If you want the biggest neck possible, neck training is 100% mandatory. There is no way around this. I don’t care if you have a naturally thick neck. I don’t care how good your genetics are. I don’t care if you’re on drugs, nor does your status matter to me. If you never isolated your neck, you haven’t hit your size potential. I would challenge anyone who already has a large circumference to train the neck very seriously for one year and record the before/after measurements. Irrespective of your training background (elite or beginner), I promise that your neck will dramatically improve. This is optimal advice for optimal results.
The idea of acquiring the largest neck of which you are capable of through only relying on heavy pulls or shrugs is complete nonsense. Anyone with real neck training experience will agree with this fact, and I suggest that you only listen to people who’ve been in the trenches. Minimalists who speculate from the outside are clueless when it comes to neck training. For example, what happens if you naturally build a large neck naturally through direct means, then stop training isolating (or get lazy)? Neck size is lost. I’ve had hundreds of people report this issue, and I have also experienced this problem. Some size will remain, but you won’t keep it all. It’s similar to those that train their calves very seriously, then discontinue the practice in favor of only performing squats/deadlifts. In the vast majority of cases, the calves will shrink. The same occurs with the neck, but to an even greater degree. Significant strength loss will occur, and 1-2 inches of circumference may be lost. This is why you should not be lazy with neck training (if that’s how you got a big neck). Train it at least (the bare minimum) once a week. Twice would be preferable, and if you can do more than that, great! Make sure to at least do neck curls/flexion as well. However, the whole portfolio of neck exercises is recommended. I advise neck extensions and neck side raises, but some people can maintain their necks without it.
What if you are already content with your neck size, or simply dislike the bulldog neck appearance? I say, congratulations! You are entitled to build whatever look you desire, after all aesthetics are subjective. That said, this does not take away from the fact that your potential is not (and never will be) fully reached. Just because you may have an 18 inch neck naturally, doesn’t mean most will. And even if this was the case, direct work would allow one to acquire 19-20 inches without difficulty. As previously stated, it does not matter what you’re starting point is. You can be one of the biggest men on the planet, the fact remains that isolating the neck will result in greater thickness than if you did not, hence being the optimal method for neck excellence. It is also most practical, as acquiring a 900lb deadlift (as some exclaim) is not feasible for 99% of lifters. The reality is that there are high school athletes with 18-19 inches necks, many of which are drug-free with average genetics. Combat and field athletes exemplify this fact, and mind you many of these individuals possess small bodies overall. Is it not striking that a teenage athlete has the equivalent neck size to an elite powerlifter/strongman competitor that has top 0.1% genetics and access to drugs? This speaks volumes on the efficacy of direct neck work. My analysis also explains why novice lifters should train their necks very seriously, for once they hit the intermediate stage this body part will be one of their best.
Neck training is simple, and easy to acquire results. Once you begin isolating it, impressive musculature will develop. You will be completely shocked at how well the neck grows upon emphasizing, and never again will you subscribe to the minimalist dogma that indirect work is enough/optimal. The truth will be revealed in but a few months. Induce progressive overload on the key neck exercises, and enjoy the results my friend. It’s time to get yoked!
Awesome article 👍🏾