I’ll never forget it…

I was in the middle of a heavy set of 5 reps on a Seated Barbell Shoulder Press.  I had 225lbs on the bar…

When all of a sudden I felt a ‘POP’ and a burning sensation from my neck down to the fingers of my left hand.

I went for an MRI and X-Ray and the Neurosurgeon told me that I had an Extruding Disc at C-7.

He recommended surgery to fuse the area… and it freaked me out.  ”Hell no, I’m not getting cut and pasted… along with wearing a neck collar for months.  I wouldn’t even be allowed to drive for months.”

For 2 years since this injury I’ve worked on using my own training methods to re-introduce strength into the area without making it worse…

If you’re a wrestler and have had a neck injury, you’ll first need to see a doctor and get it assessed.  A Cervical injury is nothing to play around with, and quite honestly can end a wrestling career.

The best thing is to prevent injuries, but if it does happen you have to have a plan…

Here are 2 training tips if you have to keep strong while working with a neck injury:

1.  Reverse Your Path One of the worst things you can do when you have a neck injury is any type of Overhead Press.  They can put a lot of stress on the Cervical area.  You may be able to do Upright Row movements however.  They will activate the Deltoids, Trapezius and Neck without putting you through a range of motion which disagrees with the injury.  A few types of Upright Rows you can try are:

• Upright Shrug/Rows - Hold dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in.  Bend at the elbows while you raise the dumbbells towards your armpits.  Raise until you feel a contraction and lower slowly to starting position.

• Rope Upright Rows – Set up a rope on a low cable.  Grasp the rope with an overhand grip, and thumbs in.  Pull your hands up and out at the same time.  Your elbows should travel straight out to your sides.  This activates more deltoid which is essential for wrestling strength.

• Negative Reverse Grip Chinups – I’ve always been a big fan of the close, undergrip chinup for wrestlers.  It is a sport-specific exercise for wrestlers.  When you have a neck injury and don’t want to put the neck through a full range of  motion but still want to keep it strong I’d recommend doing these using negatives.  Start with your arms bent and chin over the bar.  Lower in 30 seconds.  When you reach the bottom, climb back up to the starting position and repeat (if you can).  You will get indirect work from the Traps and Neck that you will feel when you’re done.  (It is also fantastic for the abs too:))

2.  Closed-Chain Pressing Exercises – Any type of Bench Presses, Incline Presses and Decline Presses can be dangerous with a neck injury.  They are called ‘Open Chain Exercises’ because you press the resistance away from your body.  People don’t generally think of the Bench Press and its variations as using the neck muscles but they do.  When you lower the weight your Clavicle (collar bone) travels towards your ears, activating the neck and traps.

You can get around this by moving towards Closed Chain Pressing Exercises.  These are pressing exercises where you push your body away to create a muscular contraction.  My 3 favorites are:

• Bodyweight Dips – Bend your knees and cross your ankles during the exercise.  Lean forward 15 degrees.  This will activate your Trapezius and keep it contracted to add stability and support to the neck while you perform the exercise.

• Blast Strap Pushups – You can use the TRX Straps or Blast Straps. (Google them).  You basically perform a pushup while suspended and holding the handles at the end of the straps.  You’ll be able to get a full range of motion in your chest, while getting a tremendous stabilizing effect from many other muscles.

• Weighted Pushups - Do these while holding on to 2 dumbbells that allow you to keep your hands wrapped around them with your palms facing in.  You can use weight by having a training partner put a plate on your mid to upper back or simply have them use hand resistance on your Scapulae (shoulder blades).