November
Function:
The chest muscles are made of two distinct muscles: the pectorals and the intercostals. The pectorals flex, adduct, and rotate the arms toward the front midline of the body (meaning that they bring the arms toward the front of the body). The intercostals pull the ribs together when breathing out and raise the ribs when breathing in.
Activities:
Activities that use the muscles of the chest include:
- pitching in baseball (pectorals)
- blocking in football (pectorals)
- throwing a lacrosse ball (pectorals)
- the forehand stroke in tennis (pectorals), and
- breathing (intercostals)
Strength Exercises:
The chest muscles can be strengthened by such exercises as:
- push ups
- bench pressing, and
- chair dips
Flexibility Exercises:
To stretch the muscles of your chest, place your fingertips behind your neck and pull your elbows up and out to the rear.
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