Champion 4-way Neck Machine

Due to a neck injury back in 2005, I had considered purchasing a 4-way neck machine. My neck injury was not exercise or trauma related but, because of high job stress there was a tightening to the Longissimus Capitis and a strain to the Sternocleidomastoid muscles. A full account of the injury can be given on request.

The neck muscles are greatly neglected by a lot of bodybuilders, including myself because of a lack of exercise of equipment for this area in most commercial gyms in my area (Scotland) and almost impossible to buy in the United Kingdom or greater Europe.

I searched Nautilus UK, Hammer Strength, and a good few independent gym manufacture's websites in the UK; and with the exception of Hammer Strength, all would not make or import a 4-way neck machine.

The only items in the UK for purchase was: 1) A 4-way neck machine costing £3500.00 ($7000.00) used by Formula 1 drivers; and 2) Hammer Strength 4-way neck that had, so I was told, a high resistance level in the contracted position, which would have been acceptable for football players, but not so good for an already injured neck. As well, the Hammer machine is £1000.00 ($2000.00) and has a large footprint, thus making it difficult to place in a studio with less than 500sq feet.

In discussion with Brian Johnston, President of the I.A.R.T., he had found a 4-way neck machine manufactured by Champion. The price was affordable at $375.00 plus shipping. The footprint was small and it looked like it would do the job perfectly.
I order the machine from Esportonline.com and within a week the machine was in my personal studio.

Construction is good. Steel quality is on par with Bodysolid or Bowflex. The welds are neatly done and the machine is powder coated in black. The seat and head pads are about 1.5 inches thick foam with a good, easy clean vinyl cover. The dimensions are 48''x 26''x 56'' and the total gross weight is 99 pounds. The seat adjusts up and down with a typical pull/pin and hole type system.

This is a plate load pendulum type machine utilising Olympic style weights. The starting resistant requires 1 pound of pressure. On the resistance arm there is the ability to use a back stop; this can change the resistance by starting the arm at a higher angle from vertical, although the trainee would have to sit off centre of the seat as the head would need to move closer to the pad.

The moment/resistant arm is connected to the frame through 2 inner race bearings lubricated by grease. Two zirk fittings are provided for future maintenance. The action is incredibly smooth because to this set up.

Performance of the Champion 4-way neck is debateable. The strength curves are good. After 2 workouts I cannot find a notable flat, low, or high spot in the ROM. It is possible and a better feel is achieved if trained in Zone fashion by breaking the reps into halves (see www.Zone-Training.net for information on Zone Training).
In one of the above 2 workouts, I spent considerable time with this machine, attempting to find the perfect height/angle and body position for the neck exercises. My results follow:

This machine performs very well when working the posterior neck muscles (via extension). The resistance pad has a good angle and the ROM feels excellent.

The muscle along side of the neck took a great deal of experimentation to find the right seat angle. It should be said that practise, and a great deal of it, would be needed to get a great workout on the side neck muscles and when doing lateral neck movements. For me, the seat needs to drop as low as possible to insure that the resistance pad rests just above the ear. The problem with this set-up would be with taller people. I am 5'7'' and the seat is at its lowest adjustment and so, what does a 6 footer do?

Working the front of the neck makes for a big limitation. No matter what angle I sit or what height I adjust the seat I cannot find an ideal position to work the ROM in one continues motion. The resistance pad slides up the head and feels clumsy. To combat this I drop the seat to its lowest position and work the contracted position of that ROM and then raise the seat and work the stretch position. The stretch portion of the ROM means the resistance pad is placed below my nose, not ideal but effective. (Editor: Working the neck in flexion, or face-forward, can place a lot of strain on the cervical spine and as the head tilts back. It is recommended that flexion be limited to only a few inches toward full contraction, or to work the front of the neck in a static manner.)

I am not an engineer, but it is my option that the resistance pad could have been designed better. This part is fixed with two angle plates to which the resistance pads bolt. It would be better if this part swivelled on a fixed axle, thus allowing the head to curl down without the pad sliding up the face, fixed to the forehead by the force of the action preformed.

As mentioned, this machine requires a lot of practise by a trainee. It is not like a biceps, triceps or pullover machine wherein anyone could jump on and get a satisfactory workout. As I have never used a 4-way neck machine before, I could not suggest if this is a normal experience or not, but a limitation.

A great deal of the practise relates to the torso. I found on several occasion that I wanted to put my upper body into the movement and had to learn how to move the neck only without contracting other body parts. Example: If working the side of the neck I found I would raise my shoulder and trap in an attempt to make the movement easier. To combat this I will be adding a mirror to the frame of the device, so that I can monitor shoulder and trap movements visually. I also found that I was contracting my legs, abs and torso fairly

I also would like to mention that Champion did not provide any instructions for use. This is a major flaw; I have many years experience, and took my time and figured out what to do, in order to exercise safely with device. A novice could have hurt him or her self by using too much weight and bad body positioning. I looked on the web to see if Champion Barbell Company had a website address in an attempt to see if my machine, in error, did not have instructions, but it seem this company only sells through third parties and has no direct contact through this medium.

Would I recommend this product to others? It depends on what they where going to use it for. If it is to do rehab work on fee paying patients then the answer would be no. If you live in North America, buy or lease a MedX machine. If you live in the UK and want to do rehab, I have no answer since MedX 4-way neck machine costs will be close to £7000.00 to buy and ship to Britain. Perhaps e-bay could provide an old Nautilus 4-way neck machine but, this could be a long wait. On a side note, Nautilus UK stated that they no longer make the 4-way neck machine.

On the other hand, if you have a studio for yourself and feel the need to strengthen your neck muscle and are looking for something superior to a neck harness, which by the way cannot work the sides of the neck, than the Champion 4-way neck could be for you.

If you do intend on buying a Champion 4 way neck machine, I would recommend eSportsonline.com. They were the only company that would deliver to the U.K. and the professionalism and communication was first rate. This recommendation would also apply if living in the U.S. or Canada as a strongly I believe that you will not be disappointed in the way the company handles its mail order/website business.

What I plan on doing: I am going to give careful thought and consult an engineer on the possibility of improving the resistance pads with some sort of swivel part. If it dramatically improves the action of the machine I probably would recommend it as a rehab device.