outdoors and fitness	« fitness
Added: September 15, 2006, 11:45 am	Share    Print    Email

Of all the muscles in the body, two of the most well known, are the biceps and triceps. The biceps are without a doubt the rock stars of the muscular system; they get lots of praise and notoriety for doing very little. If you walk up to a kindergartner and say, "show me your muscles," they will probably flex their biceps. Because we bend and straighten our arms so many times during a normal day, conditioning these muscles has a relatively fast learning curve. Almost anyone can walk into a gym and do, an adequate biceps curl or triceps push down. However, an understanding of the muscles involved, how they're designed, and how they coordinate, can bring better results and help to avoid plateaus in your training.

The general area referred to as the "biceps" is actually three muscles, the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis, that work in concert to smoothly flex your elbow and supinate (turn palm up) your forearm. The biceps brachii is the largest and most superficial muscle in the group and is what most people are referring to when they say "the biceps muscle". The muscle has two heads, long and short.

Translated from Latin biceps brachii means, "two heads of the arm." In many gyms it is also translated into "the ego muscle," causing many people to stare into the mirror for hours. The short head of the biceps constitutes the medial or inner portion of the muscle and the long head, the lateral or outer portion of the muscle. This muscle is the primary flexor of the elbow joint, but is also a strong supinator of the forearm.

The biceps also crosses the shoulder joint and thus plays a role in raising or flexing the shoulder joint. The brachialis and the brachioradialis, are the two other muscles primarily responsible for flexion of the elbow. The brachialis lies beneath the bicep and focuses exclusively upon elbow flexion. Mostly hidden behind the biceps, it gets little credit but does a great deal of work. The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that plays a significant role in flexing the elbow when the forearm is already supinated.

Knowing how these muscles compliment each other can add focus to your arm workout and help to get the desired results. During a dumbbell curl for instance, keeping the palm forward focuses on the biceps brachii and the brachialis. Turn your hand ninety degrees (thumbs up) and the focus moves to the brachioradialis. Barbell curls with a close grip focus toward the long (lateral) head of the biceps and a wider grip focuses more to the short (medial) head. Other nuances of position and technique such as sitting, using a preacher bench, or doing "concentration" curls, play a role in isolating the biceps muscles and placing the muscle at varying degrees of mechanical advantage.

The triceps brachii is the opposing muscle to the biceps. These muscles work in concert to flex and extend the elbow smoothly. As the biceps shortens, the triceps lengthens to allow flexion. Conversely, the biceps lengthens as the triceps shortens to extend the elbow. As the name denotes, the triceps brachii is divided into three heads: long, lateral, and medial. Although a bit less famous than its neighbor, the triceps can constitute up to three quarters of the total size of the upper arm. Extension of the elbow simply means to straighten the arm. Extension is the triceps primary function although the long head of the muscle does cross the shoulder joint and contributes to shoulder extension and adduction.

The muscle itself has a horse shoe shape due to the arrangement of the three heads. Looking from behind the long head and the medial head constitute the medial or inner portion of the horse shoe, with the medial head largely hidden beneath the long head. The lateral head constitutes the lateral or outer portion of the horse shoe. Because there are two heads arranged medially, that side of the horse shoe tends to be larger and more powerful.

As with the biceps, knowledge of the muscle's arrangement and position can serve to make workouts more effective and efficient. The triceps muscles can be very difficult to isolate. Small changes in position can cause the deltoid or pectoralis muscles to assist superfluously. Often the first triceps exercise I have clients learn is the pushdown. This is a relatively easy exercise that can isolate the triceps very effectively. Using a standard bar attachment isolates the triceps well, but using a rope attachment allows the long head of the triceps to be stressed more acutely. Additionally, using an under hand grip focuses more intently upon the medial head.

With all of these positions, all three heads are activated, but the focus can be manipulated with proper understanding of the anatomy and mechanics. An exercise like lying extensions or, "scull crushers," as they are affectionately called, is more advanced. With this exercise it is very important to keep the elbows stationary. If the elbows spread apart, or fall back, the shoulders and chest quickly assist. Assistance may sound like a good thing, but when you are attempting to isolate a relatively small muscle like the triceps, other muscles' assistance can waste your time and diminish your results.

In regard to overall athleticism the biceps and triceps muscles contribute little. They are relatively small compared with the muscles of the legs, torso, and shoulder girdle, but they get a lot of attention due to their prominent location. The arm muscles are what I call "public" muscles; they are often visible unless you take care to conceal them. The good news is that they snap into shape relatively quickly due to their small size and the fact that they are used for so many daily activities.

If you workout and spend time developing your arms, a basic understanding of their functional anatomy can help you tremendously. There are many different ways to do most exercises but there is also what I consider a threshold of right and wrong. There can be ten different variations to do an exercise the "right" way, but if you work against your anatomy, the risk of injury can exceed the potential benefits and thus becomes the "wrong" way.

Contributing writer Jeff Thayer is the president of JT Personal Fitness in Southampton. He is certified by the American Council on Exercise and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. He has been serving the fitness needs of the east end for over a decade. For suggestions on future articles or a consultation, Jeff can be reached at his Main Street studio by calling 287-5156 or via email at jtfitness@hamptons.com.