Exercises can be categorized as isolation or compound. An isolation exercise involves movement around a single joint and targets a relatively small number of muscles. A compound exercise involves movement around two or more joints and targets a large number of muscles.
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Aerobic activity, such as running, improves the health of not only your heart and lungs, but also of your muscles.
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Squats are primarily thought of as a lower-body exercise, but train a number of secondary muscles too.
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The sagittal plane divides your body vertically into left and right sides. Any exercise that involves movement straight forward or backward without crossing over the mid-line of your body can be considered a sagittal plane exercise. The sagittal plane is the most common plane of movement.
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Kicking a football -- either a round soccer ball, oval American or rugby ball -- uses a lot of muscles and joints. A successful kick requires good eye-foot coordination, balance, accuracy, skill and power.
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Your muscular system consists of hundreds of muscles--from the very large gluteus maximus muscle, or your butt, to the very small muscles that control your fingers. Your muscular system is responsible for movements such as walking, lifting or running and holding your body in postural alignment.
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The acromioclavicular or AC joint is the union between your clavicle or collarbone and the acromium, which is part of your scapula. Held in place by the coracoclavicular and coracoacromial ligaments, the AC joint is an integral part of your shoulder girdle.
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The muscular system is made up of hundreds of muscles of various sizes, shapes and functions. Some muscles, such as your gluteus maximus, or butt muscle, are very big and powerful; others, such as your flexor digitorum profundus, or finger muscles, are much smaller and more dexterous.
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Shoulder shrugs target your upper trapezius muscles, also known as the traps. In colloquial gym language, well-developed upper traps are often called a yoke.
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Many of the techniques in volleyball are performed with your arms above your head. Spiking, blocking and serving the ball place a significant and potentially debilitating stress on your shoulder joints. Although a volleyball is light, it is struck with tremendous force.
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Stretching is an important part of fitness and sports training. Stretching can improve your flexibility, reduce post-exercise muscle soreness, increase your sporting or exercise performance, reduce muscle tension, minimize your risk of injury and help you relax.
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According to The Obesity Society, 64 percent of American adults are overweight with 31 percent of them considered obese. Subsequently, many people are trying to lose weight by dieting, exercising, surgery, drugs or a combination of weight loss methods.
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Fasting can be defined as willingly abstaining from food and/or drink. Intermittent fasting has been used throughout history for religious, spiritual and health reasons. More recently, intermittent fasting has become a method of weight control. According to Mark Sissons, author of lifestyle and diet book "
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Sports can be a great way to get and stay fit, let off steam or provide an outlet for your competitive spirit. Whatever your height, weight or build, there is probably a sport for you. Some sports, such as football and rugby, involve physical contact.
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The farmer's walk may look unusual, but it's a very effective strength exercise. To do it, pick up one or two dumbbells, hold them by your sides and walk around your training area for a distance, like 30 yards, or a time, like 60 seconds.
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You can perform side bends with weights to develop muscle strength or as a body weight exercise to develop spinal mobility. Whichever type of side bend you perform, it is important that you only lean sideways and do not allow your body to twist. Another important factor is to avoid bending too far.
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You can use a tire for a variety of workouts. You can flip it to develop leg, back and arm strength or hit it repeatedly with a sledgehammer to improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance.
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While some climbers prefer steep outdoor crags with tough-to-negotiate overhangs, other climbers prefer the relative safety of indoor climbing. Whichever type of climbing you prefer, the muscles used are very similar.
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Throwing a punch is a complex series of movements that begins in your feet and ends with your knuckles striking a target. Boxing uses every muscle in your body but some are more active than others. The most active muscles are the ones that will become stronger as a result of regular boxing workouts.
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Bent-over dumbbell rows are compound free-weight exercises that use many of your upper-body muscles. Similar to the bent-over barbell row, the supported position commonly used in the dumbbell version places less stress on your lower back and may be a safer option for anyone with lower back issues.
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