So what I wanted to do today is share with you a couple of my favorite exercises for traps and neck that address the issue of forward head position (which looks like the guy on the right).

This position puts stress on the neck and changes your body position and posture, making you look and feel shorter and older.

The first is Neck-Focused Weighted Dips.

Very simple exercise...instead of putting the belt around your waist, you put it on the back your head/neck.

Then get into the station and perform the dip from there. As you come down into the bottom, your body will tilt forward, because of where the load is placed on your body. Then push yourself back up.

Obviously, you'll need to be strong enough to perform weighted dips just in general to be able to use this one.

And be VERY sure to start light the first time you try it...even just a 10 lb plate is fine. I've worked up to 90 lbs on the belt and that was about my limit. It's important you progress smartly with this one.

It puts direct isometric loading on the muscles of the neck that oppose that forward head position, automatically pulling the head back into better alignment.

The second exercise is Seated Leaning Dumbbell Shrugs.

This exercise is good for ANY training level...it's just a matter of changing the weight being used.

These are done sitting on the end of a bench, holding a pair of dumbbells. You'll be doing a simple shrugging movement, while leaning forward instead of having a vertical torso position.

This change in body angle targets the upper traps, middle traps, rhomboids, and teres major muscles as opposed to just the vertical shrug that only hits upper traps. These other muscles help immensely with improving overall posture and pulling the head back into better alignment.

Just fyi, your elbows will bend a bit as you shrug up due to the biomechanics of your back and arms during the movement. If you try and force them to stay straight, it'll result in a tendency for your lower back to round over, which we want to avoid. The bend will just naturally happen as you shrug up.

Use fairly heavy weight and aim for sets of 6-8 reps, with a squeeze and hold at the top of each rep.

These exercises can help a LOT when it comes to improving neck and upper back strength...and this strength helps a lot with pulling your head back into proper alignment with your spine.

You can work these exercises into your regular training, subbing in these versions instead of doing the regular versions of dips and shrugs.