I have a very weird measurements in my body. I am 5'7, 144 lbs, yet I have a 16 and 3/4 neck size. The size of dress shirt that fits me has to be a size 17, maybe a size 16 1/2.
I dont do any real neck exercises except maybe barbell shrugs for my traps.
How did my neck get so big? Are there any negatives to this?
I did gain 15 lbs from last year, and lowered my body fat from 13% to 7.4%.
Hi olyella,
While it is hardly possible to do little more than guess I'll put out a couple of thoughts and maybe you have or have not thought of them.
You might have a genetic predisposition to have a large neck. I do too; my neck is bigger than my biceps or calves. I never really did any special exercises for it either. I only remember that when in middle school, there was a neck exercise machine where you could sit down and move a pad with your neck. I was able to do 200lbs on it, more than anyone, while being much weaker than at least half of the kids in other exercises.
Also since you made lots of gains within the past year, if your neck is genetically predisposed to grow, it would, with very little stimulation. The shrugs might have been enough.
Maybe you also, unconsciously, have a habit of tensing your neck when you strain to do any exercise. That way your neck would get much more stimulation than you would think.
I personally think that it is great to have a big neck. If you (lets hope not) get involved in any accident, your neck muscles will give you extra protection that a person with a regular neck would not have. It would minimize the trauma from whiplash. Second, powerful neck muscles allow you to take a punch much better without your head getting rattled (compared to if your neck was weak). Thirdly, I think a strong neck gives people the impression that you are in shape. It is the only part of your body that is still visible when wearing a business suit or a coat.
5'7, 135-140lbs here
16'' neck
i guess grappling helped, and boxing
my neck used to be sore after boxing workouts, trying to keep my head on while it was being punched gave me quite a workout
now it's deadlifts, and shrugs that do it i guess
It be great if my arms and calves were the same size as my neck.
I just find it hard to find dress shirts in my size. If the neck fits, its the only thing that will on dress shirts, everything else is way too big.
i weighed 180 at 5'9 and had a 17 1/2 inch neck. why did i know this? a buddy of mine got married and i had to get fitted for a tux. they sent the measurments back and said to remeasure my neck. i since quite working on my neck so much, maybe i should restart.