What is the best exercise for the neck?

There is no single "best" exercise, it depends on your equipment, level, and goals. For most adults, a mix of compound lifts (which train the neck as part of a larger pattern) and 1-2 isolation exercises works well. See the full list below and the How to Choose guide for selection help.

How many neck exercises should I do per week?

General guidance: 10-20 working sets per muscle group per week is a commonly cited range for growth. Fewer if you are rehabbing or training for strength at high intensity; more only if you have years of recovery capacity.

Do I need special equipment to train the neck?

Most muscle groups can be trained effectively with bodyweight, dumbbells, or resistance bands. Filter the list below by equipment if you want to see only movements you can do at home.

upper

Neck Exercises

9 movements train the neck. Browse by difficulty below, or see the How to Choose guide.

5 beginner · 4 intermediate · 0 advanced, computed across all tagged exercises.

Compiled by PlainExercise Editorial, Exercise Science Editorial Team · July 10, 2026

9
Exercises: 5
Beginner-friendly: 0
Compound lifts: 2
Equipment-free

Neck exercises by equipment

According to the open Free Exercise DB and wger.de datasets, the 9 neck movements split across equipment types as below - other leads, and 2 need no equipment at all.

What the Neck Exercise Data Reveals

The PlainExercise database catalogues 9 movements that list the neck as their primary target. Within that cohort, 5 are tagged beginner, 4 intermediate, 0 advanced, and 0 carry no explicit level classification. Every record is sourced from the public-domain Free Exercise DB and is grouped below by the upstream difficulty tag rather than by a PlainExercise-imposed ranking, so the distribution reflects what practicing coaches and federations have historically classified rather than a synthetic opinion.

This level spread has a practical signal: when a muscle group is dominated by advanced-level records, it typically means the movement patterns require coordination, loaded stabilizers, or technique built across months of practice, and that substitutions at the beginner level are limited. When beginner and intermediate records dominate, practitioners can generally enter the muscle group with bodyweight or light-load variations and progress through the list. For the neck, the beginner-accessible pool is at least as deep as the advanced pool, meaning new trainees have a clear on-ramp.

Context matters: this database tracks exercise taxonomy, primary muscle, equipment, mechanic, difficulty, but does not account for individual anatomy, joint history, or programming context. "Primary muscle" is a taxonomy label, not a claim that the listed movement exclusively isolates the neck. Compound lifts trained for the neck necessarily recruit stabilizers and secondary movers. This page is general educational information, not medical or personal-training advice. Consult a physician, physical therapist, or certified trainer before adding or modifying exercises, especially if you have pre-existing injuries, chronic pain, cardiovascular conditions, or are pregnant.

Beginner (5)

Foundational movements to learn the pattern.

Intermediate (4)

Movements that require basic strength and coordination.

Training the neck

9 catalogued neck movements, here's how to pick from them.

Start with the 5 beginner-friendly options to groove the pattern before adding load or complexity. How to choose
0 of these are compound lifts that train the neck alongside other muscles, anchor your session around one before isolation work. Compound vs isolation
No gym? 2 neck movements need no equipment at all, filter to body-only and train anywhere. Body-only exercises

General information only, not medical or training advice. Stop any movement that causes sharp or joint pain.

Other muscle groups

Shoulders Hamstrings Glutes Quadriceps Triceps Calves Abdominals Chest