6/6/2023 0 Comments Prime mover muscle![]() The agonist for an exercise is a muscle that helps complete the lift. I think that these two terms are better explained in one section. They contribute a lot, but are still secondary to the pecs. The answer is that the pecs are the primary mover with the deltoid and triceps the secondary movers. That being said, you can’t bench with just the elbow joint so that point becomes invalid. If we were to discuss the bench at the elbow then the triceps are the primary mover because the anterior delt and pecs do nothing to move the forearm. So, if we are discussing the bench press from the shoulder joint then we would say that the pecs are the primary mover and the anterior deltoid and triceps are the secondary movers. If you can’t get the weight off of your chest with your pecs and anterior deltoid then the triceps will never get their chance to shine! Once the bar has moved far enough then the elbow is in a position to use the strength of the tricep to complete the rep. The pecs start the movement upward with the assistance of the anterior deltoid. You cannot complete the bench press without the triceps, anterior deltoid, and pecs, so how do we go about determining the primary and secondary movers? You have to think about the lift. You may be starting to see that the bench press is a compound movement, which requires movement from more than one joint. So that would mean that the triceps are the primary mover for that joint during the bench press, or any other press. They have a role to straighten out the arm, but that is at the joint of the elbow. Now, we know that the triceps are also involved in the bench press. They both need each other, but the chest is still going to be the primary mover here. The anterior deltoid contributes to assist the chest in moving the weight. The anterior deltoid is a pretty strong muscle for its size, but it is nowhere near as strong or as big as the pectoralis major in the chest. ![]() This makes the anterior deltoid the secondary mover of the bench press. The anterior deltoid (also part of the shoulder) is going to assist the chest in moving the bar off of the torso. The upper arm is attached at the shoulder joint where the movement can occur. The chest is responsible for pressing the bar off of your chest and moving the upper arm in front of and towards the midline of the torso. ![]() It can also mean that the muscle is smaller and generates less strength due to being smaller than the primary mover.įor example, the primary mover on a bench press is the chest. It just means that it is not being recruited as much as the primary mover. This does not mean that the secondary mover is working less than the primary mover. The “secondary mover” of an exercise is the muscle group that is sharing the load with the primary mover. This means that the biceps are the primary mover of the barbell curl. If you think about it, you are using a lot of muscles to perform this lift! When you think of the barbell curl, which muscle comes to mind? That’s right! The biceps! The biceps are ultimately responsible for curling the bar. For example, if you were to perform a barbell curl, then you would be using muscles to grip the bar, stabilize the bar, stabilize the torso, keep yourself balanced, and ultimately curl the weight. The primary mover is the muscle that is recruited the most during the lift. All lifts in the gym, even isolation exercises, will require that you use more than one muscle to lift the weight. When somebody is discussing the “primary mover” of an exercise then they are talking about the muscle that will be doing most of the work. If I am speaking a different language then how can I expect my clients to follow my plan or advice! I have always spent time explaining what I mean when I use certain terms, so I figured that it would be best if I wrote an article for you so that you can better understand gym lingo and make more gainz! PRIMARY MOVER I’ve been a personal trainer for over 10 years and I have been coaching others online for the last 6! One thing that I have to remind myself is that most of the people I help may not understand what I am saying. ![]() I’ve spent the greater part of my life helping people with their workouts in the gym.
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