Articles > Weight Training > The 7 Main Muscle Groups

Muscle is a contractile variety of tissue. There are three general types of muscle:
   • Cardiac muscle is a specialized kind of muscle found only within the heart.
   • Skeletal muscle or “voluntary muscle” is fastened by tendons to bones and is used to      achieve skeletal movement such as locomotion.
   • Smooth muscle or “involuntary muscle” is found within structures such as the throat,      intestines and blood vessels.

Bodybuilders focus on skeletal muscle, and usually the first muscle group that comes to a beginner’s mind is the upper arm or more specifically the biceps. The idea that adding bulk to your arms will give your entire upper body a major increase in size is a common delusion that many beginners have. Here is a list of the 7 principal muscle groups, sorted by most to least important, when it comes to adding mass to your upper body.

1. The main muscle group for adding bulk to your upper body is the deltoids. This muscle group is divided into anterior, lateral and posterior deltoids, and can be worked out using the following movements:

There are certain laws and rules of bodybuilding that have been added over the years. Each year, there are new methods in exercise, diet and supplementation that permit us to take our physiques to the next level.

Good nutrition, good genetics and a good workout routine are the basics needed to build a good body. This is how a basic routine should be split up:
Day 1: Chest and Biceps
Day 2: Cardio and Abs
Day 3: Back and Triceps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Shoulders and Legs
Day 6: Cardio and Abs
Day 7: Rest

Professionals say resistance training, including lifting free weights, working out on weight machines and doing pushups, helps maintain and increase lean muscle, which revs up metabolism and increases the number of calories the body burns at rest. The reason for the metabolic advantage: the larger your lean muscle mass, the more calories your body burns at work and at rest.

Don’t fall in love with any one exercise. If you repeat the same exercise, you’ll overdo a particular muscle group. Everyone undoubtedly has a particular asset they would like to develop, but don’t overdo it. Use a full variety of exercises, machines and resistances. Try lifting free weights, water, household items, and even your own body weight. Changing it up will shock the muscles, challenging them to lift the weight.

Myths and Facts About Stretching
Stretching recommendations are clouded by fallacies and contradictory research reports. Stretching has been encouraged for years as an essential part of fitness programs to reduce the possibility of injury, ease pain associated with “stiffness,” and advance sport performance, in spite of limited data. New evidence suggests that stretching immediately before exercise does not prevent overuse or acute injuries. However, results from animal studies suggest that continuous stretching, (i.e. over 24 hours per day), compared with intermittent stretching of only minutes per day, outside of exercise periods may produce muscle hypertrophy, which could theoretically reduce the risk of injury.



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