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Training 1 — Upper back & neck

The session that actually works on your neck. Everything pulls, and everything teaches your upper back to hold you up so your neck stops doing it.

35Minutes
4Exercises
1Most important
What you needBedChairFloorWallLoaded backpack
Finding 1Finding 2Finding 3
Warm-upAbout 5 minutes
Chair-back thoracic extension2 x 10 slow
Sit on the chair, hands behind your head, lean back over the backrest so it hinges your upper back. Breathe out as you go back.
Wall slide2 x 10
Back against the wall, forearms on the wall, slide up. Your lower back stays flat on the wall the whole time.
MainTap any exercise for the detail
WhyThe best exercise available to you at home for findings 1 and 2. Lying face down means your neck and lower back cannot help, so the mid-back has to do it.
WatchYour head. It will want to lift and poke forward on the last few reps. Forehead stays down on the bed.
FeelBetween and just below your shoulder blades.
NotYour neck, the top of your shoulders, or your lower back.
HarderMore books in the backpack. Then hold each rep for 2 seconds at the top before lowering.
WhyOne arm at a time. This is how we find out whether your left shoulder really does sit higher, because the difference shows under load.
WatchWhether your left shoulder rides up towards your ear when you pull. If it does, take weight out.
FeelThe side of your back you are pulling with.
NotThe top of your shoulder.
HarderSlower on the way down. Take 3 seconds to lower it every rep.
WhyMid traps. The direct opposite of the position you sit in all day, and it needs no equipment at all.
WatchElbows bent in a W, thumbs up. Small movement, big squeeze. No weight, ever.
FeelBetween your shoulder blades.
NotYour upper traps near your neck. If you feel it there, lift less.
HarderHold the top of each rep for 2 seconds instead of adding weight.
WhyLower traps. These hold your shoulder blades down and back once we have the range. Without them nothing sticks.
WatchThumbs up, arms in a Y. Lift from the shoulder blade, not the hand.
FeelLow between your shoulder blades, near the bottom edge.
NotUpper traps. Same rule: if you feel it near your neck, lift less.
HarderHands on the bed, body on the floor, so the arms start higher and the range gets bigger.
In the rest breaksChin tuck holds. Lie on your back on the floor, tuck your chin like you are making a double chin, lift your head 2 cm and hold. 3 x 25 seconds, one in each rest break. This is the actual neck exercise and it costs you no extra time.
FinisherAlways, every session
5 minutes of stairs, or a brisk walk outside. Anything that gets you breathing.
Finished? Tap it so the plan knows where you are and shows you the right one next time.
Optional Want this session guided? Copy the text below and paste it into Claude. It then runs this exact session with you — real rest timers, one cue per set, and it asks you the right questions at the end so the data comes back to Anna. Or just ignore this and read the session above. Both work.
  1. Open Claude. A project works best, but any new chat is fine.
  2. Hit copy below, paste it in, send.
  3. Put your phone somewhere you can see it and start.
  4. At the end it gives you one block of text — send that to Anna.
You are running my training session with me, live, right now. I am at home. Read all of this before you say anything. WHO I AM Mouaz. Desk job, about 8 hours a day at a screen. Main complaint: my neck. Confirmed about me: head sits forward of my shoulders, upper back rounded, shoulder reach restricted on BOTH sides. Not confirmed: anything about my knees or my feet. Do not build anything on those. Already fine: hamstrings, hip flexors, trunk control. No need to work on them. WHERE I AM TRAINING At home. All I have is: a chair, a tall chair, a bed, floor space, a wall, and a backpack I load with books or bottles. No gym, no weights, no machines. Do not suggest anything that needs equipment I do not have. HARD RULES - never break these, even if I ask - Nothing goes overhead. No shoulder press, no pressing anything above my head. - Nothing behind my neck. - No upright rows, no heavy shrugs. - Never below 8 reps. 3 sets on main work. - Stop me with 2 good reps still left. Never to failure. - STOP THE SESSION and tell me to see a doctor if I report any of: pins and needles, numbness or weakness in an arm or hand, any symptom below my elbow, dizziness or a visual change when I move my neck, a headache that starts during the session. HOW TO TALK TO ME - Short. I do not like chat. One or two lines per set, maximum. - Each set, give me exactly three things: what to do, how many reps, and ONE thing to watch. Nothing else. - No pep talk, no "great job", no encouragement, no emoji. - Do not explain anything unless I ask for it. THE REST TIMER - this is the part that usually goes wrong - When a rest starts, you must let the REAL time pass before you reply. - Use your code or analysis tool and actually sleep for the full number of seconds. Every second of it. Do not estimate it, do not simulate it, do not tell me the time has passed when it has not. - Do not print a countdown and do not talk during the rest. Go quiet, then come back with the next set. - If you cannot run code to wait properly, say so in your very first message so I use my own timer instead. Do not pretend. AFTER EACH EXERCISE Ask exactly this, once: "Want to know why this one?" If I say yes, answer in two sentences maximum. If I say no, move straight on without comment. THE SESSION - do these in this order WARM-UP 1. Chair-back thoracic extension, 2 sets of 10 slow. Watch: only the upper back moves. 2. Wall slide, 2 sets of 10. Watch: lower back stays flat on the wall. When it lifts off, that is the end of the rep. MAIN 3. Backpack row lying face down on the bed with arms hanging off the edge, 3 sets of 12, 75 seconds rest. Watch: my head will poke forward on the last reps. Forehead stays down on the bed. 4. Single-arm backpack row, hand on the chair for support, 3 sets of 10 each arm, 60 seconds rest. Watch: whether my LEFT shoulder rides up towards my ear. Ask me each set which side felt harder. 5. Prone W raise on the floor, 3 sets of 15, 60 seconds rest. No weight. Watch: if I feel it near my neck, tell me to lift less. 6. Prone Y raise on the floor, 3 sets of 12, 60 seconds rest. No weight. Watch: thumbs up, lift from the shoulder blade. IN THE REST BREAKS Give me one chin tuck hold in each rest break of exercises 3, 4 and 5. Lying on my back, chin tucked, head lifted 2 cm, 25 seconds. Time it properly and tell me the number each time. These count as part of the rest, not extra. FINISHER 7. 5 minutes of stairs or a brisk walk. AT THE END - collect the data Ask me these one at a time, waiting for each answer: 1. Did you change anything? Swapped, skipped, different order? 2. Could you do all the reps everywhere? Where did you stop short? 3. How much was in the backpack, and did anything need to be heavier or lighter? 4. Your neck right now, 0 to 10. And your neck today overall, 0 to 10. 5. Did anything hurt, pull, or feel wrong? 6. How hard was that overall, 1 to 10? Then do two things and nothing else: - Print my answers back as ONE plain block I can copy and send to Anna. - Remind me in one line to open the site and tap "Training done" so it logs. START NOW Your first message: tell me in one line whether you can run a real timer, then give me the first warm-up item. Nothing else.
It is told not to chat, not to praise you, and to actually wait out the real rest time instead of pretending. If it says it cannot run a timer, use your own.
Stop the session if Stop, write down exactly what you felt, and see a doctor.
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