What are the main opposing muscles?

 
The main groups that we commonly hear about are:
 
Biceps and Triceps
(either side of the upper arm)
Quadriceps and Hamstrings
(either side of the upper leg)
Deltoids and Latissimus Dorsi
(shoulders and upper back)
Pectoralis Major and Trapezius/Rhomboids
(upper chest and upper back)
Abdominals and Erector Spinae
(stomach and lower back)
Iliopsoas and Gluteus Maximus
(front and back of the hip)
Hip Adductor and Gluteus Medius
(inside and outside of the hip)
 
 
How do opposing muscles work?
 
In the majority of gym exercise, there’s a primary mover. It’s also called the
agonist. That’s the muscle you’re trying to target by doing the exercise. It
contracts to successfully perform the movement. To allow it to do so, the
antagonist, its opposing muscle, must relax.
It’s important to note that this isn’t always the case. Both muscles in an
antagonist pair can contract simultaneously to perform an exercise in a few
instances.
 
 
Should you train opposing muscle groups together?
 
If you’re well into your fitness journey and are looking to give a particular
area some real focus, you might have started to do more focused
exercises. And you might want to make your training more efficient.
Many fitness routines acknowledge that the body can be split into opposing
muscle groups.
The push/pull workout structure is a popular example of this. It allows you
split your workouts by antagonist pairs, giving you the ability to plan your
rest days more effectively and achieve a balanced workout.
Agonist supersets attempt to target the same primary mover with two
different exercises back to back. Antagonist supersets aim to target
opposing muscles with two different exercises back to back.
It’s not necessary to train your opposing groups on the same day or on
different days. It depends on what you prefer and what works for your
workout routine.
It is important not to train just one muscle group and neglect its antagonist.
By strengthening just one of a pair of opposing muscles in isolation
repeatedly, the other tends to lengthen and weaken. You should also work
muscle groups from across the body and keep them all strong. Any type of
imbalance can cause injury, so keeping strength balanced is important for
the body.
 
 
How do you know if you’re developing muscle imbalances?
 
Don’t panic. Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder or live in the gym,
you don’t need to keep a detailed log of how many reps you’ve done of
each exercise and which exact muscles you’ve been training.
Most of the major compound lifts you find yourself doing in the gym will see
you work a mixture of muscles. Squats, deadlifts, and lunges all target the
quads, glutes and hamstrings.
The upper body is where it’s worth thinking about this a little more. The
chest press or bench press is a popular lift lots of people try to progress
with. Just make sure to balance it out with some back work as well.
If you do lots of isolated exercises, which means exercises that move just
one joint at a time, you might need to think a little more about opposing
pairs. Chest flys, bicep curls, hamstring curls and calf raises can be
labelled as isolation exercises. They aim to target a single muscle more.
That means, if you do them too often, without paying attention to other
muscles, you could end up with an imbalance.
But you don’t need to overthink it too much. Just being aware of the
opposing muscle groups and having a varied range of compound exercises
up our sleeve can be enough to make sure we’re giving ourselves a
balanced workout.
 
 
 
 
What are some opposing muscle group exercises you can do?
 
Having a go at some opposing muscle group exercises helps with your
understanding of which exercises do what.
So, here’s a rundown of a workout that targets each opposing pair to offer a
full-body, balanced workout.
Biceps and Triceps:
Biceps: Bicep curls
Triceps: Tricep extensions
Both: Push-ups
Quadriceps and Hamstrings:
Quadriceps: Leg extensions
Hamstrings: Lying leg curls
Both: Squats
Deltoids and Latissimus Dorsi:
Deltoids: Shoulder press
Latissimus Dorsi: Dumbbell pullover
Pectoralis Major and Trapezius/Rhomboids:
Pecs: Chest press
Traps: Bent-over row
Abdominals and Erector Spinae:
Abs: Sit-ups
Erector Spinae: Back extensions
Both: Plank
 
 
So, what’s the verdict? Should you be working opposing
muscle groups?
 
Isolating muscles can be a helpful way to address pre-existing muscle
imbalances. But they can also cause them in the first place if we spend too
much time strengthening one muscle without considering its counterpart.
Working opposing muscle groups is only simple for a handful of groups,
and after that, it can get pretty complex.