The Muscles and their Jobs

Your Muscles? 

Did you know that you have over 600 muscles in your body? They do everything from pumping the blood around your to helping you lift heavy things. We control some of our muscles and others, like our heart, work on their own. 

Are all muscles the same? 

No, there are 3 types of muscles in your body. they are 

1. Smooth Muscle - these muscles work in your body without your help, they are known as involuntary muscles. Your Digestive System (which we'll look at later) is an example of smooth muscle. 

2. Cardiac Muscle - These are the muscles that make up the Heart and are responsible for pumping the blood around the Body. Like Smooth Muscle you have no control over your Cardiac Muscle. 

3. Skeletal Muscle - These are the muscles that everyone thinks about when your hear the word 'muscle'. These muscles need us to tell them what to do. Your skeletal muscles work with your bones and joints to make you move, make you strong and make you powerful. When it comes to exercise, they are really important. 

The Major Muscles for Physical Activity

The Pectoral Muscles - These can be found in your chest, pectoral muscles are really important for pushing objects away from the body

Core Muscles - These can be found at the front, around your stomach and at the back. The Core Muscles can also be known as the Abdominal Muscles. The Core Muscles give you stability and help your upper and lower body muscles to work together. Your Core Muscles can also include your Glutes as well. 

The Glute Muscles - The Glutes (your sitting or bum muscles) are the big muscles above your hamstrings. The Glutes are very powerful muscles and are vital when it comes to developing speed. A lot of field sports like Rugby, Soccer, GAA and Hurling rely on speed and exercises that strengthen your Glutes are very important. 

The Biceps - These are muscles in the front of your arm and they help your elbow and shoulder to work together when lifting things

The Triceps - These are muscles at the back of your arm and they help with pushing movements

The Hamstrings - These can be found at the back of the legs are used when bending your knees and flexing your hip so are vital for things like walking, running, jumping and landing. Strong hamstrings will help you to stop and change direction quickly when playing sports. 

The Quadriceps - The Quadriceps (Quads for short) are the big muscles at the front of your legs. they provide your lower body joints like your knee with stability. A lot of power is generated in your quads and exercises like cycling, squatting, running and jumping. 

The Calf Muscles - These are the muscles at the back of your leg above your ankles and are very important when walking and running as they help your ankle and knee to work better