowett, Burns, Sandow — what each wrote and which of them omitted the neck entirely. - [Macfadden's 1911 Neck Section](https://necktraining.com/history/figures/bernarr-macfadden/): Bernarr Macfadden's neck training section from the Encyclopedia of Physical Culture (1911), transcribed — his exercises, his reasoning, and the two false claims that spread from it. - [Liederman's 1924 Neck Chapter](https://necktraining.com/history/figures/earle-liederman/): Earle Liederman's neck chapter from Muscle Building (1924) — the first injury-protection argument for neck training, the earliest recorded neck measurement, and the false claim he inherited from Macfadden. - [Hackenschmidt's 1908 Neck Series](https://necktraining.com/history/figures/georg-hackenschmidt/): George Hackenschmidt's five neck exercises from The Way to Live (1908), transcribed verbatim, with the loads, rep progressions, and advancement intervals he prescribed. - [The Exercises Stayed. The Reasons Were Rebuilt Three Times.](https://necktraining.com/history/how-the-rationale-changed/): How the justification for neck training changed from postural carriage to nerve force to measured tissue loading, while the exercises stayed the same — and how two false claims propagated through fitness publishing. - [The Old Words](https://necktraining.com/history/terminology/): The historical vocabulary of neck training — columnar neck, nerve force, head lifting, physical culture — what each term meant and what modern language replaced it. - [Why Nobody at Your Gym Trains Their Neck](https://necktraining.com/history/the-three-branches/): Why neck training disappeared from mainstream gym culture — the three branches of early physical culture, which ones trained the neck, and which one became bodybuilding. - [A Timeline of Neck Training](https://necktraining.com/history/timeline/): A sourced chronology of neck training — the first patents, the first published programmes, the emergence of military research, and the modern evidence base. ## Neck Flex - [Neck Flex: The Harness in the Published Research](https://necktraining.com/neck-flex/): Neck Flex is the only neck training harness named by brand in a peer-reviewed randomised controlled trial. What the Royal Danish Air Force study actually says, what it establishes, and what it does not. ## Neck Size - [Neck Size: How to Measure It and How Much It Grows](https://necktraining.com/neck-size/): How to measure your neck properly, how much circumference twelve weeks of training actually adds, why muscle growth and circumference are not the same number, and what neck size does and does not predict. ## Research - [Neck Training Research Library](https://necktraining.com/research/): A structured library of research on neck training, cervical strength, injury tolerance, and head-impact risk, with findings, practical implications, and limitations for each study. - [The Deep Cervical Flexors and Neck Pain](https://necktraining.com/research/deep-cervical-flexors/): The deep cervical flexors — longus colli and longus capitis — what the rehabilitation evidence says, why the training is deliberately low-load, the craniocervical flexion test, and why strength training is a different intervention. - [Neck Strength and Concussion Risk](https://necktraining.com/research/head-impact/): Neck strength and concussion risk — the 6,704-athlete study showing 5% lower odds per pound of neck strength, what the mechanism is, and what the evidence does and does not establish. - [What the Cervical Spine Can Tolerate](https://necktraining.com/research/injury-tolerance/): Cervical injury tolerance data — the Nij criterion and its intercept values, the NIC graded scale, and tissue-level failure thresholds for ligament, disc, and spinal cord. - [How Studies Are Selected and Graded Here](https://necktraining.com/research/methodology/): The methodology behind the NeckTraining.com research library — how studies are verified, what read-full-text versus abstract-only means, and how evidence quality is reported. - [Military and Aviation Neck Research](https://necktraining.com/research/military-aviation/): Military and aviation research on cervical strength — neck pain prevalence in aircrew, muscle loading under G, and the controlled trials that established what conditioning actually achieves. - [What Neck Training Actually Produces](https://necktraining.com/research/strength-hypertrophy/): What neck training produces — measured strength gains, MRI-confirmed muscle volume increases by muscle, realistic timelines, and evidence that untrained control groups lose strength. ## Safety - [Neck Training Safety and Contraindications](https://necktraining.com/safety/): When neck training is not safe — contraindications requiring medical clearance, red-flag symptoms that mean stop, and the specific practices that carry genuine risk. ## Start Here - [How to Start Training Your Neck](https://necktraining.com/start-here/): How to start neck training — the first month, how often, how much load, and why every published protocol that produced