Deep neck holders

Chin tuck

Slide your head straight back over your shoulders without tipping it, hold, release. The muscles meant to carry your head over your body rather than in front of it are endurance muscles, and a screen lets them quit.

How to do it

1. 01Sit or stand tall, eyes level, shoulders relaxed down.
2. 02Slide the whole head straight backward, as if making a double chin, without tipping the nose down.
3. 03Hold five seconds; you should feel work at the front of the throat, not a stretch in the back of the neck.
4. 04Release slowly and repeat ten times.

Mistakes that waste your reps

• ×Nodding the chin toward the chest instead of translating the head straight back.
• ×Shrugging or bracing the jaw; only the neck works here.
• ×Holding your breath through the five seconds.

Where this comes from

Discomfort that eases as you move is normal; pain that sharpens is a stop sign. If this area is injured or persistently painful, a clinician outranks this page.

Written by Kyle Jenkin · updated August 31, 2026 · how we grade evidence

Pairs well with