Chin tuck
Sitting or standing tall, the head glides straight back over the shoulders and holds: the version you can do at a desk.
Chin tuck family
Chin tuck
DemandEasy
Equipment requiredBodyweight
Muscle focusNeck
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Sit or stand tall with the shoulders relaxed down and the eyes looking forward.
- Gently draw the chin straight back, as if making a double chin, without tipping the head up or down.
- Hold for a couple of seconds, then relax. Repeat little and often through the day.
Form cues
- Move gently, not fast or forcefully.
- Keep the eyes level 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.
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
Beginner. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Neck and shoulder stretches · 10 min
- 5-minute desk stretches · 5 min
- Upper back mobility routine · 12 min
- Chair Pilates workout · 20 min
- Chair exercises for seniors: a seated workout · 20 min
- 3-minute desk movement break · 3 min
- Kyphosis exercises for seniors: a spine-strengthening routine · 30 min
- Parkinson's exercise routine at home: big movements, strength and balance · 35 min
Show all 51 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Seated workout for MS: cardio, strength and stretches from a chair or wheelchair · 25 min
- Daily exercises for ankylosing spondylitis · 20 min
- Chair yoga for seniors · 20 min
- Spine mobility routine: neck to pelvis, every direction · 15 min
- Mobility routine for cyclists · 15 min
- Neck and shoulder strength routine · 18 min
- Neck and shoulder knots routine: press, stretch, strengthen · 15 min
- Stress relief workout: a 12-minute move, loosen and breathe reset · 12 min
- Range of movement exercises for MND: a daily routine on your own or with a helper · 20 min
- Strength workout for spin classes: legs, jumps for bone, back, neck and shoulders · 45 min
- Pilates for posture: upper back, shoulders and neck · 20 min
- Seated chair yoga: 15 minutes, no standing · 15 min
- Yoga for neck pain: a 20-minute gentle sequence · 20 min
- Yoga for thyroid problems: a 30-minute gentle practice, no shoulder stand needed · 30 min
- 10-minute desk yoga routine: seated and standing · 10 min
- Yoga for Parkinson's: a 30-minute class at a counter, sitting then standing · 30 min
- Yoga for cyclists: 25 minutes after a ride or on a rest day · 25 min
- Off-the-bike Pilates for cyclists: a 25-minute class for back extension, trunk and hips · 25 min
- Yoga for TMJ and jaw tension: a 20-minute jaw, neck and breath class · 20 min
- Big-movement Pilates for Parkinson's: a 25-minute chair, counter and mat class · 25 min
- Spine-extension Pilates for ankylosing spondylitis: a 25-minute class for posture, rotation and breathing · 25 min
- Yoga for tinnitus: a 20-minute calming class with the sound on · 20 min
- Strong-and-steady Pilates for teenagers: a 25-minute class for trunk, hips, posture and a calm finish · 25 min
- Yoga for ankylosing spondylitis: a 25-minute breathing, extension and rotation class · 25 min
- Gentle postnatal Pilates: a 20-minute class from about 6 weeks after birth, with an early stop point and caesarean options · 20 min
- Gentle postnatal yoga: a 20-minute class from the first weeks after birth, with an early stop point and caesarean options · 20 min
- No-floor office Pilates: a 15-minute class by your desk, with a chair, a wall and an optional band · 15 min
- Recovery-day Pilates for rugby players: a 25-minute class for the neck, shoulder blades, trunk, hips and hamstrings · 25 min
- Recovery-day yoga for rugby players: a 25-minute class for the neck, upper back, hips and hamstrings · 25 min
- Breathe, move and rest: a 30-minute gentle yoga class for rheumatoid arthritis, mostly in a chair, with a flare-day version · 30 min
- Neck strength workout: holds, head lifts, shrugs and carries · 20 min
- Yoga for boxers: a 25-minute recovery class for shoulders, upper back, hips, hands and breathing, with no weight on your knuckles · 25 min
- Yoga after whiplash: a 15-minute seated and lying class for the first weeks, with small neck movements and no inversions · 15 min
- Yoga for triathletes: a 25-minute class for the swim, bike and run on an easy day · 25 min
- Hands-free Pilates for boxers: a 25-minute class for rotation, shoulder blades, trunk and stance, with no weight on your knuckles · 25 min
- Swim, bike and run Pilates for triathletes: a 25-minute class for the upper back and shoulder blades, the back and the front of the hips, trunk endurance, hips, calves and one-leg balance · 25 min
- Kick-and-guard Pilates for martial arts: a 25-minute class for the kicking leg, hips you control, rotation, the trunk, the neck and shoulder blades, with nothing on the head · 25 min
- Yoga for wrestlers: a 25-minute room-temperature class for the upper back and shoulders, hips out of the stance, back endurance and slow breathing, with nothing on the head · 25 min
- After-shift Pilates for nurses: a 20-minute class with your legs up, a gentle lower back, hips, neck and shoulders, and a wind-down for sleep · 20 min
- Chair-to-mat Pilates for veterans: a 25-minute class for the back, upper back, legs and balance, with a seated option for every block · 25 min
- Pilates after whiplash: a 15-minute seated and lying class for the first weeks, head supported, with small neck movements · 15 min
- Shoulder Pilates: a 25-minute class for the shoulder blades, the rotator cuff, weight on your hands and reach overhead · 25 min
