WODdoc Episode 129 Project 365: Dead Lifts Causing Kinks In Your Neck?

Have any of you gotten neck or trap pain from deadlifting?  Let me begin with a story…. In competitions it is a common practice to use deadlining as a tiebreaker. You have a snatch ladder …. fail at weight and, immediately begin rep-ing out deads to separate yourself from the other guy who also failed at that same weight. Today, while working at a crossfit comp I watched an athlete fail a weight and begin doing what I just explained. Ten minutes later I was working on his spasmed neck.

What did he do wrong?!?!?!?! Excessive neck extension at the bottom. As athletes a lot of times we will pick a spot on the wall and use it as a point of reference as we zone out.  The mistake that is often made though is the spot is to high. When the spot is too high we end up hyperextending our neck on every rep.

Note the difference between the top and bottom image. In the top image my neck is hyperextended (placing excessive load on the CS).  The bottom image my head is much more neutral (reducing stress on the CS).

Today’s WODdocket:

1. Do 5 light reps picking a spot with your eyes high on the wall in front of you (straight in front when standing)

2. Do 5 light reps picking a spot 6-8 feet in front of you.

3. Make a mental note of the tension difference in your neck between the two.