Editors note: Many of you may know "TriGhost" from the newsgroup Rec.Sport.Triathlon. John has been doing triathlons since about 1984 (with a hiatus here and there). He is trained in exercise kinesiology (body structure and movement), as well as in sports training. Below is the first in a series designed to familiarize you with the muscles that you use in a triathlon, how they produce movement, and how you can improve that movement to produce better results with less effort. This first article will familiarize you with some basic anatomy and muscle terminology, and will give you a brief look at what makes a muscle contract. These basic terms will become important later when we start locating muscles on the body, and looking at the motion that they produce.

Chapter One-- The Basics 11/17/99
Chapter Two-- Now We Get to it: Abs and Back 12/20/99

The Basics

First, a little about anatomical position. If you stand up, place your hands at your sides, and then turn your hands so that the palms are facing forward, this is the anatomical position. A good way to picture it is to think of your pinkies touching the seam of your pants. Later when we discuss muscles being on the "inside" or "outside" of a limb, this is the position we are starting from. When a body is in anatomical position, there are three "lines" that separate body regions. One cuts horizontally through the body at the belly button, dividing us into top and bottom (Superior and inferior). The other two divide the body vertically. One is aligned with our ears and shoulders and divides us into front and back (frontal and dorsal), the other splits us right down the line of our nose (Midline). The midline will become important when we start talking about how far away something is.

Once you divide the body, there are only a few more terms that we need to know in order to get started. Here is a list of the most basic:

• Proximal/Distal: These terms are used to describe how close something is to the midline (body division) in relation to something else. They mean how they sound--distal is more distant, proximal is closer (proximity). For example, if you compare your elbow to your wrist, it is proximal (closer than the wrist). If you compare it to the shoulder, it is distal (farther from the midline than is the shoulder).

• Medial/Lateral: These terms are used to describe whether a point is on the "inside" or the "outside" of something. For example, think of your foot. The big toe is on the medial (middle) side of the foot, and the little toe is on the lateral side.

OK! Are you still here? Good! Now we'll start looking at the fun stuff, muscles! In this first installment, we will examine the different types and shapes of muscles in the body, as well as the basics of what causes a muscle to contract.

There are three different types of muscles in the body: Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart; smooth muscle is generally found in blood vessel walls, and walls of organs such as the small intestine or stomach, etc.; the last is skeletal muscle, and this is the one that concerns us the most.

Skeletal muscle comes in four different forms, parallel, convergent, pennate and circular. Most of the msucles in the body are of the parallel type. This is where the fibers of the muscle lay mostly parallel to the long axis of the muscle. The biceps (Upper arm muscle) is a good example of this type of muscle. Convergent muscles are based over a broad area, but come together at one attachment point. The pectorals (Chest muscles ) are an example of this. They are broad near the center of the chest, but come together to attach at one point on the arm (Near to the shoulder). In a pennate muscle, the fibers all form a common angle with the tendon. These muscles don't contract as much as a parallel muscle will, but they provide more direct power. An example is the rectus femoris (part of the muscle group on the top of the leg known as the quads--it is responsible for straightening the leg at the knee). The deltoids (Shoulder muscles) are also pennate muscles. The last type is circular muscle. These muscles will not be looked at, since their function is to close openings in the body. The muscles that close the lips are examples of circular muscles.

Since what actually makes a muscle move and contract is an extremely broad topic, this will not be covered in detail. There are two nervous systems that we will look at, the central and the peripheral. The central nervous system includes the brain and nerves of the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system contains the nerves that run out to the muscles and various parts of the body and then back to the central nervous system again. When the brain decides that a muscle needs to contract, it sends out a signal through the central nervous system. This signal passes to the peripheral system and keeps getting passed from nerve to nerve until it hits the muscle. The nerve at the muscle lets out a substance that causes muscle cells to contract. As long as the nerve lets out this substance, the muscle will contract (until either the nerve runs out of transmitter substance, or the muscle cell is completely exhausted). This sounds simple, but there are thousands of nerve and muscle cells that all need to act in unison to produce a contraction and a resulting movement.

That's about it for this session, in the next article we will start looking at specific muscle groups and how they relate to movement and their significance in triathlon. We will also discuss good exercises and stretches for each muscle group. Until then, happy tri-ing and good training!

Now We Get To It: Abs and Back

Ok, last installment we chewed through a lot of dry stuff about muscles, and I promised this time that we would get to some better stuff, and include a few training tips. Having said that, this trip around we are going to talk about a few sets of muscles that may be the most important you have for any athletic event.

Quads? Hamstrings? Lats? No, no no no! We are talking about the midsection muscles, the abdominals (Rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques), and the back muscle group known as the spinal extensors, or erector spinae. This group actually comprises many different muscles, but they are known in this collective form, and the exercises are the same for the entire group.

What makes these muscles so important? One word-stability. The more stable these muscles are, the smoother it makes your swimming and running, and helps prevent and mitigate that bent over, can't straighten up feeling after tucking on the bike for hours on end. Additionally, the obliques are what help turn your torso side to side, which will help with that roll/stretch combo you have been trying to perfect in your freestyle stroke. Additionally, if these muscles are not toned, then other muscles in the body have to do more work to help balance the body during weight shifts, which drains your energy faster.

