Muscle and Function: Erector Spinae The erector spinae muscles are a group of muscles along the vertebral column. Collectively, they are responsible for back extension as well as extension of the neck and sideways movement of the head. It is made up of three muscles: the iliocostalis, the longissimus, and the spinalis. The Different Parts…
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Muscle and Function: Deltoid Muscle The deltoid is a triangular shaped muscle at the top of your shoulder. It plays a major role in moving and stabilizing your shoulder joint. The major movements the deltoid muscle is responsible for are arm rotation, arm flexion, as well as moving your arm towards and away from your…
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Muscle and Function: Teres Major The Teres Major is responsible for shoulder adduction, shoulder extension, and medial rotation of the arm. Another very important function of the Teres Major is scapula stabilization. I want you to visualize the act of tying an apron. As you pull your arm back behind your torso to tie your…
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Muscle and Function: Vastus Medialis Obliquus or VMO “Tear Drop”, VMO, What Even Is It? You may have heard of the muscle known as the ‘tear drop’. If you’ve been using this slang term it isn’t wrong, but the actual name of the muscle is the Vastus Medialis Obliquus,or VMO. Considering the muscle has such…
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Improve your Shoulder Pain with Strength Training Anatomy Shoulder pain can actually be improved using targeted strength training to correct strength imbalances caused by years of daily activity, according to the science literature. At Vertex Fitness, we aren’t doctors or physical therapists, and we can’t prescribe any specific exercises or supplements that can fix an…
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Muscle and Function: The Serratus Anterior This muscle is sometimes known as the “boxer muscle”, because it’s the muscle along the sides of the torso that make boxing athletes look so shredded. Tucked away on the lateral thoracic wall of the body, this muscle received its name from Latin origin due to its saw-toothed appearance.…
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Muscle & Function – The Latissimus Dorsi The latissimus dorsi, otherwise known as your “lats”, is the widest muscle in the human body. Having a strong latissimus dorsi is very important for improving posture, preventing back pain, and improving spinal stability. Have you ever heard someone say “you need a strong backbone” in life? Well,…
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Muscle and Function: The Triceps On the back of the arm is the Triceps Brachii muscle group. The group is comprised of three muscles that have separate origins and a common insertion. The Long Head of the triceps originates in the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula and inserts into the posterior surface of the olecranon…
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Muscle and Function: The Quadratus Lumborum The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) is a deep core muscle located on both sides of the spine that connects the iliac crest to the 12th rib and lumbar spine. Its primary functions are to unilaterally flex the spine laterally and working together to extend the vertebral column. It also helps to…
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Muscle and Function: The Gastrocnemius The Gastrocnemius is a bipennate muscle that originates on the lateral and medial condyles of the femur. It runs down the back of the leg and invests into the Achilles tendon and inserts into the calcaneus. It is the most superficial muscle of the lower leg. Because it crosses two joints, it…
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