What are antagonist muscles and how to train them. Antagonist muscle training Antagonist muscle group in plank exercise

All physical actions that a person performs are performed thanks to muscles. All of them are divided into several groups and are called synergists, agonists, antagonists, pronators, supinators. Muscles move in all joints, hold the body in an upright position, and provide movement of the arms and legs.

Which muscles are synergistic, and which are agonists and antagonists, can be understood if we remember what functions they perform and where they are located.

All muscles according to their structure can be divided into 2 groups: smooth and striated. The first group is involuntary muscles. It cannot contract at the will of consciousness. This group of muscles lines the walls of blood vessels, internal organs, and skin.

The second group is voluntary 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 the cardiac muscle).

Functions

According to the functions performed, all muscles perform the following flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, pronation, supination.

Each action is ensured by the work of several muscle fibers. They can interact with each other and perform certain work in a coordinated manner.

Almost all muscles are attached to one or more joints. Thanks to this property, their movement is ensured.

Typically, the flexors are located in the front (these are biceps, rectus delta), the extensors are in the back (triceps, back extensors, the exception is the knee and ankle joints. Here the muscles are located the other way around, the quadriceps in the front, the hamstrings in the back.

The muscles that provide abduction movement are located outside the joint (medium delta, gluteus medius), and adduction are located inside

Rotation is carried out by muscles located diagonally or transversely 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 rotation).

If several muscles are involved in a 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 look at an example. Synergistic muscles are involved in traction. Some of them work together and pull in one direction, while others make a different movement, stabilizing the pull in the opposite direction.

In work, antagonist and synergist muscles do not interfere with each other. Movement occurs through 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 entire human body can be divided into several groups. These are the head, upper and lower limbs. They can voluntarily contract to perform any action.

The body can be divided into muscles:

necks - participate in head movement;
chest - pectoralis major and minor, intercostal muscles;
abdomen - straight, external and internal oblique;
back - trapezoidal, broadest.

It is worth noting another muscle of the torso - the diaphragm. It divides the chest and abdominal cavities and is involved in breathing.

The muscles of the upper limb are

Muscles of the lower limb - quadriceps, femoral biceps.

The listed muscles are not all, but only the largest. With their help, you can understand the mechanism of action of agonists and antagonists.

Antagonists

This group includes:

biceps - triceps;
chest - back;
hamstrings - quadriceps;
The erector spinae muscle is the rectus abdominis.

In these pairs, one of the groups performs the flexion movement, the second - extension. Chest - back - multi-joint movement, press and deadlift.

Synergists

This group includes:

pull-ups - latissimus muscle, biceps;
push-ups - pectoralis major, triceps;
Dips - pectoralis major, front triceps;
squats - quadriceps, 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 the antagonists are compressed in one movement. Co-compression occurs in the squat when the back extensors and abs contract simultaneously.

Synergistic muscles are located in the same place as the agonists, or somewhere nearby. They are helped when performing the movements.

Pronators, supinators

Internal rotation in the shoulder joint is provided by the pectoralis major, latissimus, subscapularis and teres major.

External rotation in the shoulder joint occurs due to the infraspinatus and teres minor.

Application in life

Knowledge of the characteristics of human muscles is widely used in bodybuilding. For example, when building a training program using a technique such as a super series, synergistic muscles are sometimes used. Examples: pull-ups and curls, barbell presses and forearm extensions. The work involves co-directionally acting muscles.

But most often, training is used in which antagonists participate. For example, triceps and biceps, chest and back, quadriceps and hamstrings.

Usually antagonist training occurs simultaneously. This approach ensures uniform muscle growth and development.

The 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 are simultaneously worked. Examples are the outstanding bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger and others.

Antagonists are muscles that act in mutually opposite directions (flexion-extension of limbs, abduction-adduction, etc.)

A classic example of antagonist muscles is the biceps and triceps. When any one muscle moves, another is certainly involved in the work. If one of the muscles contracts (flexion), then the other stretches at this time, keeping the flexor from contracting excessively. Thanks to the action of antagonist muscles, smooth and proportionate movements are ensured.

Typical antagonist muscles include the following:

Biceps and triceps
Biceps and quadriceps femoris
Pectoral muscles and latissimus dorsi muscles

With the help of the biceps, the arm is flexed at the elbow joint, and with the help of the triceps, it is extended. In a similar way, the biceps femoris muscle bends the leg at the knee, and the quadriceps femoris muscle straightens it, etc.

Antagonist muscles always work in pairs; contraction of one muscle inevitably leads to the active work of its antagonist. For example, the French press exercise for the triceps passively loads the biceps.

