Muscle of the Week: Every week i will be teaching my students a different muscle on their body, so they can be aware of them when they are using them during physical education class.
fun facts there are about 650 muscles in your body. over 50 of those muscles are in your face alone. it takes 17 muscles to smile and over 40 to frown! the strongest muscle in your body, for its size, is the masseter. located on either side of your mouth, masseter muscles help you bite down with 150 pounds of force. Some muscles in your body never get to rest. your heart is a muscle that works all the time, contracting about 70 times a minute. another constanly working muscle is the smooth muscle in your digestive tract. your most active muscles are in your eyes. they move over 100,000 times a day!
mow: muscle of the week Abdominals *located on your stomach *funtion: bends torso forward *used to keep correct posture *exercised by doing sit ups, planks, crunches *strong abdominals can prevent low back pain
pectoralis major *located on your chest and attaches to your upper arm *function brings your upper arm forward *used when you throw and push including push-ups
Biceps *located on the frontof your upper arm *function bends your arm at the elbow *used during all pulling activities such as chip-ups pull-ups
Triceps *located on the back of your arm *function: bends your arm at the elbow *used during throwing and pushing activities (including push ups)
deltoid *located on your shoulder *picks up your arm from your side *used during lifting movements, headstand and jumping jacks
trapezius *located on your upper back *function lifts your shoulders up and back *used during lifting movements, lat pull down, headstands, and jumping jacks.
quadriceps *located on the front of your thigh *straightens the leg at the knee *one of the quadriceps also picks up your thigh *it is the kicking muscle, and it is also used during running activities.
hamstrings *located on the back of your thigh *function-brings back your thigh and also bends your knee * used in all running and jumping activities *must be stretched to keep flexible for running type activities (including most sports) *flexible hamstrings can prevent muscle injury during sport activity and prevent low back pain.
gastrocnemius *located on your calf *function:bends your knee and points your foot *used when you run, hop, and jump
soleus *on your calf *function: points your foot *used when you run, hop, and jump
latissimus dorsi *Located on your lower back and attaches to your upper arm *brings your upper arm down and back *used during pulling activities, chin-ups, and swimming
gluteus maximus *located on your rear end *function: brings your thigh back *used in skiing,all running activities, skating, and stair climbing
iliopsoas *attaches the lower spine to the thigh *function:picks up your thigh * it is an internal muscle *when doing sit ups are not done properly, this muscle may be strained causing low back pain
tibialis anterior *located on the front of the lower leg and attaches to the foot *function: picks up foot * used strongly when kicking a ball and swimming