Lying chin tuck
A small nod with the head resting on the floor trains the deep neck flexors without lifting the head’s weight.
Chin tuck family
Lying chin tuck
DemandEasy
Equipment requiredBodyweight + Floor space
Muscle focusNeck
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat, the back of your head resting on the floor or a thin folded towel.
- Gently nod as if saying yes, drawing the chin toward the throat so the back of the neck lengthens; the head stays resting.
- Hold briefly while breathing normally, then relax back to neutral.
Form cues
- Keep the jaw and throat relaxed.
- The movement is small; the head never lifts.
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.
- Jull 2002 · Exercise and manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache (RCT) ↗
- Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS · Neck strength and stability exercises ↗
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
- Upper back mobility routine · 12 min
- Neck and shoulder strength routine · 18 min
- Yoga for neck pain: a 20-minute gentle sequence · 20 min
- Pilates for neck pain: a 20-minute head-supported class · 20 min
- Yoga for posture: a 25-minute back-strengthening practice · 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
- Pilates after whiplash: a 15-minute seated and lying class for the first weeks, head supported, with small neck movements · 15 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
- 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
- Tension headaches: relief, prevention, and how they differ from neck headaches
Show all 37 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Occipital neuralgia: shooting pain at the back of the head, nerve blocks, and what exercise can do
- 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
- 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
- Shoulder pain when doing face pulls: the rotator cuff, pulley height, elbows, neck and what helps
- 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
- Pilates for posture guide
- Pilates for neck pain guide
- Pilates for rugby players guide
- Pilates for headaches guide
- Pilates for TMJ and jaw pain guide
- Pilates for degenerative disc disease guide
- Pilates for cervical spondylosis guide
- Pilates after a concussion guide
Show all 31 guidesShow fewer guides
- Pilates for whiplash guide
- Pilates for tinnitus guide
- Pilates for neck and shoulders guide
- Yoga for neck pain guide
- Yoga for posture guide
- Yoga for TMJ guide
- Yoga for degenerative disc disease guide
- Yoga for cervical spondylosis guide
- Yoga for whiplash guide
- Yoga after a concussion guide
- Yoga for rounded shoulders guide
- Yoga for the neck and shoulders guide
- Spine guide
- Cupping guide
- Craniosacral therapy guide
- Headaches guide
- Exercise after a concussion
- Forward head posture guide
- Neck hump guide
- Military neck guide
- Thicker neck guide
- Strengthen your neck guide
- Neck mobility guide
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Questions people ask
What muscles does the Lying chin tuck work?
Mainly the neck.
What equipment do I need for the Lying chin tuck?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Lying chin tuck good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Chin tuck.
How do I make the Lying chin tuck harder?
Progress to the Chin tuck or the Isometric neck holds (four-way). Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.