There are over 600 muscles in our body and it is easy to let go of one to exercise more than the other. However, there are a few important yet neglected muscles that many athletes should be paying attention to to strengthen them.
The multitude of muscles in our body makes up around a third of its weight. If you were to name important muscles in your body, which ones would you come up with? Probably pecs, quads, delts, lats, biceps and triceps.
Due to the bodybuilding industry, unattainable beauty in Hollywood movies, and culture, most people tend to focus their training around those muscles. However, there is more to going to the gym than having a defined chest and bigger arms.
For example, perhaps you did think about your abs as one of the most important muscles in your body. And maybe you do some sort of core workout every other week. But tell me when was the last time you did an exercise that focused on your obliques? There really is only one way to target them, by twisting your torso, and if you are only doing crunches, planks, or leg raises, you are not targeting your obliques.
BOXROX came up with a list of 8 important yet neglected muscles in our bodies. You will find out some exercises that will target best these muscles.
Planes of Motion
Before we begin, it is important to know the concept of planes of motion. They are:
- Sagittal plane: cuts the body into left and right halves.
- Frontal plane: cuts the body into front and back halves.
- Transverse plane: cuts the body into upper and bottom halves.
Every exercise you can do at the gym will relate more to one plane of motion compared to the other. Most training programs have that in mind when creating the set of exercises, such as the 6-day split program and the push/pull/legs training.
To keep it brief, know that sagittal plane exercises consist of forward and backward movements (bicep curl, front lunge, running), frontal plane exercises consist of side-to-side movements (lateral raise, side bend) and transverse plane consists of twisting movements (Russian twists).
Now dive deep into important yet neglected muscles and how to train them.
Important Yet Neglected Muscles
Rotator Cuff
Incredibly important, but often neglected is the rotator cuff. It is a group of muscles and tendons that act to stabilise your shoulders and allow for its multi-directional movement. The shoulders are a different muscle group since they can move side to side, up and down, and twist. And the rotator cuff is the only muscle that externally rotates your shoulders.
Not having a strong rotator cuff will make virtually every upper body exercise harder and can leave you prone to injury.
How to Strengthen It
Jeremy Ethier is a kinesiologist and fitness trainer, co-founder of Built With Science. His YouTube channel has over 4 million subscribers and he delivers clear information with sound background research.
He came up with a workout routine of 3 exercises to strengthen your rotator cuff – full can, side-lying external rotation, and external rotation press.
Check the video below to see how to do each exercise.
Serratus Anterior
The serratus anterior is a fan-shaped muscle located on each of your sides on top of your ribs. Although it is not necessarily part of your abs muscles, it can add definition to your midsection and improve your lower chest.
This important yet neglected muscle plays a critical role in stabilising and facilitating the proper movement of your scapula. It keeps shoulder blades against the ribcage when at rest and during movement.
How to Strengthen It
Top fitness coach Jeff Cavaliere was the head physical therapist of the New York Mets for 3 years and is now a YouTube sensation on his ATHLEAN-X channel. Below you will see 3 exercises you should be doing to strengthen your serratus anterior.
Tibialis
We have the tibialis anterior and the tibialis posterior muscle. Due to calves being overactive, this lower leg muscle group is often weak in most athletes.
The tibialis anterior is the large muscle in front of your lower leg and is key for proper ankle and foot mobility. The tibialis posterior inverts the ankle and is often the primary muscle that gets inflamed in what is known as shin splints.
How to Strengthen It
You will need different exercises to strengthen your tibialis anterior and posterior.
For the tibialis anterior, think of exercises that make you lift the front of your foot with some resistance. A weight plate on the tip of your foot and lifting it without moving your legs or bending your knee is a good beginning.
The tibialis posterior is a bit trickier to work due to its movement uniqueness. The most common exercise involves a resistance band around you’re the tip of your foot and twisting it from side to side.
Hamstrings
You can run, squat, and perform normal deadlifts as much as you want, but chances are your hamstrings are the weakest part of your upper legs. I know it is mine, and there are many exercises people can do to strengthen this important yet neglected muscle.
Hamstrings are one of three posterior thigh muscles between the hip and the knee and are usually very susceptible to injury. Stronger hamstrings can help you run faster and jump higher.
How to Strengthen It
A difficult yet rewarding exercise that will hit your hamstrings like no other is the Nordic curls, also known as Nordic hamstring curl or inverse leg curl.
Other exercises also work on your hamstrings such as the Romanian deadlift, dumbbell hip thrust and Russian kettlebell swing, but those are compound movements and if you want to target an often-overlooked muscle, your best bet is to do isolation exercises.
Glutes
We have already extensively covered the glutes but the reality is that many athletes rarely do exercises that target primarily the glutes.
The glute is a group of three muscles that make up your buttocks – gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. Strong glutes will help prevent injuries around your lower back and knees, help you run faster and help you lose weight since the glutes are the biggest muscle group in our bodies.
How to Strengthen It
There are three ways to exercise your glutes be it with vertical movements (squats, deadlifts), horizontal movements (glute bridges, back extensions), or rotational/lateral movements (seated hip abduction, lateral band walks).
You don’t need to do glute bridges every time you want to focus on your butt muscles. Have you tried the knee-banded dual elevated bodyweight hip thrust?
You can also take a look at this list of 50 exercises for glute development that Bret Contreras, known as the Glute Guy, shared.
Grip
People lose their grip strength as a result of natural ageing, but it can also be an indication of medical issues such as arthritis or a nerve injury. Consult your doctor if you must.
Grip is relatively worked the more weight you lift a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell for example. However, there are some exercises you can do to increase your grip strength.
After all, if you cannot lift something if you cannot hold on to it. Increasing your grip skill will impact building up your forearms as well, which will help you lift more weight overall.
How to Strengthen It
The easiest way to build up your grip strength is to do a dead hang. With a pull-up bar, hold your weight on it for as long as you can with your arms fully extended.
Adductors
Most team sports athletes must have strong adductors to be able to perform at full capacity. When it comes to people who stay inside the gym most of the time, the adductors get stigmatised and that is why it is on our list of important yet neglected muscles.
The adductors are located on your inner thighs that move your legs toward the centre of your body. Strong adductors translate to better explosive movements such as jumping and sprinting.
How to Strengthen It
If you don’t want to sit at the adductor machine in your local gym, you don’t have to, although it might be the best adductor isolation exercise you can do.
Another great alternative are cossack squats.
Obliques
Last but not least, the obliques must be mentioned in our list of important yet neglected muscles. That is because people tend to care more about the upper and lower part of their abs to get that six-pack. In the race for a six-pack, the obliques were left out and are often neglected.
The oblique muscles are located on the lateral sides of the abdomen. They run from below your chest to the top of your hips in two long vertical lines.
Not only the obliques is not the main part of the enviable six-pack abs, but there is also only one way to train them and that is with twisting and rotating core exercises. When was the last time you did that? Probably in high school.
How to Strengthen It
Two exercises are very common to target your obliques. The Russian twist and the bicycle crunch.
Russian Twist:
Bicycle Crunch:
Read More: 12 Must-Have Exercises In Your Training Program
image sources
- Kati Christian and Christian Harris of team MoveFastLiftHeavy: Instagram
- Important Yet Neglected Muscles: Scott Webb / Unsplash
