All physical actions that a person performs are performed thanks to the muscles. All of them are divided into several groups and are called synergists, agonists, antagonists, pronators, supinators. Muscles move in all joints, keep the body in a vertical position, provide movement of the arms and legs.
Which muscles are synergists and which are agonists and antagonists, you can understand if you remember what they perform and where they are located.
All muscles in their structure can be divided into 2 groups: smooth and striated. The first group is the involuntary muscles. It cannot be reduced by the will of consciousness. This group of muscles lines the walls of blood vessels, internal organs, and skin.
The second group is arbitrary muscles. It consists of over 600 muscles, and they can contract at the will of consciousness. These include the superficial muscles of the human body (except for the heart).
Functions
According to the functions performed, all muscles perform the following types of movements: flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, pronation, supination.
Each action is provided by the work of several muscle fibers. They can interact with each other and coordinatedo a certain job.
Practically all muscles are attached to one or more joints. Thanks to this property, their movement is ensured.
Usually the flexors are in the front (this is the biceps, rectus abdominis, delta), the extensors are in the back (triceps, extensors of the back, glutes). The exception is the knee and ankle joints. Here the muscles are reversed, quadriceps in front, hamstrings in the back.
The muscles that provide movement for abduction are located outside the joint (middle bundle of the delta, middle gluteus), and adduction is located inside (adductors of the thigh).
Rotation is performed by muscles located diagonally or across from the vertical axis.
Interaction
No physical exercise or action is performed in isolation by one muscle. Several muscle fibers are always involved in the work.
Depending on the type of interaction, several groups are distinguished: synergistic muscles, agonists, antagonists. Rotation is provided by pronators (inward rotation) and supinators (outward).
If several muscles are involved in the movement and they perform an action together (for example, flexion), then they are called agonist muscles.
Muscles involved in the opposite action are called antagonists.
Synergistic muscles are individual muscles that perform a joint action with others in one specific movement.
Let's consider an example. Synergistic muscles are involved in traction. Some of them work together and pull inone side while the others make a different movement, stabilize the thrust of the opposite direction.
In work, antagonist and synergist muscles do not interfere with each other. Movement occurs in concerted action.
To understand which muscles are agonists and which are antagonists, you need to remember their main groups.
Muscles of the human body
The whole human body can be divided into several groups. These are the muscles of the trunk, head, upper and lower limbs. They can be arbitrarily reduced by performing some action.
The body can be divided into muscles:
- necks - participate in the movement of the head;
- chest - pectoralis major and minor, intercostal muscles;
- abdomen - straight, external and internal oblique;
- backs - trapezoidal, widest.
It is worth noting another muscle of the trunk - the diaphragm. It divides the chest and abdominal cavities, participates in breathing.
The muscles of the upper limb are the biceps and triceps.
Muscles of the lower limb - quadriceps, biceps femoris.
The listed muscles are far from all, but only the largest ones. With their help, you can understand the mechanism of work of agonists and antagonists.
Antagonists
This group includes:
- biceps – triceps;
- chest-back;
- hip biceps – quadriceps;
- The erector spinae muscle is the rectus abdominis.
In these pairs, one of the groups performs the movementflexion, the second - extension. Chest - back - multi-joint movement, bench press and deadlift.
Synergists
This group includes:
- pull-ups - lats, biceps;
- push-ups - chest, triceps;
- Dips on uneven bars - pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps;
- squats – quads, gluteus maximus, hamstrings.
All synergistic muscles perform one movement, helping each other.
Location
Agonists and antagonists are usually located on opposite sides of the joint (biceps and triceps). Flexing the shoulder while the biceps (agonist) is working can cause the triceps (antagonist) to relax. This phenomenon is called mutual inhibition.
There is also such a thing as joint compression, when antagonists are compressed in one movement. Joint contraction occurs in the squat when the back extensors and abs contract at the same time.
The synergistic muscles are located in the same place as the agonists, or somewhere nearby. Help them when performing the movement.
Pronators, supinators
Inward rotation at the shoulder joint is provided by the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, subscapularis, and teres major.
Outward rotation at the shoulder joint is due to the infraspinatus and teres minor.
Application in life
Knowledge of the features of the human musculature is widely used in bodybuilding. For example, when building a training program using a technique such assuperset, synergistic muscles are sometimes used. Examples: pull-ups and curls for biceps, bench press and extension of the forearm. Co-acting muscles are involved in the work.
But most often used training, which involves antagonists. For example, triceps and biceps, chest and back, quadriceps and hamstrings.
Usually the training of the antagonists happens at the same time. This approach ensures uniform muscle growth and development.
Training will be most effective if you know which muscle groups are involved in a particular exercise. The experience of athletes proves the benefits of training in which antagonists or synergistic muscles work simultaneously. Examples are the outstanding bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger and others.
