Most people don’t realize how much time they spend looking down at a phone, or at their computer monitor, when in a seated position. I used to be one of these people.
These habits put extra strain on my neck and shoulders which led to poor posture, discomfort, headaches, and long-term alignment issues. It also lead to excessive muscle tension, chronic pain, and joint dysfunction.
Doing targeted neck posture exercises (both stretching and strengthening) helped me correct these issues and regain good posture.
In this article, I’m sharing a round up of neck posture exercises that helped me, which you can add to your routines.
10 Neck Posture Exercises
Tech neck and forward head posture are very common in today’s workforce, both in the office culture and work-from-home community.
Consistently strengthening the right muscles, correcting daily habits, and staying aware of how I hold my body throughout the day are important.
The right neck posture exercises helped me reduce pain in my neck muscles, improve alignment, and support long-term spinal health. They are an important part of my process on how to improve posture while sitting at computer.
Nothing in the article is medical advice. All of us have different ergonomic variables in our lives. An exercise that is good for one person, may not be good for the next person. Do your research. Make good decisions. And consult a doctor when necessary.
What Does Bad Neck Posture Look Like
I knew I had bad neck posture (or text neck) when I had all of these:
- forward head posture
- rounded shoulders
- chin jutting forward
- upper back hunching
What Causes Bad Neck Posture
- prolonged screen time and phone use
- poor workstation ergonomics
- weak deep neck flexor muscles
- tight chest and upper trap muscles
Diving deeper, my neck pain was caused by looking down at my laptop monitor for long periods of time.
Looking down, at an excessive angle, caused me to flex the muscles on the front of my neck. Over time, these muscles shortened.
At the same time, the muscles on the back of my neck were held in an extended position. Over time, these muscles lengthen.
All of my anterior and posterior neck muscles were tight. The front neck muscles got shorter, and the rear neck muscles got longer. This imbalance caused dysfunction in my head and neck, which also contributed to postural issues in my shoulders and upper back.
Can Neck Exercises Improve Posture
Neck stretches and exercises definitely strengthened my weak muscles, while stretching the tight ones. I always try to walk the fine line between balancing stretching and strengthening.
Some of my improvements came within 2 weeks of consistent effort. But I completely corrected my poor neck function within about 6 weeks (while doing exercises 3 days a week).
But exercises alone were not enough (without habit correction at my desk). More on that at the bottom of this article.
Best Exercises For Neck Posture
Chin tucks
Chin tucks activated my deep neck flexors. They pulled my head back into alignment (above my torso, instead of in front of it).
Stand tall with your shoulder blades touching the wall. Then pull your head and chin straight back (not down).
Then I’d hold this position for 3–5 seconds. I’d repeat 10–15 reps.
Cactus pose (while laying flat)
This is a light-intensity, long-duration stretch. Which is the best way to reverse repetitive strain and overuse at a computer.
The cactus pose (while laying flat) reversed my internal shoulder rotation. It opened my chest, which allowed me to relax the forward pull from my anterior neck muscles.
I would lay flat on my back, with my arms in a “cactus” or “goalpost” position. I’d relax and let my shoulders open. I used to hold this position between 5 and 10 minutes. I would focus on breathing slow and deep.
Wall posture check
I stand with my head, back, butt, and calves against the wall. And I hold for 30 seconds.
This reminds me what neutral posture feels like. It builds body awareness, which has been essential in correcting my poor computer posture.
Thoracic spine extension
- I place a foam roller across my upper back (thoracic spine).
- I bend my knees, with my feet flat on the floor.
- I support my head with my hands.
- I start with my spine in a neutral position, with natural curves intact.
- I gently lean back, extending my thoracic spine over the roller.
- I keep my glutes on the floor.
- I keep my neck in a neutral position.
- Then, I return my whole spine to neutral.
Steel mace 360
The steel mace is my favorite exercise tool to reverse poor computer posture. And if I could only do 1 strengthening exercise for the rest of my life, it would be the steel mace 360.
A steel mace is basically a kettlebell, except instead of having a handle, the weight is at the end of a short rod. Think of a baseball bat, but with a weight on the end of the barrel.
This exercise is a great chest opener. My chest used to be my tightest muscle from poor computer posture.
This exercise also causes me to contract my upper back muscles, which reverses the effect that poor computer posture used to have on them. My upper back muscles used to be lengthened and deactivated from slouching forward at a computer.
The picture (below) on the far left is my starting position. The other pictures show me going through the movement.
Door stretch
This is a quick stretch. I only do it when I’m in an office (without the ability to lay on the floor). Otherwise if I’m working from home, I would do a cactus pose (laying flat on the floor). In my opinion, that’s a much more valuable stretch to reverse my computer posture tension. Because it’s a long-duration, light intensity stretch.
The door stretch is higher intensity and shorter duration. But it’s basically the same pose (cactus or goalpost the arms). Then I stand in a doorway. I let my forearms run along the door frame. I gently step into the doorway. This stretches my internal shoulder rotation and opens my chest.
Iron Neck Look Left Look Right
I did the next 4 exercises with a tool called the Iron Neck. It’s a halo-style device that fits like a hat. It has an attachment for a bungee cable. The other end of the cable hooks into a door.
Anything I write about the Iron Neck is not paid promotion. I’m not compensated by them in any way. I paid my own money for their product. And it helped correct my neck pain and dysfunction in 6 weeks (after 9 years of poor posture at a computer).
The first exercise I did was called Look Left Look Right. This helped strengthen the muscles on the sides of my neck (which were severely neglected anytime I was sitting at my computer with poor neck posture).
Iron Neck Locked Neck Body Turn
The next exercise I did was called Locked Neck Body Turn. It’s basically the exact opposite motion of the Look Left Look Right.
On the Look Left Look Right:
- my torso was still
- my head turned
On the Locked Neck Body Turn:
- my torso turned
- my head was still
This helped stabilize the muscles in my neck, while muscles in my obliques activated and also strengthened.
Iron Neck 360 Spin
The third exercise I did with the Iron Neck was called a 360 Spin. In this exercise, I turned my whole body (by shuffling my feet). This helped with stabilizing my neck muscles, while in a neutral, upright position.
Iron Neck Protraction and Retraction
This exercise, Protraction and Retraction, was a tough one to get right. The reps are very precise, with a small range of motion. This worked my deep cervical muscles. I would also feel a stretch on my neck muscles as it strengthened.
To read more about my experience with the Iron Neck, check out my article titled Iron Neck Review.
How To Improve Bad Neck Posture
I use an external monitor
I don’t use laptop monitors. They are too low and too small. I always use an external monitor with my laptop. It’s probably the most valuable ergonomic device I use to improve posture at computer.
If I’m traveling, obviously I don’t take my external monitor with me. But I will use a laptop stand. This will raise my laptop monitor to the correct height. But I will also use an external keyboard and mouse. This will help me maintain both correct eye level and elbow level.
I practice good ergonomics daily
- I adjust the top of my screen to eye level to avoid looking down for long periods (this is the proper height of computer monitor)
- I take movement breaks every 30 to 60 minutes to reset my posture
- I practice simple neck exercises daily to strengthen muscles and improve alignment
- I keep my shoulders relaxed and aligned with my ears, not rounded forward
- I hold my phone at eye level instead of bending my neck down (for tech neck prevention)
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Fix Their Sitting Pain
P.S. If you’ve read this far down, you’ll love the digital store I just published.
🙏 Thank you for supporting my work. -Todd