Hence, the antagonist muscle cannot significantly lag behind its “partner” in development, even if it is not directly processed. It happens that the biceps are developed better than the triceps, but no one has well-developed, massive muscles in combination with their atrophied antagonists. This can be used when it is not possible to work both muscles. In this case, from a pair of muscles it is better to focus on the more massive one.

In the biceps-triceps pair, this muscle is the triceps. A more massive muscle will pull a smaller one towards itself, in the opposite direction this rule practically does not work

Since the antagonist muscles are located in the same part of the body, next to each other, during their loading blood flow, carrying nutrients necessary for muscle growth, occurs immediately to both muscles. This type of training is based on this physiological aspect, such as super series and supersets. Unlike traditional training, when first a full set of exercises is performed for the biceps, and then the same for the triceps, in this case a mixed approach is carried out.

In the super series, exercises for biceps and triceps alternate with each other, with short rest breaks between them. That is

1 approach – biceps,
2nd set – triceps,
3rd approach – biceps, etc.

The superset is characterized by more intense integration. With it, two exercises are performed at once in one approach, without a break between them. That is 1 set = biceps + triceps etc. With this technique, it is possible to significantly reduce training time, but the muscles also get tired much faster.

Tips for beginners and supersets for advanced ones

Exercises for antagonist muscles

Here are some examples of exercises for antagonist muscles.

The back muscles open the shoulders, allowing inhalation, and the pectoral muscles “compress” the chest, facilitating exhalation.

Back exercise:

Hang on the bar with your arms completely straight and relaxed. From this point, pull yourself up as high as possible until your chest or back of your head touches the bar.
The wider the distance between the hands on the bar, the more the load falls on the back muscles; otherwise, the load is distributed to the biceps. If you touch the bar with the back of your head, the latissimus muscles will stretch in width. If you touch them with your chin, they will also expand in thickness.

Chest exercise - incline bench press:

Set the back of the bench at a height of 15-40 degrees;
Lie on a bench, feet shoulder-width apart, rest them on the floor, press your head, hips, and shoulders tightly to the bench;
Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, the distance between your palms is slightly greater than shoulder width;
Inhaling and holding your breath, press the barbell all the way up, while your elbows look to the sides;
At the top point, exhale and tense your pectoral muscles;
Then inhale and, holding your breath, slowly lower the barbell to the top of your chest

Arm muscles

Grasp the barbell with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart, bar near your hips.
Inhale and hold your breath, lift the barbell to your shoulders, bending your elbows.
At the top point, pause and tense your biceps, then slowly lower the barbell to its original position, never throwing it.

Triceps exercise - dips:

Hang on the parallel bars with your arms outstretched, knees bent and ankles crossed.
The back is straight, the body is perpendicular to the floor.
Inhaling, slowly lower yourself, bending your elbows.
At the same time, do not lean forward and keep your elbows as close to your body as possible, otherwise the pectoral muscles will be involved in the work.
Lower yourself until a right angle is formed at the elbow joint or slightly lower.
Exhaling and tensing your biceps, rise to the starting position.

Hamstring exercise (back of leg):

Lie face down on the machine bench and place your ankles under the lever of the mechanism, with your legs fully straightened.
Bend your legs to the maximum possible position.
Then slowly lower the lever to its original position.
To prevent your torso from leaving the bench while lifting the lever, you should hold on to its legs.
The exercise must be performed strictly following its technique and with a full range of motion.

Exercise for the quadriceps femoris (front side of the leg) - leg press:

Place your feet in the middle of the platform, shoulder-width apart, with your toes slightly turned outward.
Rest your back against the back of the machine, press the platform up and lower the locking levers.
Grasp the corresponding handles on the sides with your hands, give your body a stable position and slowly lower the platform down, bending your knees to 90 degrees.
The lower back and buttocks should not lose contact with the seat.
Press the weight back up to the starting position.
Take a short break and repeat.

See this video for a ready-made antagonist muscle training complex

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To effectively train your own body, you need to develop a training program that will take into account the properties of all existing muscles. Antagonist muscles are just one of several types of muscle groups. Their job is to create opposing actions to one another. All bodybuilders and other athletes are familiar with them as joint flexors and extensors.

Who are they

To understand which muscles are antagonists, you need to know that they are divided as main and additional.

The main ones are:

triceps, biceps;
back, chest;
hamstrings, quadriceps.

The additional group includes:

middle and anterior delta bundles, back;
chest, rear deltas;
lower back, abs.

