There are three types of muscles in your body: smooth, cardiac, and skeletal.
Smooth muscles are ones that you have no control over, but they are still essential!
These are muscles like the ones in your gut that help to digest food, or the ones in your blood vessels that help manage the pressure and flow of blood throughout your body.
Cardiac muscle is found exclusively in the heart. It’s another example of a muscle that moves on its own, without you having to think about it.
Finally, there is skeletal muscle. This is the type of muscle that probably comes to mind when you think about the muscles in your body.
They get this name because they attach to your bones using connectors called tendons.
Muscles can pull, but can’t push, so they work in pairs called flexors and extensors. Your body moves when these pairs contract and relax.
From the top of your head to the tips of your toes, you’ll find more than 600 muscles throughout your body!
Interestingly, the actual amount of muscle fibres in your body remains similar from childhood to adulthood.
Want big muscles like your favourite superhero? Then you better get your body moving!
Building big, strong muscles requires a process called hypertrophy, which can be obtained by lifting weights or performing bodyweight exercises such as pushups or squats.
So the next time you’re walking, hiking, or playing outside, take a moment to think about all of the muscles at work in your body, and how they make exploring your world possible.
We think you’ll agree that muscles are pretty Wowzerful!
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