Muscle antagonists

Fans constantly lead in the halls disputes about which groups should be rocked together, muscles antagonists or opposite - synergists? Interestingly, in the network there are also local fights on this topic, and depending on the level of preparation of each of the disputants, the preponderance is shifted either one way or the other.

So which groups of muscles are still better to rock together, antagonists or synergists? For those who forgot the school curriculum on biology, a little help:

Those groups that are located opposite each other, called muscle antagonists, examples of such groups - biceps / triceps, chest / back, quadriceps / hamstrings. But synergists, these are the muscles that have the same functions, for example triceps and chest (they are both extensors).

As any beginning bodybuilder can make sure, there is simply a huge number of different training options, in each of which the muscle groups are divided differently. You can find such options, when everything is worked out for one workout. If for a moment to think about the reasons for this diversity, it becomes clear, in fact, the iron rule that muscle antagonists should be trained together or separately simply does not exist. But experts are well aware of the fact that any program should be built solely on the principle of controlling the time required for muscle recovery after training. It is these principles that are at the heart of the cycle of training, and then the distribution of the load and the breakdown of muscle groups depends on the condition of the trainee.

For example, there is an athlete with medium training and good data. He trains in the power cycle, anywhere he works out all the muscles for the day, alternating the intensity and weight (the Plintovich system), or divides the body into parts (chest / back, shoulders / legs). In the second scenario, the antagonists, of course, will work together. After the end of the power, there is a half-cycle, during which the muscle groups should be divided into three days. Then the question arises, what will be the schedule of training, because you can relax for one day between training, and after a month of active work to arrange a supercompensation. You can rest between sessions for two days, but then the whole cycle will take longer.
If you choose the first option, the muscles antagonists should be put separately, the back / biceps, chest / triceps and so on. With this load option, the muscles are treated weekly, slightly under-recovered, which means that this type of exercise will be normal.

With the second option, we train each group once every two weeks (with a break of two days). During this time, even such large muscles as the chest will recover, and so small (triceps) and even more so. So it is necessary to consider these factors and load the triceps a little more often, so that it is not reduced in the same way as the breast. In this mode of training, the muscles of the antagonists swing together.

For example, the first day we develop the chest and biceps, a couple of days back and triceps. The first exercise loads partially the triceps and completely the chest, then the biceps is loaded. In the second lesson, after working out the back, we finish the triceps. In this mode, until the next breast training, there will be a week and when that day comes, the triceps and chest will be approximately in the same condition.

Summarizing all that has been said, we can briefly describe the answer to the question asked at the beginning of the article in this way: there is no rule that determines how antagonists and synergists should be put in muscles, but there are other rules, and groups need to be broken down precisely according to them.

I hope that I was able to explain the main points and shed some light on the question about which many copies have already been broken. Now you know what rules it is necessary to build training. And, maybe, next time when someone next to you will try to start a discussion about whether synergists and muscle antagonists should be shaken together muscles, this little research will help you to react to the dispute in the right way.