Chin tuck with head lift
With the chin tucked, the head lifts just clear of the floor and holds, loading the deep neck flexors with the head’s weight.
Chin tuck family
Chin tuck with head lift
Loading the 3D figure…
Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat, and tuck your chin as in the lying chin tuck.
- Keeping the chin tucked, lift the head just clear of the floor, about a finger’s width.
- Hold briefly, then lower the head slowly and relax. Stop if the chin pokes forward.
Form cues
- Lift only as high as the chin stays tucked.
- Breathe normally throughout.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- JOSPT · Neck pain clinical practice guideline (2017) ↗
- Jull 2002 · Exercise and manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache (RCT) ↗
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Muscles
Main: Neck.
Anatomy: Levator scapulae, Sternocleidomastoid, Scalenes, Splenius capitis, Suboccipital muscles, Deep neck flexors.
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Intermediate. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
- Neck pain: exercises that help, and when to get it checked
- Stiff neck or wry neck: how to ease it, and how long it lasts
- Tech neck: what really helps desk and phone neck pain
- Pinched nerve in the neck (cervical radiculopathy): exercises and what to expect
- Whiplash: exercises for recovery, and what the trials found
- Headaches from the neck (cervicogenic headache): exercises, and when to get checked
- Neck arthritis (cervical spondylosis): exercises, scans and warning signs
- Jaw pain and TMJ disorder: self-care, jaw exercises and what the evidence shows
Show all 41 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Tension headaches: relief, prevention, and how they differ from neck headaches
- Occipital neuralgia: shooting pain at the back of the head, nerve blocks, and what exercise can do
- Stingers and burners: a burning, dead arm after a tackle, when it's an emergency, and playing again
- Exercises after neck surgery: recovery after ACDF or a disc replacement, stage by stage
- Neck pain when cycling: position, reach, looking up from a low position, and exercises that help
- Neck pain when swimming (swimmer's neck): breathing, head position and how to build back
- Neck pain from sleeping: waking with a sore neck, pillows, positions and exercises
- Neck pain when turning your head: a stiff neck, a trapped nerve, whiplash, driving and what helps
- Pain on the side of the neck: muscles and joints, a pinched nerve, glands, the throat and thyroid
- Neck and shoulder pain: the neck, a trapped nerve or the shoulder, desk and sleep, and the heart
- Neck pain in women: desk work, stress, migraine, pregnancy, the menopause and heart attack signs
- Neck pain after a workout: soreness or a strain, crunches, shrugs and presses, and training again
- Neck pain in children and teens: stiff necks, screens, a baby's tilted head, and when it's urgent
- Neck pain in older adults: arthritis, a trapped nerve, spinal cord pressure, a fall, and what helps
- Arm pain at night: numb hands, the shoulder, elbow and neck, how to sleep, and the signs to check
- Upper back pain in women: desk work, the neck and ribs, bra fit and breasts, bones, and heart signs
- Neck pain in men: desk and site work, the gym and sport, whiplash, trapped nerves and heart signs
- Neck pain in pregnancy: posture, sleep and feeding positions, headaches, and the signs to check
- Neck pain when looking down: phones and screens, the muscles and joints, nerve pain and what helps
- Neck pain when doing sit-ups: pulling on your head, the neck muscles, technique and swaps
- Neck pain when doing push-ups: head position, the shoulder blades, planks and nerve signs
- Neck pain when bench pressing: the traps, your head on the bench, straining, the set-up and swaps
- Headaches when lifting weights: straining and breath holding, the neck, heat, and the signs to check
- Neck pain when doing shrugs: the upper traps, your head, rolling, heavy loads, headaches and swaps
- Neck pain when deadlifting: head position, the upper traps, straining and headaches, and swaps
- Neck pain when doing rows: shrugging, the upper traps, your head, upright and inverted rows, swaps
- Neck pain on the treadmill: looking down, the rails, the upper back, headaches and what helps
- Neck pain from Pilates: the hundred, curl-ups, rolling moves and the reformer, and what to change
- Neck pain after yoga: headstand, shoulder stand, plough, backbends and twists, and what to change
- Neck pain when driving: the headrest, looking over your shoulder, long journeys and after a crash
- Neck pain after flying: sleeping upright, neck pillows, screens, lifting bags and what helps
- Neck pain after a massage: the face cradle, deep pressure, headaches and the signs to act on
- Neck pain after a chiropractor: soreness after an adjustment, headaches, rare harms and what helps
Guides that use it
Similar moves
Browse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Chin tuck with head lift work?
Mainly the neck.
What equipment do I need for the Chin tuck with head lift?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Chin tuck with head lift good for beginners?
It is graded intermediate. If it is too hard right now, start with the Chin tuck.
What is an easier alternative to the Chin tuck with head lift?
Try the Chin tuck or the Lying chin tuck. Both are written steps in the same progression.