measurable strength gains used a harness or weighted headgear rather than self-applied pressure. ## Store - [Best Neck Training Equipment — What to Buy and Why](https://necktraining.com/store/): The best neck training equipment for building neck strength — head harnesses, weighted headgear, and what every published neck training study actually used. Buy Neck Flex harnesses at theneckflex.com. ## Training - [Neck Training Methods](https://necktraining.com/training/): The methodology library — harness work, weighted isometrics, bands, machines, bridging and sport-specific programming, with mechanics, progressions, loads and risks for each. - [Neck Training Methods](https://necktraining.com/training/methods/): An index of neck training methods — isometrics, manual resistance, harness work, bands, machines, and bridging — with what each is for and where each stops working. - [The Wrestler's Bridge](https://necktraining.com/training/methods/bridging/): The wrestler's bridge — what it loads, why it is an advanced movement despite requiring no equipment, how to build toward it safely, and who should not do it. - [Head Harness Training](https://necktraining.com/training/methods/harness/): How head harness training works — the mechanics, how load behaves through range, how to program it, its risks, and its documented history from 1891 onward. - [Neck Isometrics](https://necktraining.com/training/methods/isometrics/): How neck isometrics actually work, why the evidenced protocols loaded them with a harness rather than a hand, how to program holds, and where hand pressure still earns its place. - [Neck Training for Older Adults](https://necktraining.com/training/older-adults/): Neck training after 60 — what actually declines with age, what the falls evidence does and does not show, why range of motion matters for driving, and how to train safely. - [How to Program Neck Training](https://necktraining.com/training/programming/): Neck training programming — how often to train, how many sets and reps, how to progress load, and the complete dosage from six published protocols including military aviation and rugby trials. - [Neck Training by Sport](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/): Sport-specific neck training — what wrestling, combat sports, football, rugby, motorsport, and aviation each demand of the neck, and how programming should differ. - [Neck Training for MMA, Boxing and Striking](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/combat-sports/): Neck training for combat sports — why rotation is the direction that matters for striking, what clinch work demands, and how to program for both. - [Neck Training for American Football](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/football/): Neck training for American football — the concussion evidence, what the sport actually demands of the neck, how to program it in-season and out, and what equipment to use. - [Neck Training for Military Aviation](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/military-aviation/): Neck training for military aircrew — prevalence of neck pain, what high-G flight demands, the published conditioning protocols, and what transfers to everyone else. - [Neck Training for Motorsport](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/motorsport/): Neck training for motorsport — the sustained lateral G demand, helmet mass, why endurance matters more than maximal strength, and what transfers from aviation research. - [Neck Training for Rugby](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/rugby/): Neck training for rugby — the complete published six-week protocol with measured results, what the scrum demands, and how to program for both codes. - [Neck Training for Soccer and Lacrosse](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/soccer/): Neck training for soccer, lacrosse and field sports — why the strongest concussion evidence comes from these athletes, what heading research shows, and how to program it. - [Neck Training for Tactical and Ground Military](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/tactical/): Neck training for dismounted soldiers, tactical teams and first responders — head-supported mass thresholds, why night vision drives neck load, and what the US Army's own research recommends. - [Neck Training for Wrestling and Grappling](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/wrestling/): Neck training for wrestling and grappling — what the sport actually demands, why bridging is a skill as well as an exercise, and how to program for sustained isometric capacity. - [Neck Training for Youth Athletes](https://necktraining.com/training/sports/youth/): Neck training for young athletes — what the concussion evidence actually says, why youth necks tolerate less load, how to start safely, and what to buy. ## Videos - [Neck Training Videos](https://necktraining.com/videos/): Neck training demonstration videos — harness setup for beginners, advanced technique, cable work, loaded rotation, and how D1 and NFL football programmes train the neck.