Troubleshooting neck pain on chest day

A common complaint on chest day is neck pain, strain, or cramps.

There are several causes for this, and it can be resolved quite easily.

When does it happen?

When performing chest pressing exercises:

• Flat Bench Barbell Chest Press
• Incline Bench Barbell Chest Press
• Decline Bench Barbell Chest Press
• Barbell Floor Press
• Flat Bench Dumbbell Chest Press
• Incline Bench Dumbbell Chest Press
• Decline Bench Dumbbell Chest Press
• Flat Bench Smith Machine Chest Press
• Incline Bench Smith Machine Chest Press
• Decline Bench Smith Machine Chest Press
• Machine Chest Press
• Incline Machine Chest Press
• Decline Machine Chest Press
• Plate Machine Chest Press
• Plate Incline Machine Chest Press
• Plate Decline Machine Chest Press

Causes and solutions for neck pain

The solutions are quite easy and go hand in hand with the causes; however, they take time to practice and perform.

Lack of stretching

Without proper stretching, the neck muscles remain tight and less flexible, increasing the risk of strains, sprains, and other injuries during chest presses. This is especially important if you plan on chasing one-rep max personal records during your chest press exercises.

Improper form

When doing a chest press, remember to position both feet flat on the floor. The shoulder blades should be pinched back.

Avoid making eye contact with the weights. There is a tendency to look at the weight you are lifting, but it's important to keep your head flat on the bench instead of tilting it down to look at the weights.

Lack of warming up the neck muscles

If you are going to aim for one-rep maxes, it's important to a proper warmup of the neck muscles. Ideally, two to three sets of barbell shrugs or dumbbell shrugs will get the blood pumping into them. To properly prepare for a one-rep max chest press, you should shrug eight to ninety percent of that weight at least 8 times. Use a pyramid structure when warming up the neck with weights, or you could very well injure yourself during the warmup. Shrugs are the easiest and safest way to warm up the neck because you can load up the weight, and it's a one-inch lift.

Conclusion

Not only are proper form and stretching the most important solutions, but also is following proper bodybuilding tenets of warming up the muscles with lighter, high repetition sets.

Please note that if none of these simple remedies work, it would be advised to seek professional medical help.