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Muscle Anatomy Overview
~ Know Your Muscles ~
Going over your muscle anatomy can get pretty complicated.
Knowing the major muscle groups of your body is very important to planning the ideal workout.
It's essential to focus on building a balanced body to prevent injuries, getting stronger, building muscle quickly and having a better posture. There are many, many more reasons to keep a balanced body, not to mention you'll look great!
Below we'll touch base on the major muscle groups so we can get to know our bodies a little better.
The skeletal muscles are powerful and quick contracting muscles. They are closer to the skin and quite bulky.
Want to know what the hardest working muscle is in our bodies?
The hardest working muscle is our heart, also known as the cardiac muscle. For every heartbeat It pumps out 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood. On an average day the heart pumps at least 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood.
The heart beats around 72 times per minute or equivalent to 100,000 a day. During a persons lifetime the heart has the ability to beat over 3 billion times!
Our heart is an involuntary muscle and is adapted to be highly resistant to fatigue.
Since the heart is the hardest working muscle in our bodies, it's also prone to weakness. So take very good care of your heart and it will take care of you!
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The muscle that can pull with the greatest force is called the soleus, which is located underneath the calf muscle.
We use this muscle everyday for things like standing, walking, running and dancing.
The soleus is considered to be a very powerful muscle combined with the calf muscle because it's ability to pull against the force of gravity, which keeps the body upright.
This is the muscle that keeps us from falling backwards when we're standing. Without this powerful muscle, we wouldn't be able to stand upright.
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The largest muscle in the human body is the gluteus maximus muscle.
It's large and powerful because it's job is to keep the trunk of our body in an upright posture.
The gluteus maximus is the most important anti-gravity muscle that helps us when walking up stairs or uphill.
Regarding muscle anatomy, it's the uppermost of the three gluteal muscles that make up our butt area and it's the muscle that moves the thighbone away from the body and straightens out the hip joint.
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In muscle anatomy the strongest muscle in our body is in our jaw, called the masseter.
Mascular strength is usually refering to the ability to exert effort on an external object. Going off this definition, the jaw or masseter is the strongest human muscle.
When all the muscles of the jaw work together, it can close the teeth with a force as great as 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors or 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars.
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Neck Muscles
The muscle anatomy of the neck extends from the base of the skull to the back. They work together to bend the head when nodding, breathing, and act in connection with the eye muscles, causing the head to turn from side to side with the eyes.
Back Muscles
You use the muscles in your back for just about every activity you do on a daily basis. A lot of people suffer from having back pain which is a result of having a tight back. Pssst, the secret to a slimmer looking waist is in your back.
Chest Muscles
This is the "show off" muscle. As a man you look to make this body part as big as you can, because you know the ladies are looking. Ladies, don't shy away from building your chest thinking you'll get bulky like a man. Women don't have the testosterone that a man does. Building your chest will help to perk up your bust area making them seem larger, so this is a plus if you have smaller breasts.
Shoulder Muscles
The deltoid (delts) is a three-headed muscle that caps the shoulder area. Developing the muscle anatomy of the deltoids creates the illusion that your upper body is bigger than it really is. This muscle also helps to give your upper body that "V" shape and which gives the appearance of broad shoulders.
Arm Muscles
The arms are split up into several different muscles. You got the front, back, upper and lower parts. The front of the arms (the biceps) are just about the most famous muscle in the body. When someone asks you to "make a muscle", what do you do? You flex your bicep, right?! They're not asking to see your hamstring, they're asking for you to flex your biceps!
Abdominal Muscles
Most people have a very nice set of abs under all the layers of body fat. When you get your body fat low enough to actually see your abs, then you'll see that six pack abs you've been longing for. So, the key to getting a great set of abs is having a low body fat percentage.
Butt and Hip Muscles
The hip area is surrounded by thick muscles. The muscle anatomy of the butt muscles make up the the back of the hip. The gluteus maximus (one of 3 butt muscles) is one of the biggest and strongest muscles in the body. Having overdeveloped and tight hip flexors (muscles in the front of your hips), can be partly responsible for lower back pain by causing the pelvis to tilt forward.
Leg Muscles
We use our legs every single day for many things such as standing, walking, jumping, kicking and running. Having flexibility in your lower legs will allow you to push your knee farther past the ankle. This angle of the shin will allow you to get in a lower stance while maintaining pretty much a vertical torso, just like a runner getting in the starting position.
Gain lean muscle mass naturally by training regularly, resting adequate amounts, and eating only healthy foods. Mario Fanzolato, hypertrophy expert, offers free guides on every aspect of fitness.
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