M Is For Muscle… A Guest Blog By Our Friend Marqie!
Hey AC fam! We are excited to have our friend and AC Coach Marqie share her knowledge about muscles! Whoop whoop!
Marqie, take it away, you have our attention!
Hi AC fam! Before I share my knowledge with you, I'd love to introduce myself! My name is Marqie, I am a mother to one strong, smart, and handsome son and a dedicated personal trainer that helps people be their very best. I pride myself on always being a friend first, and being a lifelong trainer to the amazing individuals I serve. Fun fact about me: I have known Bri, the founder of AC, for 7 years or so. I was training her back in the day... Bri even ran her first 13.1 miles with me! Some people might say I am a hurricane of sunshine; and I absolutely love that! One of my favorite quotes is “Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.” ― Roy T. Bennett A
Ok, that’s enough about me, let's jump into our topic… MUSCLES!
Did you know, it takes at least 10 different muscles to smile, 38 muscles to text, and 17 to cry. When we go cycling, we can use up to 155 muscles and during our workouts we can engage hundreds more. Truth is, most of the time our bodies work like well-oiled machines. Movements that take just a split second to perform can use several muscles at a time. However, we don’t even think about the way our body moves unless our muscles ache, we experience an injury, or we feel them while we are working out.
Maybe it’s finally time to give our muscles the admiration they deserve! Take a moment right now to give yourself a pat on the back, a round of applause, or a cheer! You deserve it!
The human body has more than 600 muscles working together with your brain to make movements. With our bodies almost always in motion, it means that most muscles get called into service each day. Granted, some muscles are more “popular” than others. After all, we rely on our quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes quite often, but many people have never heard of the erector spinae, tibialis anterior, or palmaris longis. Question: do you know what those muscles are or are you researching now?
Since every muscle matters, we can work on a group of them at a time or isolate one to improve its individual function? That’s the difference between compound exercises and isolation exercises. While compound exercises focus on a wide range of movements, isolation exercises target an individual muscle for improvement.
Fitness experts say both belong in a well-rounded exercise plan.
Compound exercises typically mimic everyday movements and involve complex drills that require a group of muscles to work together. Think about a squat. As you bend and balance, numerous muscles kick into high gear, including the hamstrings, calves, glutes, quadriceps, lower back, and core muscles. Other examples are pushups, lunges, and shoulder presses. Compound exercises are generally recommended for overall fitness as they provide a good cardio workout and overall strength training.
Isolation exercises pinpoint a single muscle and joint. A bicep curl is a good example of an isolation exercise. These exercises are useful to focus on a specific muscle or for those in physical therapy who are looking to strengthen a specific muscle after an injury or surgery. This brings the muscle back to a healthy state, preventing other muscles from overcompensating and creating a more permanent imbalance. Other isolation exercises include leg extensions, hamstring curls, and calf raises.
Muscles matter!
If you have questions, talk to your personal trainer, coach, or fitness instructor. I am also happy to help you! I put together an 8 Week Full Body Movement Program that’s on AC ON DEMAND and I’m also teaching LIVE Classes (online and in person) for the AC Community. In both the 8 week program and the LIVE classes we focus on our muscles and utilize both compound and isolation exercises. I hope to see you soon! In the meantime, you can reach me on my cell at: 425-870-3124 or connect with me on IG at: @madefitlifegoalsbymarqie.
Your friend and trainer,
Marqie
“Add positivity to the world!”