Glass jaw: Think of it literally. It is fragile and will shatter on hard impact.
Ever wondered why plenty of people go for martial arts like Muay Thai or mixed martial arts as their form of physical fitness. These ‘sports’ enhance your muscle endurance, allowing your body to withstand tremendous amounts of strain. Your trainer will have you doing 30 reps with 30 lbs weights as opposed to a dead lift with a 100 lbs weight.
Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” But did you know that getting hit in the face has nothing to do with your weight? If you haven’t trained your facial muscles to endure the strain of a blow, you will see what Cartoon Network popularized as stars dancing around your head–a knockout.
The good news is that You Can Turn Your Glass Jaw into an Ironclad Chin. And we’re here to let you in on the industry secrets.
What Happens When You Are Knocked Out?
According to Clinical Science, a knockout results from your brain slamming against your skull from impact. Your noggin can handle a few knocks from a fist or foot to the face–and you can still move around the ring. However, should you take more blows, it leaves you prone to blacking out or sustaining a concussion.
Now, this phenomenon has nothing to do with the strength of your chin or jawline structure, as most non-fighters believe. The key instead lies in the neck holding the head. Let’s get creative with this.
Assume your head is a yoyo, and your neck is the dangly string.This makes your brain the shiny sticker that rests in the middle of the yoyo. Simply put, your brain depends on your head (and subsequently, your neck) for movement and support.
A stiffer, stronger, broader yoyo string means less movement for the yoyo head, and the same is true for a boxer’s head. A stronger and broader neck moves less on impact, meaning your brain won’t also move as much. And this is what, dear readers, reduces the chances of sustaining a knockout.
Can You Condition Your Chin Against Concussive Blows?
Yes, and it starts with working on your chin to make it strong enough to reduce the force from a blow. To make your chin strong, you need to work on your head movement and neck strength–not just making your jaw muscles stronger.
By that logic, it makes sense why attackers target the chin. The chin is also an easy target, and hitting it results in less harm to the attacker’s fists. Again, landing a sweet chin punch causes the rotational acceleration of your brainstem. Hence, it’s a sure way of sending your opponent on a one-way trip to the floor.
Depending on how much you desire an iron clad chin, here are some ways to do it:
- Get used to being punched in the face
- Push your limits during sparring sessions
- Square up against heavier fighters with greater punching power
- Do exercises that target the neck muscles around your jawline
- Chew to strengthen your jawline muscles
Fair warning, it’s a long and hard road. So, it’s best to be prepared.
How Can You Develop a Glass Jaw into an Ironclad Chin?
The following exercises will help you sustain heavier hits to the face and chin. We’re not promising you’ll have an iron chin. However, at the very least, you won’t hit the canvas as often as you currently do in the ring.
Chin Tucks
This workout offers an ideal warm-up for all the hard work you will do. It signals the body to pump more blood to the neck, so you don’t get muscle fatigue or cramps. Please don’t skip it!
- Straighten your back to attain a neutral posture
- Bring your chin as close to your neck as possible
- Move it away, then back
- Repeat
You’ll only feel a minor effect, but it strengthens your jawline muscles more than you can imagine.
Yep, Nope, Idk Movement
Now, let’s improve your head movement with some enhanced chin tucks. This has nothing to do with shows like Nip & Tuck or surgery.
- Tuck that chin as far as it can recede into your neck
- Keep it in that position as you gesture “No” with your head
- For a wider motion range, try pulling your chin closer to your shoulders
- After ten reps, try nodding as if you agree to something
- Shrug as if you’re saying ‘maybe’ after another ten reps
You’ll know you have it down when you start feeling the burn behind your neck. You can stop once your muscles become too tight for flexible movement.
Huh? Movement
It’s hard to answer yes or no if you didn’t get the question. The typical response is an emphatic “Huh?” Keeping your chin tacked, try the following movements to strengthen your jaw and neck even more:
- Move your chin close to your shoulders
- Move your head as if you're saying "No."
- But tilt your head as far as you can for a fuller range of motion
- Perform 10 to 20 reps on each side (with your head tilted towards both left and right shoulder)
The advantage of following up the previous routing with “Huh?” movement is you get to unwind those neck and jaw muscles. We wouldn’t want you to be too tired for our next ironclad exercise.
Weighted Neck Raise
This routine trains your neck and shoulder muscles. It also improves your bite force and jawline muscle structure.
- Wrap a towel or cloth around a 5 to 25lbs dumbbell or weight
- Lay it on a table
- Bite down on the cloth as hard as you can
- Move your face up and down as you lift the weight off the table.
Congratulations! You’ve just activated all the muscles in your neck and jaw.
Howling at the Moon
This routine is as simple as the name suggests. Point your head to the sky or ceiling and howl like a wolf at the moon. You can make the sounds if you want, but it’s not necessary for this exercise – Don't disturb the neighbors!
It targets your neck and jawline, particularly the sternomastoid and masseter muscles. You can stop when you start to feel tightness around the neck area.
Craniocervical Flexion
Now let's up the stakes a little with some advanced cervical flexions.
- Tightly shut your jaw by biting down on your teeth
- Move your tongue to the roof of your mouth
- Lay flat on your back and tuck the chin
- Keep the chin tucked as you draw it towards your chest. Rest for 2 seconds.
- Lower the head back to a flat position. Rest for 2 seconds.
- Perform 10 to 15 reps for each set
If you feel the tension (or burn) on your nose and neck, then you’re doing it right! Otherwise, keep going.
Using High-resistance chewing tabs
The masseter muscles help you to open and shut your mouth. Training them can improve your facial structure and get you closer to an ironclad chin. However, for such results, you will exclusively need high-resistance chewing tabs.
For the best results, try this routine:
- Give the tabs a quick rinse with mouthwash or water
- Place them on your molars
- Chew on the tabs for around ten minutes
Our recommendation is the Chisell high-resistant chewing tabs. The third generation of jawline exercisers doesn't just focus on superficial changes–they go skin deep to make your jawline muscles strong enough to reduce the rotational force of your hardest-hitting opponent. Moreover, they come in a sleek carry case so that you can train those jawline muscles anywhere.
