Name:______Date:______

Miss TorittoPhysical Education: Personal Fitness

The Muscular System: Key Terms

  1. Anatomical Directions and Joint Motions:
  1. Anterior = in front of
  2. Posterior = in back of
  3. Lateral = refers to away from the midline of the body
  4. Flexion = bending of a joint
  5. Extension = straightening of a joint
  6. Adduction = towards the body
  7. Abduction = away from the body
  1. Muscle Types:
  1. Skeletal Muscle: attaches to the bones by connective tissue called “tendons.” This type causes voluntary contractions and is the target muscle type of strength training.
  2. Smooth Muscle: produces movement in your internal organs.
  3. Cardiac Muscle: heart muscle causes the rhythmical contractions of the heart.
  4. Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber: contract quickly, fatigue easy, used for anaerobic activities, responsible for explosive muscle contractions.
  5. Slow Twitch Muscle Fiber: contract slowly, do not fatigue easily, has large blood supply (oxygen), used in aerobic and endurance activities.
  1. Muscular Contractions:
  1. Concentric: contraction in which the muscle is shortening
  2. Example-
  1. Eccentric: contraction in which the muscle is lengthening
  2. Example-
  1. Isometric: contraction in which the muscle is nether lengthening nor shortening
  2. Example-
  1. Agonist and Antagonist:
  1. Agonist: the prime mover in a given exercise.
  2. Example- The agonist when doing a leg curl is the ______muscle.
  1. Antagonist: the muscle that makes the opposite movement from the prime mover.
  2. Example- The antagonist when doing a bicep curl is the ______muscle.
  1. Atrophy and Hypertrophy:
  1. Atrophy: a decrease in the size of the muscle. A muscle will atrophy when demands on the muscle are decreased, or ceased all together. The less work the smaller the muscle.
  1. Hypertrophy: increase in size of the muscle. Hypertrophy results from enlargement of muscle fibers. It will occur when a sufficient overload is placed upon the muscle to force it to work harder than normal and grow or adapt. Increased muscle mass will result in your body burning more calories because muscles use calories for fuel 24 hours a day.
  1. Muscle Soreness:
  1. Acute muscle soreness: the pain one experiences during or immediately after exercise. This is caused by a buildup of lactic acid in the muscle tissue or shifts in fluid balance in the muscle cells.
  1. DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness): the pain one experiences one to two days after exercise. Microscopic tears in the muscle itself most likely cause this type of soreness.