Let's explain their work using a real example: if the biceps contracts the arm, then the triceps spreads; the biceps of the thigh bends the leg, and the quadriceps does the opposite movement; the back is responsible for pulling maneuvers, and the chest for pressing maneuvers. This is some pair work.

When one particular muscle performs a strength exercise, its opposite is slightly tense, that is, not completely at rest. Such interaction makes it possible to organize the lesson as a paired study, the main thing is not to forget about the restorative properties and the time required for renewal.

Produced movements

Paired muscles have a certain classification, depending on the type of body movement performed.

The flexor bends the limbs, connecting two elements together.
The extensor straightens, taking them to their original positions.
The adductor muscle pulls the limbs towards the axial part of the body.
The abductor deflects them from the longitudinal axis of the body.
pulls the distant part of the penis forward.
The retractor takes it back.
The rotator rotates the penis completely or partially, moving one of the joints.

All these muscles work exclusively in pairs, complementing each other, because when one contracts, its partner also begins active work.

Location

The flexors are most often located above the joints, and the extension ones behind them. The exception is the knee and ankle joints, in which the muscular work is the other way around.

The abductors are located outside the joints, and the adductors are located inside the joints.

The rotator muscles are located transversely or obliquely in relation to the vertical axis.

In bodybuilding

Antagonist muscles are the main basis of the entire training business because, based on their function, training programs are created. There is a simple explanation for this, because these muscles can swing in one day without physical obstacles. For example, in one session a person can do an intense workout of the back, and then the pectoral muscles, without losing strength and efficiency from the exercises.

This group has a great advantage over other muscle groups because they can be combined into a superset, that is, without stopping, perform two exercises for different muscles. The fact is that when one muscle is loaded, the other automatically receives a blood flow, which provides the necessary nutrients for muscle growth, and in order not to miss the moment to obtain maximum efficiency, you should not take a break. Even if complex basic exercises are chosen for supersets, you should not be afraid of the load, antagonists can handle it.

A similar question applies to super series, which makes it possible to deviate from the traditional training system. Super series allow you to conduct a lesson in a shorter time, however, you will have to work more intensively. They are based on completing tasks for two antagonists, with a short break. That is, a couple of exercises are performed in one approach without stopping, for example, biceps are trained immediately after triceps.

These muscles develop approximately equally, even if one of them is practically not trained. This property is very convenient to use when, for example, it is not possible to work on both muscles. In this case, experienced bodybuilders rely on training the more massive part.

If you correctly use knowledge and put into practice the capabilities of antagonist muscles, you can get more intense strength growth.

Examples of exercises

A small sample of exercises designed to pump up the described muscle groups is given.

Hand training:

For biceps. Raising the barbell from a standing position. When the bar is at the top, you need to linger for at least 10 seconds, straining it as much as possible. It is important to lower the barbell slowly; you must not throw it.
For triceps. . The initial position is to hang with arms outstretched, legs bent, ankles crossed, back straight. Start lowering after inhaling, do not lean forward. It is important to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible because otherwise your chest will be involved. The exercise is performed correctly if the push-up is performed until the elbows form a right angle.

Leg training:

Biceps femoris (posterior leg). Lie down on the exercise bench facing down, place your ankles under the handles of the device, and keep your legs straight. Then start bending your legs as much as possible. In order to keep your body on the bench while lifting the handles, you need to hold on to its stops. Lower the handle to the starting position.
Femoral quadriceps (anterior leg part). Perform leg presses. It is important to do the exercise slowly, giving the body a stable position. The lower back and buttocks should not be lifted from the seat. Repeat after a short pause.

Training for the back and chest.

Back. Hang on the horizontal bar, keep your arms straight. Then pull yourself up as high as possible, touching the horizontal bar with your chest or the back of your head. It is advisable to maintain a large span between the arms, then the load will go directly to the back.
Breast. from 20 to 40 degrees. Starting position - lying down, press your body tightly against the bench, feet shoulder-width apart, firmly pressed against the floor. Grasp the barbell from above, keeping your palms a little further from shoulder width. Having collected a supply of air, lift the projectile up, your elbows should look to the sides. At the top point, you can exhale, tense your chest, inhale again, and then slowly lower the sports equipment to the upper chest.

Antagonist muscles have certain undeniable advantages over other groups, for which they are valued by athletes. When training them, pair training always occurs, during which the antagonist automatically tenses up. This property provides more opportunities for athletes and that is why most effective training programs are built on the basis of their work.

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The complex structure of the human muscular system has a number of functions, in particular motor functions. The muscles covering the skeleton perform various movements during life, including physical exercise. During the load process, one muscle cannot work alone; it is only part of the interaction of several muscle groups. Knowledge of the concepts: agonist, antagonist and synergist will allow you to understand the system of muscle communication during the loads performed and correctly draw up training programs.

