A thicker neck provides a host of benefits that should make it a focus for any man. Whilst being more attractive is one aspect, a thicker neck offers many other practical effects.

It is common for boxers and fighters to train their necks, as it helps stabilize their cranium, helping to resist being knocked out and concussions. Athletes like football players also train their necks to prevent injury. Mike Tyson was famous for his absurdly large neck, which came from a combination of ‘genetics’ and the neck bridges he did profusely.

If you’ve ever seen rams or bucks butting heads, you can visualize and understand this intuitively. Football players like linebackers and defensive linemen train their necks most frequently because of this action of clash, which seems to be a near-universal trait of males or a motif.

Having a thicker neck also helps prevent injury in car crashes, whiplash, and other accidents. There are some anecdotal stories and case reports of bodybuilders & athletes ‘walking off’ motorcycle accidents, including one specifically I recall where a guy went flying off his bike and only came out with bruises and minor fractures.

How To Get A Thicker Neck

Testosterone

One major aspect of sexual dimorphism is the upper body and neck. Testosterone makes the shoulders, upper back, and neck broader & larger, whilst estrogen & progesterone do not. It is natural for men to have thick necks, and therefore ‘restoring nature’ would facilitate this.

Increasing testosterone would cause the neck to grow naturally just like other muscles. This is especially so given that the neck and upper body have the highest concentration of androgen receptors in the body, making them very reactive to testosterone levels.

If you have ever seen men with naturally thick necks and great athletic builds, it likely comes from having high testosterone and being athletic as discussed below.

As shown in the graph, testosterone increase during puberty causes masculinization and thickening of the neck in males. Some research has found that anabolic steroids, including in self reported individuals, causes measurable neck growth.

Active / Athletic Lifestyle

Maintaining an active or athletic lifestyle contributes to having a thicker neck, just like other muscles. The neck is engaged alongside the trapezius muscles and upper back often during activity, subconsciously training them.

Sports, gymnastics, and things like parkour are the most likely to engage the upper body and neck, with their compound movements or stabilizing muscle contractions.

Good Posture

Having good posture relies on the postural muscles in the neck, back, core, and pelvis. Naturally, training to have good posture or just sitting & standing up straight over time would engage the neck, developing the muscles there. It won’t completely transform your neck in a few months, but over a year or two is certain to have gains, and I theorize this too plays a role in some people having naturally thick, functional necks without purposefully training it.

Train Your Neck

The neck can be trained like any other group of muscles, which has seen an increase in interest over the past decade or so. You can read more about neck training.

The best exercise for the neck is using a neck harness, which is a harness you wear on your head that attaches to various cable machines, to lift weights with your neck. This is typically what athletes use, as it provides the most comprehensive and engaging contraction for the neck muscles.

Other Exercises For The Neck Include:

Neck curls, which involves placing a weight (like a heavy book or holding a weight plate) on your forehead whilst laying down, and lifting your neck/head up. These work best if you sit on a bench or your bed, hanging your head slightly off the edge, so that you are supporting more of the weight with your neck exclusively.

Neck bridges, where you lift your body or perform a bridge movement with your head & neck.

Pushups and pullups can contract the neck muscles, alongside lateral raises. Many exercises that engage the traps and shoulders will also engage the neck in order to stabilize, or generate more lifting strength.