When you start bjj you begin to notice how soft you were previously. This especially applies to the neck as most people in modern age spend a lot of the time working by a computer screen or staring into a smart device.

This is of course besides not being used to a variety of chokes, controls and even cranks that inevitably get applied to the neck at some point during brazilian jiu-jitsu training.

Naturally, taking care of the neck quickly becomes integral because while there is a variety of injuries to the limbs none of them have the potential to be as debilitating as the neck and back injuries.

But much like anything, neck strength can be worked on. One fine history example of this wrestler Martin Burns. He’d conditioned his neck so much that he was able to hanged from 6 feet for a period of time with no effects.

According to sources:

“It was in the late 1890’s he incorporated a side attraction into his show where by he’d hang himself with a noose and a six foot hangman’s drop, then he would talk to the audience members while hanging. “

So it’s not hard to see how a good neck routine could help prolongue your grappling career longterm as well as provide short term benefits such as good posture and more room to work on your submission defense.

There’s tons of approaches to this. The most basic being Neck Exercises For Jiu Jitsu such as neck rotations, side bends and others.

Neck Exercises For Jiu Jitsu

A good source for Neck Exercises For Jiu Jitsu that will help with posture and in general keep your back balanced come from wrestling.

If you haven’t done wrestling we strongly recommend you try because just a small amount of work will make a huge difference long term when it comes to neck strength.

Mike Gilette on the other hand suggests:

“The neck is an interesting piece of architecture because it is the pathway for some of the most aspects of the body: the central nervous system, all of your airway, your internal plumbing as far as your circulatory system is concerned. But interestingly, it is all built around one of the most structurally weak parts of the body.”

What do you think? Do you work on your neck strength regularly?