Kids love the ability to outsmart their parents. When I first learned to count by tens as a child, I couldn’t wait to challenge my mom to a contest to see who could count to 100 faster. Of course, she played along and I reached 100 faster by counting 10, 20, 30…etc. I loved the prospect that I knew more than she did.
In my kids’ fitness classes, I challenge my students to know more muscles than even their parents do. Naturally, the kids jump at the chance to outsmart their folks. My goal behind doing this is simple: Knowledge about your body leads to respecting your body. When you respect your body, you take better care of it. I want to guide my students down that path.
The human body has over 600 muscles. For the purpose of teaching kids, we focus on the ten muscles, or major muscle groups, that encompass the body from head to toe. It’s helpful to use the abbreviated labels for the muscles when applicable since some of the scientific names can be overwhelming for kids. The ten muscles are listed below in descending order. So if you don’t know your deltoids from your gluteus maximus, this column can serve as a tutorial for you, too.
Deltoids
Located in the shoulders, your deltoids are active in lifting a heavy box over your head, or holding your arms out to the side.
Pecs
Short for pectoralis, your pecs are the muscles in your chest. They’re active during a push-up. When teaching kids, we call these the gorilla muscles. Kids like to pound on their chest while yelling “Pecs,†like the call of the wild.
Biceps
These are the muscles in the arms that kids typically go to when asked to flex their muscles. I’ve caught many kids rolling up their sleeves and sizing up their biceps during my classes.
Triceps
The triceps are located on the back of the upper arm. Unlike the biceps, the triceps don’t often get activated in every day life. Therefore, exercises like triceps dips or swimming are necessary to strengthen the triceps.
Abs
Short for abdominals, your stomach area muscles are key to core strength. A fun way to help kids notice their abs is to have them pretend to laugh hard. As they fall back on the floor laughing hysterically, have them feel the muscles on their belly tense up.
Obliques
The muscles of the abdominal wall do a lot of overlapping and crisscrossing. For the purpose of teaching kids, it’s best to generalize that the obliques are located on the sides of the stomach area. When you bend and twist your torso, you’re activating the obliques.
Gluteus Maximus
Known by many snickering kids as the tushie or heiny muscle, this hefty rear-end muscle group helps you climb stairs and ride a bike.
Quads
Short for quadriceps, these muscles on the front of the thigh get plenty of action in daily life. Every time you stand from a sitting position you’re using your quads. A sure way for kids to feel their quads working is by having them do a wall sit. By holding a sitting position against a wall for 30 seconds or so, they’ll experience the sensation of their quads engaging.
Hamstrings
Located on the back of the thigh, the hamstrings are those muscles you feel when bending over to touch your toes. They’re often very tight, even in children, and in need of regular flexibility exercises. Kids can strengthen the hamstrings by walking backwards.
Gastrocnemius
This hard-to-pronounce muscle is better known as the calf muscle. Activities like jumping rope, running, in-line skating, and others that require flexion at the ankle will engage the gastrocnemius. This is the perfect muscle in which to stump a grown-up, since its true name is not commonly known.
Empower your kids with knowledge about their body. Help them label the major muscles and learn how to strengthen and stretch them. While you’re at it, you might want to brush up a little yourself. You never know when your kids may want to challenge you to see who can name the most muscles.
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