“Maintain a neutral spine”.

This is usually the first thing you hear before performing a hinge or deadlift. Keeping the spine in neutral alignment means the ENTIRE spine.

Rounding of the back or being in a position of hyper extension is the last thing a coach wants to see their client doing whilst deadlifting.

So, why not hold the same standard for the cervical spine or neck? Isn’t the neck part of the spine?

To help keep ideal alignment, cue the client to look/ stare at a target 10 feet in front of them. Or, as you can see in video 2, have your client hold a tennis ball under their chin. This way you and the client are able to notice when you stop engaging your neck flexors and move away from neutral alignment.