Subscribe by Email

Your email:

Coach's Questions

Send in your question and we will connect with an expert or two to get you an answer!

Whats New At Rogers Athletic?

Latest Posts

5 way neck

Get Strong

Current Articles | RSS Feed RSS Feed

The Cornwell Files

Ralph Cornwell

 

Undergrad From University of Maryland/Radford University Va
Masters of Science from Virginia Tech
Doctor of Philosophy -Science Virginia Tech Completion Date 12/10

Former Strength Coach
Radford University
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
United States Military Academy at West Point
North Carolina Agriculture and Technology State University
West Montgomery High School, NC

Served as Sport Performance Director and Owner of 2 Sports Performance Facilities 1 in Blacksburg, Va, the other in Greensboro, NC.
 

I have been training on Pendulum 5-way neck for about a month and have had remarkable results. The weight has steadily gone up on the exercises, but the amazing thing is my neck circumference has increased by an inch and a half.

 

Never gotten those types of results from any neck machine and I have tryed them all. I am currently preparing for my Ph.D. case study which involves the question: If you increase the circumference of the neck through resistance training and increase the stiffness ratio,as soft tissue becomes stronger, along with trapezius strength increases thus reducing the deformation rate during contact(impact) would you not decrease impact forces to the head, neck area and transfer or dissipate the forces throughout the trapezius,upper back muscles and ultimately have those forces absorbed through the stronger back muscles, hip/glute area transferring those forces finally to the much stronger lower body muscles.

Also, would this not help to reduce or lessen the rate of concussion or more importantly would it not lower the subconcussive forces of small impacts that seem to cause as much or more long term damage to the athlete. Would a bigger stronger neck not raise the tipping point in which we start to see real long-term brain damage, Well, that's what I intend to find out. I will be setting up my lab at the Virginia Tech campus where I am completing my Ph.D..

The pendulum neck machine will be an intricate part of the case study and I want to share the data with all the coaches out their so we can better protect our athletes from harm. We cant' forget it all starts with the neck. The vulnerable part of the human anatomy with respect to contact sports or life in general is our cervical spine which supports the skull which incases our most important component with regards to life -our brain.

 

 

Please feel free to ask any questions about anything and you can follow my progress on the Rogers Blog.

 

TRAIN THOSE NECKS-KEEP SHRUGIN'


 


Comments

There is so much meaningless research that has been, and continues to be conducted. Props to you for conducting something so important. This is an area of the body that is so important and so neglected.
Posted @ Monday, January 25, 2010 9:41 AM by Dan Riley
I worked with Ralph in Greensboro,NC and during his time at NCA&T he was passionate about developing the total body for our athletes. He focused on the neck and preventing neck injuries. During his time there we had no neck injuries and this is due to his insistance on training the neck as an integral part of the strength program.
Posted @ Friday, January 29, 2010 1:09 PM by Keith McCluney
With all the focus in now days in strength and conditioning making athletes stronger and fast we tend to over look ways of physically protecting our athletes mainly in football. As you know this is a 100% contact sport with most of the contact absorbed from the shoulders up. Due to this fact head and neck injuries are becoming more and more frequent. With this study that Ralph Cornwell is doing it will be a great help in the push forward to take a little more time out to focus on strengthening the neck and shoulder area. The time need to do this and the results that are gained from it has no comparison with any other training to result ratio. If it is not worth the time to take 5-8min to save a young players life, some self-evaluation needs to be done. I myself have used 4-way neck training along with shoulder shrugs primarily football players. I am proud to say that I have not had any injury to a players neck or spine not even a stinger and feel strongly that coaches across the land should really take the time and do the research and implement this area of concern into there programs. I have spent many years along side Ralph Cornwell researching, training, and coach and there is not a man more focused on doing what is the best and the right thing for the athletes. His passion and attention to detail is like no other. We should continue to offer our assistant to him in this research in anyway possible that we can this is a good project that is going on.
Posted @ Saturday, January 30, 2010 9:04 PM by Louis Thompson
I have had the opportunity to train with Ralph Cornwell for about two years. When it comes to strength training, I trust very few peoples advice or opinions. Ralph's attention to detail and commitment to properly documenting progress sold me on his ability to produce measurable results. I have been training on the Rogers neck machine for about a month, and have increased the resistance by about 40 pounds with higher reps. My overall flexibility and posture has improved, not to mention an inch increase in neck circumference. I look forward to my own personal gains, as well as more attention on the neglected soft tissue that supports the CPU above our shoulders.
Posted @ Tuesday, February 02, 2010 9:09 PM by Chris
It's nearing three years that I have been training with Ralph Cornwell. As an interested observer of the fitness and training industry, I have discerned much misinformation out there, but I know I get the real deal when addressing these topics with Ralph. His knowledge is vast and grounded in science, and his training methods are based on years of experience of working with elite athletes, average working folk and special-needs individuals. No where is misinformation greater than in the area of women and strength training. With weight training, the common misconception is that women will bulk up. After nearly three years, I have gotten smaller--not larger--and stronger than I have ever been, with bad knees becoming a faint memory. Now we are incorporating the Rogers neck machine into our routines, which is helping me to eliminate any stress in the neck muscles when working at the computer or biking the roads, for instance. With stronger neck muscles, I was better able to withstand an impact crash to my upper body on my bike, resulting in no serious injury. If training the neck can help someone like me in my daily living, then a little common sense should lead folks to realize that training the neck muscles can help athletes better cope with impacts to the head and upper body.
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:52 AM by melinda stovall
Post Comment
Name
 *
Email
 *
Website (optional)
Comment
 *

Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics