When I'm programming workouts for my PT clients, there are certain core exercises I avoid because—despite my detailed form cues—they come with the risk of straining the neck.
But core strength is important. It’s vital for stability, balance and posture, and can help reduce back pain, injury risk and just makes everyday tasks easier to do.
But if you find that crunches give you a neck ache, you should give this quick Pilates core workout by Jillian Hardwick a try.
It’s neck friendly, only takes five minutes, and you just need one bit of kit—a long resistance band (like this affordable Theraband set on Amazon).
How to do Hardwick’s workout
Why do so many core moves come with a risk of neck strain?
Neck strain during core exercises can happen for many different reasons, from not warming up to a case of tech neck. However, in my experience as a trainer, the most common cause is incorrect technique.
While it’s my job to coach clients how to exercise safely, I often find that when they come to do the moves again, they revert back to leading from the neck instead of engaging their core muscles.
Often that's because either the core muscles are weak or they don't deliberately engage the core at the start of each set.
Tucking the chin into your chest is another reason why the neck can hurt during abs exercises. To avoid this, imagine you have an apple or tennis ball between your chin and chest.
