# How do I get big neck muscles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752 "2001-11-16T16:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/1 "2001-11-16T16:16:01Z")
Like Henry Rollins and Mike Tyson… What do they do? Is there a machine that I can use at the gym for my neck? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/2 "2001-11-16T16:30:12Z")
[These guys](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=99254) might be able to give you some pointers. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/3 "2001-11-16T16:38:02Z")
Trapezius, the sexiest muscle in the world. There is a machine at my gym that helps. It’s a two way Pec machine. You an either pull the weight forward or backward, arms straight out like a crucifix. Swimming, particularly butterfly stroke will also do it. jar ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/4 "2001-11-16T16:42:14Z")
The neck muscles include the trapezius and the sternocleidomastoids. An effective excercise for excercising the trapezius are shoulder shrugs. Using either dumbells or a barbell, shrug and lift your shoulders up toward your ears. You can usually work with a fairly heavy weight, even to start with. I’ve found that the hard part about increasing neck size is isolating the next muscles. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/5 "2001-11-16T16:44:10Z")
“neck muscles” I have no idea what “next muscles” are. ---
**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/6 "2001-11-16T16:44:14Z")
When I played football in high school we had a machine for this. You basically put your head between two adjustable pads and move your head left to right, or back and forth depending on which side you are on. The resistance was supplied by hydraulic pumps like on a screen door. The machine worked good, but it was very important to clean off the pads before you used. Especially with all the dirty, oily faces that had sweated all over it. The machine was pretty old and I have not seen one like it in any other gyms. ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/7 "2001-11-16T18:17:30Z")
Go to a nude beach. Your neck muscles will get a good workout. OK, seriously, like **plnnr** said - shoulder shrugs. You can load up a barbell and do shrugs, but don’t do too much at first, since it’s a good way to give yourself a pinched nerve in your neck, which really sucks. ---
**Author:** ![kaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f17d59/32.png) [@kaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/8 "2001-11-16T18:36:47Z")
he he that was pretty funny. I find that, yes, trapezius does help, but also that doing neck rotations and what not can improve your neck as well. Hang your head off the bed and move your head laterally 20 times, then vertically 20 times. Do that three times a week, then you should be in good shape. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/9 "2001-11-16T19:14:17Z")
Tie a cinder block to your head. ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/10 "2001-11-16T23:39:30Z")
Little neck clams I can help you with, but you’re on your own with the big neck mussles. [sub]D&R[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/11 "2001-11-17T00:08:24Z")
The Nautilus company used to make a machine for this that used a regular weight stack. I don’t know if they’re still available but we used to have one at the gym I go to. They got rid of it because so few people used it. For a picture of it… [http://www.superslow.com/systems/nautilus\_4way\_neck.html](http://www.superslow.com/systems/nautilus_4way_neck.html) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/12 "2001-11-17T00:34:51Z")
[Here](http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/BackWt.html#anchor1914548)’s a list of exercises for the trapezius and nearby muscles. This site seems to be a pretty good resource; might want to go through the rest of it. I also seem to recall that the rowing machine at my gym claims to work the trapezius. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/13 "2001-11-17T01:50:04Z")
Fiendish, whats your neck measurement? You know, 15, 16, 17? ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/14 "2001-11-17T05:39:41Z")
Wear a big, heavy hat. ---
**Author:** ![Houlihan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Houlihan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Houlihan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/15 "2001-11-17T06:14:51Z")
I got my 19 1/2 inch neck from a machine as described by Texas Playboy, but I never did learn the proper name of it. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/16 "2001-11-17T12:25:43Z")
Play the bagpipes. I know a guy who’s a piper. He’s over six feet tall, is very thin, and has an 18 inch neck from blowing the bagpipes. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-big-neck-muscles/93752/17 "2001-11-17T15:29:44Z")
Houlihan, how do you find a shirt that fits your neck size?