Agonists– skeletal muscles that perform the main movement in a specific exercise. That is, any muscle can be an agonist; a specific movement is necessary to determine it. For example, bending the arms at the elbow joint, in this case the agonist is the biceps brachii muscle.

Antagonists- These are the muscles that counteract agonists. If the biceps acts as the agonist when bending the arm, then the triceps will act as the antagonist when extending the arm. But it can also be exactly the opposite. In extension movements, the triceps will be the agonist, and the biceps will be its antagonist. Muscles change roles only relative to movement.

Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XkT3Woohio

Synergists– these muscles act as agonist assistants during movement, taking part of the load onto themselves, or they are (fixators) of position. No muscle can contract in isolation; additional muscles, both external and internal - deep muscles, are always included to help.

Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxVJ3lwtLv8

Examples of antagonist muscles

List of the main external groups of antagonists that work in strength exercises:

Biceps brachii – triceps brachii.
Elbow - shoulder.
The quadriceps femoris muscle is the biceps femoris muscle.
The pectoral muscles are the muscles of the back.
The hip abductors are the adductor muscles.
The flexor muscles of the torso are the extensor muscles of the back.

Also, the heads of one muscle can act as antagonists, for example, the anterior and posterior bundles of the deltoid muscle. The front bundle is activated when pushing the body in presses, and brings the arms in front of you, while the rear bundle, on the contrary, abducts, is involved in rows, that is, it performs the opposite movement.

Examples of synergist muscles

In each exercise, the target muscle has its own assistant or fixator. Examples:

In an isolating single-joint arm curl exercise, the synergist of the biceps is the biceps, which flexes the forearm.
When extending the arms, the triceps synergist is the elbow muscle, which extends the forearm.
The targets are the pectoral muscles, while their synergists are the triceps. In this case, the muscles of the back of the shoulder take part of the load from the pectoral muscles and extend the arms at the shoulder and elbow joints.
The biceps act as synergists for the back muscles; for example, during traction movements they take part of the load and bend the arms.
In the case of such a multi-joint exercise as for the hip extensor muscles - the synergist is the gluteal muscles, which are involved in straightening the torso (in dynamics). But their synergists will also be the abdominal muscles and lumbar extensors, which perform a stabilizing function while in a static state and keep the spine in the correct position.

How best to train synergistic and antagonistic muscles

There are several options for performing programs based on the principles of muscle interaction, taking into account physical fitness.

1. Training on target groups (agonists)

For beginners, in order not to overload the muscles with more than one exercise, certain agonists are selected on the same day.

For example, quadriceps, back, triceps, anterior and middle deltoids, rectus abdominis.
Then in the next lesson their antagonists are trained: thigh biceps, pectoral biceps, shoulder biceps, spinal extensors, rear deltoids.

Thus, we get two training complexes. The first day can be performed a third time in a week, and day 2 can be moved to the next week.

As you get used to the loads, you need to make the task more difficult for the muscles, and perform more than one exercise for certain groups.

2. Split training of muscle synergists

First, exercises are performed on large groups, then the work of the already tired small muscles of the synergists occurs. Three training days are enough to work out all the muscles in a week.

Day 1. Legs with shoulders (4-6 exercises for quadriceps and hamstrings, 2-3 for deltoids).
Day 2. Chest (3 exercises) – triceps (2 exercises).
Day 3. Back (3 exercises) – biceps (2 exercises).

3. Antagonist training

The method is suitable for more trained athletes, when a certain group and its opponent are trained in one training session. Each muscle group performs the same amount of exercise with the antagonist. This method is more complicated, since the antagonist of a large muscle is also a large group, for example, the chest - back.

While the agonist expends energy, the antagonist has less strength left, although his work requires no less effort. It is more difficult for beginners to perform such loads; in the first muscle group, energy reserves are depleted in sufficient quantities, and there is simply not enough strength to properly work out the second group. In this regard, trained athletes should begin loading according to this principle.

Day 1. Leg muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings).
Day 2. Shoulders (all beams, two exercises for each).
Day 3. Back – chest (3 exercises for each group).
Day 4. Biceps - triceps (3 exercises for each muscle).

Each training regimen is tolerated differently by everyone, so it should be selected individually, listening to the response of your own muscles.

Conclusion

Knowing the structure and interaction of your own muscles will allow you to correctly distribute the load on them. This will help develop a symmetrical and beautiful shape. In strength training, it is important to achieve proportions, and not to tire one or two muscles that seem to lag behind or attract attention.

