Neck Curl
Supine neck curl that trains the front of the neck by lifting the head against gravity through a short range.
How to do it
- Lie face up on a bench with your head just past the edge.
- Rest your arms across your chest and keep your shoulders flat on the bench.
- Let your head lower until you feel a light stretch at the front of the neck.
- Tuck your chin slightly toward your chest and hold that position.
- Curl your head up toward your chest without lifting your shoulders.
- Pause at the top, then lower slowly through the full range and repeat.
Key technique cue
Tuck the chin, don't poke it forward; shoulders pinned, move slowly.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Jutting the chin forward instead of tucking it, which loads the upper neck joints.
- ✕ Lifting the shoulders and trunk, which turns the movement into a partial crunch.
- ✕ Adding load before the bodyweight range is smooth, which shifts work onto the superficial flexors.
- ✕ Bobbing the head quickly, which produces range without controlled muscle work.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains neck flexion directly, which almost no other lift loads.
- ✓ Builds head and neck control that matters in contact and combat sports.
- ✓ Bodyweight loading and a short range make it easy to start and to progress slowly.
About the exercise
The neck curl is the direct flexion exercise for the front of the neck. Lying face up with the head just off the end of a bench, you tuck the chin slightly and lift the head toward the chest without letting the shoulders leave the surface. The prime movers are the sternocleidomastoid and the deeper cervical flexors, and rehab literature notes that those deep flexors respond to low load work while the superficial ones take over once the load climbs. That makes bodyweight the sensible starting point, with a plate added only after the range is smooth and painless. It fits contact and combat sport program tracks and posture work for desk workers.
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