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Chin tucks

2 sets of 8 chin tucks held 3-5 s each, 45 s rest. Slide the head straight back, eyes level.

Mobility
Stability
3 min
Low intensity
Low injury risk
Wall

How to do it

Sit or stand tall with your eyes level. Draw your head straight back, as if making a double chin, without tipping it up or down; you should feel a stretch at the base of the skull and maybe into the upper back. Hold 3-5 seconds, relax, and repeat for 8 reps. Rest 45 seconds and do a second set. Standing with your back and head against a wall keeps you honest: the back of your head slides up the wall as you tuck. It's a small movement. Hooper's Beta prescribes 6-10 reps several times a day for the climber's hunch and belayer's neck.

Run it now

The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.

Chin tucks

0:00 / 2:52

Ready

2:52

2 sets of 8

2 sets of 8 chin tucks held 3-5 s each, 45 s rest. Slide the head straight back, eyes level.

2 × 8
sets × rounds
5s
work
3s
rest
0:45
set rest
2:52
total

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Who it's for

Anyone with a stiff neck from belaying, or a head that's drifted forward from years of pulling and looking up. It takes three minutes and needs nothing but a wall.

Common mistakes

  • Nodding instead of sliding. The head moves straight back with your eyes level. Tipping the chin up or down stretches something else.
  • Forcing it. It's a small movement. Pushing hard strains the front of the neck.
  • Holding your breath. Breathe normally through each hold.
  • Doing it once and forgetting it. Posture changes with frequent practice, a few short sets spread through the day.

How to progress

Once you can find the position by feel, do it away from the wall. Then fit sets into your day: at a desk, before belaying, between climbs.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.

  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.

  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.

  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.

  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.

  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.

  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.