Your abs (Rectus Abdominus) originate on the pubis (Part of the pelvis, around the genitourinary area), and run all the way up to insert on the lowest ribs. Their action is to flex (Curl) the spine in a forward direction. They also help to protect and stabilize the internal organs. They also help with your balance.

There are two sets of obliques, the internal and the external. The externals originate along the lower eight ribs, and attach along the iliac crest (Top of the hipbone), as well as the linea alba (This is a sheath of connective tissue that runs from the lower part of your breastbone down to your pelvis. If you look at a picture of 6 pack abs, it is what causes the line down the middle.) The internal obliques are just the opposite, the originate on the pelvis/linea alba, and run to the 8 lower ribs. These muscles are primarily responsible for rotating the torso, and bending the spine side to side.

Finally, the erector spinae. This is a generic term for several sets of muscles that run from your tailbone/hip girdle area, all the way to the top of the spine. There are a few that run all the way, as well as a lot that run in between each vertebrae. They are responsible (primarily) for extending (arching) the spine, as well as moving the ribcage.

All of these muscles help control movement of the torso, breathing, and especially balance. If they are not in the best of shape, that means other muscles have to help out, which takes more energy away from the prime goal, racing!

Well, that's all great, but how do we train these? There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about how to train the abs, tons of videos, etc. I am going to show you some basic exercises that will help build and tone all of these muscles. CAUTION! If you have had or currently have back problems, talk with a trainer or sports doc. If you do these incorrectly, they can cause further harm.

Abs are the among the most exercised "trophy" muscles. Everyone wants that washboard stomach. They are also the most widely MIS-exercised muscles in the body. The traditional sit-up means hoisting your body up at the hips to touch your elbows to your knees. Not only does this not exercise the abs (It mostly exercises a set of hip/leg muscles), it can lead to injury from tugging on your neck. There are two easy ways to exercise your abs.

Exercise #1 : Lay flat on the floor, legs drawn up at an angle, feet flat on the floor. This is similar to the "oldstyle" situp position. Place your hands on opposite shoulders, elbows pointing at the ceiling. Now try to touch your elbows to your hips by "curling" your upper body into a ball. You probably wont be able to get all the way there (At least I cant....), but you should feel a tension in your midsection just below your breastbone down to about your navel. Hold this for a second or two, then slowly relax back down. These muscles respond just as well to a slower movement, so there is no need to thrash back and forth like a whale trying to unbeach itself. ;-)

Exercise #2: This is similar to the first exercise. Lay on your back with your hands palm down on the floor along your body (Or extended out in a cross type fashion.) Bring your knees and legs up to your body (Think of the old cannonball dive position, except don't wrap your hands around them.) Now "curl" from the bottom up, trying to drive your knees through your shoulders. Hold and relax.

Don't be alarmed if you can't do many of these. If you haven't trained your abs properly before, then it may take a while before you can do a lot of them. Also, this will help to reduce the midsection some, as you tighten up the muscles, but it will NOT "spot reduce" those love handles. For you to do that (And to be able to SEE that 6 pack that is now there), you have to get rid of the fat covering the area.

The second mistake a lot of people make is to train the abs and not train the back erectors. This creates a muscle imbalance, and can be a large factor in causing some back pains. This is a rule of thumb in muscle training...if you train one set, you need to train the opposing set of muscles.

There are back extension machines at most gyms, and you can have a trainer show you how to use them properly. Or, you can do this one at home. Lay face down on the carpet with your hands extended over your head in the "superman" flying position (Hmmm...note to self...Arm and Hammer Rug deodorizer needed). Now, lift your head to look forward, and at the same time raise one arm and the opposite leg off the floor. You don't need to really arch, a couple of inches will do it. Hold for a couple of seconds, then relax. Do this with the other arm/leg. The more you can arch, the better, but again, don't push it at first. (This will also help in the swimming, when you pick your head straight up out of the water to buoy sight while stroking.)

And, those pesky obliques. Again, these are rarely exercised except by competitive bodybuilders. There are two different exercises that will work these muscles.

Exercise #1: Get yourself onto a slant board (A situp type board that slants, found in 99% of all gyms). Place your hands on your shoulders like you would for ab exercise #1, and come a few inches up off the board (This will also help train the abs.) Now try to curl your elbow to the opposite knee. Hold a few seconds, then relax. Repeat for the other side. Again, if you haven't done this much, you may only be able to do a few.

Exercise #2: Stand straight up, and hold a 5 or 10 lb dumbbell in your hand. (No, put your brother-in-law DOWN! Now, grab the metal one...that's it...) Place your free hand flat against your leg, and try to slide it down your leg to your knee. Hold for a second or two, and relax. Do a few on one side, and then switch to the other side.

Well, that's about it for the exercises. Once you start getting these muscles into shape, the rest of your workouts should be a little easier. I have coached a few people that always complained of lower back pain a couple of miles into a run. Once they started toning the back erector muscles, the pain lessened and disappeared. (NOTE: I am not promising anything...YMMV ;-) ) You may also notice a general lessening of your fatigue levels during workouts. I must stress again though, if you haven't been doing any of these, or have any history of back pains, check with the trainer or a sports doc before performing any of these exercises. See you in the next installment! (Hmm...what to do, what to do...).