Parent Circle / February 201232

Muscles move the body by contracting and relaxing.

During contraction, the muscles get shorter. The muscle fibres slide together and stack up to make a fatter shape, a bit like when you shuffle a pack of cards together.

While relaxing, the muscle fibres slide apart and the muscle gets longer and thinner.

Muscles which move bones act together in pairs. This means that as one muscle contracts, its partner relaxes. Then as the partner muscle contracts, the first muscle relaxes again.

The brain sends simultaneous messages to the relevant muscles to contract and relax, so that they act in unison.

WHAT CHILDREN SAY “My legs hurt when I am in bed sometimes. Mom says that it is due to growing pains.” “I hurt the hamstring in my leg while running. It hurt for a long time.” “My muscles still feel sore after playing a game of football, but much less than what I had experienced before the start of the training.” “Sometimes I get cramps in my foot when I am in bed. It hurts and I have to

get up and walk around.” “My brother does weights. He wants to build up his muscles and have a six pack.” “My mom has big muscles in her legs, she plays a lot of tennis.”

WHAT CAN CAUSE MUSCLES TO HURT? When you exercise a lot, your muscles get tired from all that contracting and relaxing. Your muscles might hurt. They can still be sore the next day if you have not been exercising regularly.

Have you ever had a cramp? This is when your muscles seem to lock up, and you have a pain in your foot or your leg, or a 'stitch' in your side. This happens when one or more of your muscles contract and do not relax again (called a spasm).

If you exercise for too long, you can get a build up of chemicals like lactic acid in your muscles, and this can cause them to tighten up.

Sweating and not drinking enough fluids on a hot day may lead to a muscle cramp. If you develop a cramp, drink water. Then stretch and massage the muscle that hurts. You will feel better.

When muscles are over-stretched or strained, the fibers can tear and there can be bruising inside the muscle. It will take several days for the fibres to heal and the bruises to disappear.

C KATHIRESAN IS A FITNESS TRAINER AND

HOLDS AN MPHIL IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION.

How Muscles Move

KEEP YOUR MUSCLES WORKING Muscles need to move to keep healthy and strong. Have you heard the saying, ‘Use it or lose it?’ Probably not, as it is usually said to older people who do not exercise enough! You can help your muscles stay strong and healthy by exercising every day and by using different sets of muscles when you exercise.

By doing push-ups you will activate and strengthen your chest muscle (pectorals)

Standing upright and lifting any weights using your hands will

activate and strengthen your arms (biceps)

Any lifting movement above

the head will activate and strengthen your shoulder (deltoid)

In a seated position, extend your legs. This

will activate and strengthen your front thigh muscle

(quadriceps)

By lying down on your stomach and pulling your legs towards your butt, you will activate and strengthen the muscles at the back

of your thigh (hamstring)

By standing upright and raising your heel, you will activate and strengthen your lower legs (calves)

BY C KATHIRESAN

There was a young man called Bustle

Who wanted to build up his muscle

He exercised each day

All his fat went away

And he shouted “Hip, hip, hooray!

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