How to Do Neck Exercises With Dumbells

A woman doing dumbbell "shrugs." The diagram shows the muscles strengthened by this exercise.

Dumbells are wonderful fitness training tools because they can be used to strenthen nearly every muscle in your body. In this article, we will discuss how to use just one exercise to strengthen your neck, back and shoulder muscles.

Things You'll Need

• dumbells

Instructions

How To Do Neck Exercises With Dumbbells

1. 

   Grasp one dumbbell in each hand and let your arms dangle at your sides. The weights should be moderately heavy, but not so heavy that you strain just to hold them. Make sure both dumbbells are the same weight.

2. Tense your shoulders and neck. This helps you focus on using just the muscles that this exercise is designed to train. Do not clench your teeth or hold your breath, just gently isolate the muscle groups - shoulders and neck - that you are about to use.

3. 

   Raise your shoulders toward your ears while keeping your arms at your sides. This should be a smooth, even movement - as if you are shrugging in slow motion.

4. Count to two once you have shrugged your shoulders as high as possible. Count evenly and remember to continue breathing.

5. Lower your shoulders slowly until your arms are once again hanging loosely at your sides. You can repeat this exercise as many times as you wish. Generally, women should do more repetitions with a lower weight in order to achieve maximum muscle definiton. Men can use higher weights and do fewer repetitions to build bulk.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult your doctor or a certified fitness trainer if you are beginning a muscle-building program for the first time

• Stop immediately if you feel dizzy or lightheaded

• Be careful - weightlifting can be hard work, but it is not supposed to cause excruciating pain