Hey, everybody is Doctor Jo and the lion, Mr. Bear, and today we're going to show you stretches
for a sore neck after a workout or starting a new exercise program. So let's get started.
So for these neck stretches, you don't need any extra equipment. So a lot of times the
neck muscles and the shoulder muscles are all connected. So these are great for the
shoulder as well, if you got those sore muscles, especially when you're working out a lot of times,
people if they're starting for the first time or haven't exercised in a long time, it kind of tense
up. And that's where you get that soreness in those neck muscles. So the first one is just going
to be an upper trap stretch. So this is one of my favorites, you can do it a couple different ways.
I usually like to sit on my hand on the side that I want to stretch, but you can also put
your hand behind you, if you don't want to sit on it, or you can just leave it relax,
you'll still get a good stretch, but you're going to get a little bit better stretch by doing
it this way, because you're keeping that shoulder down. So you're going to get a better stretch.
So I'm just gonna sit on it, I'm gonna take my other hand and bring it up over my head,
where my fingers are just kind of lightly on that year over there. So with the upper trap stretch,
you're just bringing it over to the side, so you're not really turning your head up or down,
you can but you'll get different muscles for those. So when you're first starting out, I just
like gently pulling over to the side, here, I'm getting a nice stretch to that upper trap area,
again, up into the neck all the way down into the shoulder. Again, you can kind of put your hand
behind your back, if you don't really want to sit on it. Or you can just leave your hand like this
and get that nice stretch. So you're gonna hold it for 30 seconds, and then do that three times on
each side. So then this time, I'm a habit behind my back, my hand comes up and over to the ear.
And I just gently pull over and get a nice good stretch, I feel it kind of all the way up almost
in the top of the neck behind my ear all the way down into the shoulder. If you're
interested in following along with some real time stretches, where I'm doing the whole routine,
you can check out the link up there, I got a whole bunch of real time stretches for you. So then the
next one is another one of my favorites, which is the levator scapulae stretch. And that levator
scapula muscle is the one that comes all the way up into that cervical spine or the neck up there
and goes all the way down to the shoulder blade. And a lot of times when we're stressed out, or
maybe we're working really hard in the gym, that muscle gets overworked because we've kind of bring
those shoulders up towards our ears. And that's overworking that muscle. So if they're sore, tight
or painful, this is a great one. Again, you can do a couple of different positions with your hand,
I like to bring my elbow up and just place my hand kind of back on my shoulder blade
back there. That's the way I learned it. But I know this is very uncomfortable for some people,
especially if you're really sore. So you can also put your hand behind your back, I just like doing
it this way because I feel like I get the best stretch with that. So this time, you're gonna
take your other hand and bring it almost up in behind like your I always say like you're putting
a helmet on your head. And then you're going to come down at an angle with your nose. So almost
like a 45 degree angle, like you're trying to take your nose to your opposite knee.
