ISOMETRIC NECK EXERCISE

Have you ever been invited to take money OUT of a church offering plate? I didn't think so. Well, that actually happened at our church today. The plates, filled with dollar bills, were passed down the rows and we were all encouraged to take a dollar! Our Pastor, Jenny, had supplied this "treasure", as she put it, from her own "Kingdom Account". She explained that this is an account she adds to gradually yet continually which she earmarks to help the church and others less fortunate. She encouraged all of us to take our new dollar and start a similar fund of our own. I think it was a masterful illustration in this sense:

When you give forth, either money, talent, or sheer effort:

You reap so much more than you sow!

This is true whether you have a church you want to grow and inspire, an acappella singing group, or in this case, is especially true of your own health and fitness. The more knowledge and application you put into your effort, the more, exponentially, you will reap the benefits of this effort in your end results. In exercise, this can be even more readily apparent than in other endeavors: When you exercise, put your whole concentration, laser-like, into the muscles being worked. Don't half-heartedly "go through the motions"- ever! If you merely dance about, Richard Simmons-like, waving your arms in "aerobic dance", you will achieve... almost nothing.

BUT, if you can focus on the muscle being worked, and work to a high level of intensity, the results you achieve, in a very short period of time, will literally astound you.

And with that in mind, let's start with one of the most important, and universally ignored body body parts around- the neck.

In the photos shown here, I am doing neck isometric exercises, as I do each day. The neck is crucial for a healthy, fit body. Aesthetically, it is always visible, like your face...(unless you love turtlenecks, like Ilya Kuryakin of Man From Uncle).

In each exercise, I am showing two positions. You resist against your hands in each, gradually increasing intensity, and pressing against your hands until you reach an extreme of intensity, concentrating on the neck muscles being worked.

You must remember to BREATHE throughout every exercise!

This is crucial. You don't want to pass out!

And so, there are 3 positions:

Back to front

Front to back

Side to side

Do these exercises in two positions: at the beginning of the range of motion, and then again at the end or the range or motion. So, that is back to front, two positions; Front to back; two positions, and side to side; two positions right, and then two positions left.

There we have it- a strong neck. It takes a long time to describe how to do these exercises, but not very long at all to DO! So DO them... daily!

This is the ideal way to start your daily Vintage Health & Fitness regimen!