MoPro
TrainersEye · Neck & Upper Back Health
Neck & Upper Back X
Trainer's Eye
Phase 4 · Strength and endurance · Session X

Twenty-four in.
Four directions.
Every number up.

Phase 4 check-in: neck strength measured in all four directions, and the upper back tested.

  • Xsession
  • P4Strength
  • 12:00on the clock
  • — donecompleted

Both sides get weak

After neck pain, strength and endurance drop on both sides. Train the good side too.

Neck strength training reduces pain

In office workers, progressive neck and shoulder strengthening reduced neck pain and headache days substantially over a year.

Clumsy hands are a red flag

Dropping things, trouble with buttons, or changes in walking and balance suggest pressure on the spinal cord and need urgent review.

Three couplets · two rounds · twelve minutes · a neck that carries the day

A

Neck test

Four-direction strength test + deep flexor test
A1

Four-direction neck test

60 s · slow reps

Press into the hand front, back and each side for fifteen seconds; note any weak direction.

Easier gentler press  ·  Harder firmer press

R1R2—
A2

Deep neck flexor test — Phase 4

1 × max · ×2

Nod, lift, hold to the first chin poke; compare with sessions 6 and 12.

Easier nod without lifting  ·  Harder aim longer

R1R2
B

Upper back

Row max + press test
B1

Row maximum test

60 s · slow reps

Count clean rows in 60 s with your working load — compare with session 18.

Easier lighter  ·  Harder heavier

R1R2—
B2

Press test

12 reps · ×2

Twelve clean overhead presses with a set load; note whether the neck stayed quiet.

Easier lighter  ·  Harder heavier

R1R2
C

Endurance

Carry hold + scapular endurance
C1

Carry hold test

60 s · seconds held

Heaviest bags held with the shoulders and chin level; count the seconds.

Easier lighter  ·  Harder heavier

R1R2—
C2

Scapular endurance test

25 reps · ×2

Twenty-five clean wall slides; stop at the first one that loses wall contact.

Easier fewer reps  ·  Harder slower

R1R2

The clock

Round 1settle in — 70%, perfect tracking
0:00A1 → A2
2:00B1 → B2
4:00C1 → C2
Round 2own it — beat Round 1 by quality
6:00A1 → A2
8:00B1 → B2
10:00C1 → C2

Each couplet: 60 s scored → the loading set → 10 s to move on. Done at 12:00.

How to run it

  1. Neck strength is trainable and it reduces neck pain and headache days. This phase is where it is built.
  2. Resisted neck work is slow and steady — never fast, never to a hard end range.
  3. Endurance is the quality that fails at a desk. That is why the sets get long.
  4. Carries load the neck, blade and grip upright, exactly as life does.

Tick it off

MovementRound 1Round 2Best
A1Four-direction neck testslow reps in 60 s —
A2Deep neck flexor test — Phase 41 × max
B1Row maximum testslow reps in 60 s —
B2Press test12 reps
C1Carry hold testseconds held —
C2Scapular endurance test25 reps
Session time
StreakDay —
Client / Patient
Coach / Clinician signature
Date
TE-12-NECK-X