Ever caught a side photo of yourself and thought, “Why do I look like a turtle?” If your head is tilted forward with your chin jutting out - that’s a sign your neck muscles are weak. Especially your deep neck flexors, the ones that keep your chin tucked and head stacked where it belongs.

The good news is that you can train those muscles just like any other. Strengthening them helps:

• Pull your head back into alignment

• Improve posture

• Reduce neck and back pain

• Protect against injury

Here are 3 ways to do it — from simple floor drills to our favorite pro-level gear.

 

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1. Supine Retractions (No Equipment)

This is one of Dr. Mike’s go-to moves for training your deep neck flexors.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent.

2. Without lifting your head, gently retract your chin straight back like you’re flattening your neck into the floor. Go ahead and make that double chin - we know you love it.

3. Hold 5–10 seconds, relax, repeat 10–15 times.

This exercise retrains your neck to resist forward head posture and keeps you out of turtle mode.

 

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2. Isometric Head Tilts (With a Yoga Block)

This drill builds strength and control in your scalenes and deep neck muscles.

How to do it:

1. Place a yoga block against the wall at the height of your head.

2. Sit or stand next to it and press the side of your head gently into the block. Retract your chin and tilt slightly into the block.

3. Shift your head toward the block and hold for a few seconds.

If you’re doing it right, you’ll feel those side-neck muscles (scalenes) light up. Repeat for the other side.

 

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3. Iron Neck Training (Affiliate)

When you’re ready to level up, the Iron Neck is the real deal. It strengthens your deep neck flexors and works rotation, side bends, and posture correction under resistance.

How to do it:

1. Anchor the Iron Neck to a sturdy door or post.

2. Let it gently pull your head forward.

3. Fight back by pulling your chin in and keeping your head tall — no turtle posture allowed.

🔥 Use code MOVEU10 for 10% off your Iron Neck purchase. 🔥

It’s one of the few tools that hits every angle of your neck — great for posture, pain relief, and injury prevention.

 

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The Bottom Line

Weak neck muscles don’t just look bad in pictures — they mess with your posture, cause pain, and make you vulnerable to injury.

Start simple with supine retractions and isometric head tilts. Add the Iron Neck if you want a next-level tool (and don’t forget MOVEU10 for 10% off). Pair these with the rest of your posture work inside the MoveU Membership, and you’ll finally have the strength to keep your head where it belongs.

Ready to go deeper? Our Tech Neck guide shows how forward head posture starts and what to do about it.