Video about antagonist muscles

Antagonist muscles are widely used in professional bodybuilding, since several muscle groups can be trained simultaneously, which means the desired result can be achieved much faster. A standard example of such muscles is the biceps and, since when one muscle is loaded, the second is connected, if the biceps stretches, the triceps bends, and so on. Thanks to such muscles, smooth movements are ensured during physical activity.

What are antagonist muscles?

In the simplest terms possible, this is a group of muscles that, during one specific exercise, performs several different functions (one muscle does the deadlift, and the second does the press).

Let us repeat once again: for example, the chest is responsible for pressing movements, and the back for traction, and all this necessarily occurs during one anatomical movement and only the position of the body can change briefly so that the necessary muscle or whole group can enter into active action muscles.

Peculiarities

If you decide to choose this approach to your training, then it will be useful for you to know some of the features associated with it.

All muscles are divided into several groups:

Flexors;
Extensors;
Synergists;

Synergists- these are muscles that perform the same exercise, but in a different direction, and antagonists, on the contrary, they perform one exercise not only in one direction, but at the same time.

It is important to know: All antagonist muscles are closely interconnected with the joints, so it is necessary to ensure that the joints are not damaged, since then after they are damaged it will be very problematic to exercise.

As you already understand, the most common movements of antagonists include flexion and extension.

How to train?

Training this muscle group is much simpler than you might think at first. But in order for the exercises to be easy for you, you need to remember a few simple rules on how to properly train antagonist muscles:

You need to train the muscles one at a time. For example, on one day the exercises are aimed at strengthening the arms, and on the second – on the legs, and so on.
Pay attention to all muscle groups, because if you do the opposite, such an approach will negatively affect the overall harmonious appearance of your body.
The training course must be selected individually for each person.

Exercises

Arm muscles:

Take it from below, place your hands the width of your shoulders, and place the support on your hips. Now, slowly, lift the barbell towards your chest (it is advisable not to bend your elbows), and now we also slowly lower the barbell. To consolidate the result, perform several approaches;
We return to the starting point, lift the barbell and hold at the top point and tense the biceps, then slowly lower the barbell to the starting position, without throwing it at all.

Leg muscles:

Lie on the machine on your stomach, and place your ankles under the lever of the mechanism (your legs should be in a completely flat position);
Bend your legs to the maximum;
Now slowly lower our legs to the starting position;
Advice: a very common mistake when performing this exercise is that the torso comes off the bench and all the benefits of the workout come to almost nothing. Therefore, to avoid such a situation when training your legs, you need to hold on to the legs of the machine and then your torso will be in the maximum required position.
This exercise is performed at maximum with full range of motion.

The standard exercise, or as it is otherwise called, the leg press, is performed quite easily:

The feet are placed on the platform at the width of your shoulders; for comfortable wearing, you need to turn them slightly outward;
We rest our back completely against the back of the machine, squeeze the platform itself by lowering the locking lever using up and down movements;
We grab the handles with our hands (they are located on the sides at shoulder height). This gives stability to your body, which makes performing the exercise much easier;
After we are convinced that we are in a comfortable and stable position, we need to slowly lower the platform down, bending our knees at an obtuse angle;
It is important to know: During this exercise, the pelvis should not “walk”. That is, the back and buttocks are in the same position as they were at the very beginning.
We squeeze the weight completely to the maximum (do this until the lifting is smooth) up and then smoothly lower it;
Now you can rest a little (no more than 1 minute), let the muscles get used to the load placed on them. Then it is advisable to consolidate the effect by doing several more approaches as many times as possible.

Pectoral muscles:

We set the back of the bench on which you will practice at a level of 40 degrees;
We lie down on a bench, place our feet shoulder-width apart (we place the main emphasis on them), and press the rest of the body completely against the same bench;
We take the barbell and push it to the top as much as possible, while remembering to breathe correctly;
After you have done the bench press, exhale and slowly lower the barbell, keeping your elbows completely unbent, since your arms should be in constant tension;

Advice: the bar needs to be lowered as close as possible to the chest, and then the weight is suddenly lifted to the top, almost with a jerk.

Back muscles:

In order to maximally pump your back, you need to hang on the bar, and your arms should be completely relaxed. Now, from this position you need to pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar;

It is important to know: You will be surprised, but the greater the load on the bar, the more the back muscles will be pumped, since the load will be evenly distributed throughout the back. Otherwise, the entire load will go to the triceps and it will pump up, but the back will remain in this state. So, watch this carefully.