Or some people say like you're trying to tuck your nose into your armpit. So up and over, and then
kind of pulling down this way. And so again, I'm getting that nice stretch all the way almost up
to the base of the school all the way down into the shoulder blade, they're getting that nice
stretch. And this is a great one, try not to curl down that takes away from it a little bit,
keep your back upright if you can. And then again, holding that stretch for 30 seconds, doing
that three times on each side. Again, if that elbow up towards the ceiling is uncomfortable,
you can kind of put your hand behind your back, bring your head up, and then tuck it in kind of
down into that armpit or that little bit of a 45 degree angle, you can again also just place your
hand here if it's uncomfortable either way, but you're going to get a little bit better stretch,
if you're keeping that shoulder blade down to get that stretch. So the next one is going to be
for the scalene muscles and the SEM the sternocleidomastoid in there. And so these are the
SEM is what people call it because it's a really long muscle, they comes all the way up to that
bone right there. And then all the way down, and then your scalenes are kind of around in the front
there. So I always call this the portrait pose, I just kind of think is a fun way that because you
look like you're posing for a portrait but so if I want to stretch, I'm holding this collarbone down
and then just kind of pulling it downwards a little bit and then I'm going to side bend and
rotate away. So see it looks like posing, and I'm going to get all those muscles around in
there stretch the the scalenes and the SEM and I'm just gently pulling down on my collarbone again,
you don't have to do that. But I feel like you get just a little bit better stretch if you do
that and it's not painful. So again, holding that for 30 seconds, then kind of coming back,
holding the side, doing the side bend and then rotating around almost like I'm looking up
towards the corner of the ceiling there, and I'm getting a nice stretch through there. This is also
good if you have something like Thoracic Outlet Syndrome or TOS, because that really helps open
up that area there. So get 30 seconds three times on each side. Then the next one, this is going to
be a chest stretch. And so sometimes people don't associate the chest muscles or the pec muscles
with neck soreness. But all these muscles, again, they're connected, they're connected the shoulder,
the shoulders connected to the neck. So especially if you're doing rolled forward shoulders,
that's going to really put stress on your neck as well. So it's nice to stretch these out.
So a simple one to do. So you don't have to get up and stand in a corner or doorway,
is just to kind of take your hands and clasp them behind you. So what you're going to do is you're
going to push down and out, and then just kind of push your chest forward. And so I'm feeling that
stretch through those muscles right there. And this is great is really comfortable, sometimes
is uncomfortable for people, if they have a hard time getting their hands class behind them,
I've had people say what do I do, if I can't get my hands together, you can take a towel or strap
and hold it so then you're not completely together, but still do the same movement. So
if I'm not holding my hands together, and I'm just kind of pushing back like this,
I'm actually still getting a pretty good chest stretch doing that. But if you can get them closer
together, even if you're still holding the towel, the closer together, you can get them a little bit
better you stretch you get in those chest muscles. So just really again, holding that stretch for
that 30 seconds doing that three times. But if you need to hold on to a towel, or just kind of push
your arms back, you should still get a pretty good stretch with that. The next one is again,
one of my favorites. If you've seen any of my neck shoulder videos, the chin tuck is really one of
my favorites. It's a stretch, but it's also kind of an exercise. But it does a really good job of
resetting these muscles, especially our postural muscles, not only if you've been working out to
get the stress out, but if you've been working on a computer for a long time, you can bring those
neck muscles for they get stressed out and irritated and sore. And so chin tuck is one
of my favorites to kind of reset everything and get those muscles loosened up again. So it's not
tucking down. But it's actually bringing your head back. So the key for these is you want to
keep your chin in a neutral position. So you don't want it going up. You don't want it going down.
One of my PD friends has settle, settle in lengthen your neck and settle your chin. And
that's a really good way to kind of think of it. And so you kind of get it up, settle that chin,
and then just gently try and push back if you can. Now, if you haven't done these before,
try not to force it because a lot of times it can be a little painful.
I have more movement, because I do these a lot with my neck issues. But sometimes I'll tell
people use your fingers a target, because if you have a target, then sometimes it's easier
to figure out how to do the movement. So I say just you know, place it, place your finger on
your chin, leave your finger there, and try and bring that chin away from your finger,
hold it for maybe three to five seconds and then release. And then a lot of times you have a little
bit of space in between, which means those muscles are resetting themselves. So it's nice to kind of
see that visual because sometimes people are like, I don't I don't feel like I'm doing anything. But
if you if you have that target, and you do that and you bring it back and there's a little bit
of space and you're like okay, yeah, I can do that a little bit. So again, maybe this one's
not that full 32nd hold three to five seconds, maybe do five at a time. So there you have it,
those are stretches for a sore neck after a workout or starting a new exercise program.
If you'd like to help support my channel, you can become a paid member by clicking the join button
or clicking on the link in the description below. I know Mr. Bear. You'll get extra perks,
sneak peeks and other fun things. So remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.