The pairs of muscles in our body are made up of a agonist muscle and an antagonist muscle which control the range of motion and the effectiveness of operation.
What are these muscles? And how do they work together to create movement?
In this article we will discover the pairs of agonist and antagonist muscles, the way in which it is possible to train them to maximize progress and advice to ensure that these muscles are used to their maximum capacity.
Index
What is an agonist muscle?
First, let's look at the definition of agonist muscle; it is the muscle that is tense or under strain during an action, which serves as the main engine during any activity.
It is an absolutely crucial component of any action and works together with the opposing muscle to create contractions and extensions.
In each pair of muscles, the agonist contracts, while the antagonist relaxes, allowing for free movement of joints and muscles.
Let's see an example: biceps and triceps; when we flex the arm, the biceps is contracted, so it is the agonist muscle, while the triceps, which is relaxed, represents the antagonist muscle.
When, on the other hand, we bring the arm back to its natural position, the bicep is relaxed (antagonist), while the tricep is contracted (agonist).
What is an Antagonist Muscle?
The muscles antagonists are part of a pair of muscles, which work in synchrony to allow joints and limbs to perform movements, even complex ones.
These muscles move in the opposite direction compared to the agonist ones and compensate for the force that the latter exercise in order not to damage the joints.
A muscle can only move in one direction; the antagonist muscle lengthens, while the agonist contracts.
Agonist and antagonist muscle pairs
Let's see some pairs of agonist and antagonist muscles:
- biceps and triceps: to recap the above, when we flex the arm, the biceps is the agonist, while the triceps is the antagonist; when the arm is relaxed the roles are reversed
- hamstrings and quadriceps: two of the main muscles of the upper legs; they control the extension and contraction of the knees. When the legs are relaxed, the quadriceps act as an agonist, contracting, while i femoral from antagonists, relaxing; when you bend your legs, the roles of these muscles are reversed
- buttocks and hips: these muscles are essential for balance and stability and aid movement of the hips. When you push your hips forward, your glutes are tense (agonists), while your hips are relaxed (antagonists); when you return to the neutral position the muscles reverse their roles.
Exercises that use agonist and antagonist muscles
Let's see some examples of exercises that use agonist and antagonist muscles:
- curl for biceps: during the lift, the biceps that contracts is the agonist and the triceps the antagonist and during the descent phase the roles are reversed
- deadlifts: The deadlift begins with the knees slightly bent (agonist hamstrings and antagonist quadriceps) and when you move to the upright position the roles are reversed. Also, for the deadlift, the arms must be straight (relaxed and antagonistic biceps and contracted and agonistic triceps).
All the movements of our body follow the dynamics of agonist and antagonist muscles; this mechanism applies to all the actions we perform and is an integral part of performing any physical exercise, as well as daily activities such as climbing stairs or taking something from a piece of furniture. Don't you find it extremely fascinating?
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