- Wheelchair Pilates: a 20-minute seated class for breathing, the trunk and the shoulders, with pressure relief between blocks · 20 min
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
- Spinal compression fracture: recovering, exercising and living with an osteoporotic spinal fracture
Show all 28 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Thoracic outlet syndrome: exercises, the warning signs, and when surgery helps
- Jaw pain and TMJ disorder: self-care, jaw exercises and what the evidence shows
- Exercises after a broken collarbone: the sling, the recovery stages and getting back to sport
- 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
- Arm pain: the shoulder, elbow, forearm, a nerve from the neck or the heart, and how to build back
- Neck pain in older adults: arthritis, a trapped nerve, spinal cord pressure, a fall, and what helps
- 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
- Upper back pain in older adults: spinal fractures, a rounded back, arthritis, shingles and the heart
- Neck pain when looking down: phones and screens, the muscles and joints, nerve pain and what helps
- Neck pain on the treadmill: looking down, the rails, the upper back, headaches and what helps
- Shoulder pain after painting: walls, ceilings, holding a roller up, the rotator cuff and what helps
- Shoulder pain from surfing (surfer's shoulder): paddling, pop-ups, wipeouts, the neck and what helps
- Back pain from surfing: paddling, pop-ups, wipeouts, surfer's myelopathy and what helps
- Back pain after rugby: scrums, rucks and tackles, young players' stress fractures and what helps
Guides that use it
- Pilates for back pain guide
- Pilates for seniors guide
- Pilates for posture guide
- Chair Pilates guide
- Pilates for cyclists guide
- Pilates for Parkinson's guide
- Pilates for ankylosing spondylitis guide
- Pilates for teenagers guide
Show all 116 guidesShow fewer guides
- Postnatal Pilates guide
- Pilates for upper back pain guide
- Pilates for office workers guide
- Pilates for rugby players guide
- Pilates for kyphosis guide
- Pilates for rounded shoulders guide
- Pilates for TMJ and jaw pain guide
- Pilates for cervical spondylosis guide
- Pilates for thyroid problems guide
- Pilates after a concussion guide
- Pilates for boxers guide
- Pilates for triathletes guide
- Pilates for martial arts guide
- Pilates for nurses guide
- Pilates for veterans guide
- Pilates for whiplash guide
- Pilates for your shoulders guide
- Pilates for spinal cord injury guide
- Pilates for back fat guide
- Pilates for spine health guide
- Pilates for neck and shoulders guide
- Yoga for seniors guide
- Chair yoga guide
- Yoga for neck pain guide
- Yoga for headaches and migraine guide
- Face yoga guide
- Yoga for thyroid problems guide
- Desk yoga guide
- Yoga for Parkinson's guide
- Yoga for carpal tunnel guide
- Yoga for chronic fatigue guide
- Yoga for cyclists guide
- Yoga for TMJ guide
- Yoga for eyes guide
- Yoga for tinnitus guide
- Yoga for long COVID guide
- Yoga for ankylosing spondylitis guide
- Yoga for sinus problems guide
- Postnatal yoga guide
- Yoga for rugby players guide
- Yoga for rheumatoid arthritis guide
- Yoga for kyphosis guide
- Yoga for lupus guide
- Yoga for boxers guide
- Yoga for degenerative disc disease guide
- Yoga for cervical spondylosis guide
- Yoga for whiplash guide
- Yoga after a concussion guide
- Yoga for eating disorders guide
- Yoga after a spinal cord injury guide
- Yoga for triathletes guide
- Yoga for wrestlers guide
- Yoga for nurses guide
- Yoga for rounded shoulders guide
- Yoga for your shoulders guide
- Yoga for spine health guide
- Yoga for the neck and shoulders guide
- Spine guide
- Fascia exercises guide
- Trigger points guide
- Cupping guide
- Gua sha guide
- Sports massage guide
- Dry needling guide
- Myofascial pain syndrome guide
- Craniosacral therapy guide
- Bowen therapy guide
- Fascial manipulation guide
- Jaw and TMJ guide
- Neck and shoulders guide
- Face guide
- Posture guide
- Strain-counterstrain guide
- Exercise for older adults
- Exercise for osteoporosis and osteopenia
- Exercise for rheumatoid arthritis
- Exercise for Parkinson's
- Exercises for ankylosing spondylitis
- Exercise for migraine
- Exercise with long COVID
- ME/CFS and exercise
- Exercise after a concussion
- Exercise for stress relief
- Exercise and eating disorders
- Exercise for psoriatic arthritis
- Exercise with motor neurone disease (MND, ALS)
- Exercise with scleroderma
- Exercise with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
- Exercise after cataract surgery
- Exercise after retinal detachment surgery
- Exercise while breastfeeding
- Posture guide
- Sitting posture guide
- Forward head posture guide
- Kyphosis guide
- Neck hump guide
- Military neck guide
- Shrugs guide
- Band pull-aparts guide
- Wall angels guide
- Y-T-W raises guide
- Bigger traps guide
- Thicker neck guide
- Strengthen your neck guide
- Neck mobility guide
- Walking pad guide
- Cycling guide
- Spin classes guide
Similar moves
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Questions people ask
What muscles does the Chin tuck work?
Mainly the neck.
What equipment do I need for the Chin tuck?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Chin tuck good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Isometric neck holds (four-way).
What is an easier alternative to the Chin tuck?
Try the Lying chin tuck. Both are written steps in the same progression.
How do I make the Chin tuck harder?
Progress to the Isometric neck holds (four-way) or the Chin tuck with head lift. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.