Bodybuilding Anatomy Part 2

The muscles in your chest are called the pectoralis muscles or “pecs”. The fibers of the pectoralis major run like a fan across the chest and are located on the front of the rib cage. It functions to draw the shoulder blades closer to the body and internally rotate the arm.

Some of the better chest exercises include: Dumbbell chest flyes, dumbbell pull-overs, dips, flat/incline bench press and push-ups.

Your biceps are called the biceps brachii. The term biceps brachii is a Latin phrase meaning “two-headed [muscle] of the arm. That’s because the biceps consist of a short head and a long head. The biceps run down the anterior or front side of the arm and makes up approximately 1/3 of the muscle mass of the upper arm. It functions to move the forearm towards the shoulder (elbow flexion) and supinate the forearm (turning the hand from a palms-down position to a palms-up position).

Some of the better bicep exercises include: Barbell curls, incline dumbbell curls, rotating dumbbell curl, hammer curls and close-grip chin ups.

The tricep muscles are located on the posterior or backside of your upper arms. Your triceps are called the triceps brachii. They consist of three heads known as the Lateral, Medial, and Long heads. The triceps make up the other 2/3 of the muscle mass in the upper arm. It functions to extend the elbow (straightening the arm) and bring the arm down towards the body (adduction).

Some of the better exercises for the triceps include: Weighted dips, close-grip barbell presses, skull crushers, cable pushdowns and diamond push ups.

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 Bodybuilding Anatomy Part 1

The anatomy of bodybuilding includes knowing where muscles are located, what their function is and how they grow most effectively.  It can be confusing, but when you know the anatomy of your body, you’ll know how to maximizing your gains.

Let’s start with the neck and shoulders.  There are two basic neck muscles that you can focus on in your bodybuilding efforts.  The upper trapezius and the levator scapulae. The upper trapezius runs down the back of your neck to the shoulder. It functions to bend and turn the neck left to right, pulls the head backward and elevates the scapula upward.

The levator scapulae runs next to the first five or six cervical vertebrae in your neck. It functions to raise and lower the scapula, move the scapula forward and turn/twist the neck left or right.

Some good bodybuilding exercises for the upper traps are deadlifts, upright cable rows and barbell shrugs. Some good bodybuilding exercises for the levator scapulae are dumbbell, barbell and cable shrugs.

The deltoid muscles are a three-headed muscle group that caps the shoulder. The deltoids derive their name from the Greek delta, or triangle, as the muscle resembles a triangle in shape. The function of the deltoid muscles are to move the arm away from the body. The anterior (front) head raises it away to the front, the lateral (middle) head moves it away to the side and the posterior (rear) head moves the arm away to the rear.

Some of the better deltoid exercises include: Barbell/dumbbell military or overhead press, barbell upright row, lateral dumbbell raises and bent-over lateral raises.

Next time we’ll cover chest, biceps and triceps.

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