Voluntary muscles and their functions in the human body
The main muscles of the human body are shown here.
| Function | Example in sport | |
| Deltoid | Abduction of the shoulder (moving the arm outwards and away from the body) | Outward arm action in a jumping jack |
| Pectoralis major | Adduction of the shoulder (moving the arm towards the body); Shoulder horizontal flexion (moving the arms forwards in front of the body) | Upwards phase of a press up |
| Triceps | Extend the elbow (straightening the arm) | Shooting in netball |
| Biceps | Flex the elbow (bending the arm) | Drawing a bow in archery |
| External obliques | Trunk rotation (turning the body sideways) | Turning the body to breathe to the side when performing front crawl in swimming |
| Latissimus dorsi | Shoulder adduction (moving the arm towards the body); Shoulder horizontal extension | Butterfly stroke in swimming |
| Hip flexors | Hip flexion (moving knee up towards the chest) | Performing a rugby conversion kick |
| Gluteus maximus | Hip extension (moving the leg backwards) | Pulling back leg before kicking a ball |
| Quadriceps | Extend the knee (straightening the leg) | Kicking a ball |
| Hamstrings | Flex the knee (bending the leg) | Performing a hamstring curl on a weights machine |
| Gastrocnemius | Plantar flexion of the ankle (pointing the toes downwards) | Standing on tiptoe to mark a goal shoot in netball |
| Tibialis anterior | Dorsiflexion of the ankle (bringing the toes up towards the shin) | Foot making contact with a football |
| Deltoid | |
|---|---|
| Function | Abduction of the shoulder (moving the arm outwards and away from the body) |
| Example in sport | Outward arm action in a jumping jack |
| Pectoralis major | |
|---|---|
| Function | Adduction of the shoulder (moving the arm towards the body); Shoulder horizontal flexion (moving the arms forwards in front of the body) |
| Example in sport | Upwards phase of a press up |
| Triceps | |
|---|---|
| Function | Extend the elbow (straightening the arm) |
| Example in sport | Shooting in netball |
| Biceps | |
|---|---|
| Function | Flex the elbow (bending the arm) |
| Example in sport | Drawing a bow in archery |
| External obliques | |
|---|---|
| Function | Trunk rotation (turning the body sideways) |
| Example in sport | Turning the body to breathe to the side when performing front crawl in swimming |
| Latissimus dorsi | |
|---|---|
| Function | Shoulder adduction (moving the arm towards the body); Shoulder horizontal extension |
| Example in sport | Butterfly stroke in swimming |
| Hip flexors | |
|---|---|
| Function | Hip flexion (moving knee up towards the chest) |
| Example in sport | Performing a rugby conversion kick |
| Gluteus maximus | |
|---|---|
| Function | Hip extension (moving the leg backwards) |
| Example in sport | Pulling back leg before kicking a ball |
| Quadriceps | |
|---|---|
| Function | Extend the knee (straightening the leg) |
| Example in sport | Kicking a ball |
| Hamstrings | |
|---|---|
| Function | Flex the knee (bending the leg) |
| Example in sport | Performing a hamstring curl on a weights machine |
| Gastrocnemius | |
|---|---|
| Function | Plantar flexion of the ankle (pointing the toes downwards) |
| Example in sport | Standing on tiptoe to mark a goal shoot in netball |
| Tibialis anterior | |
|---|---|
| Function | Dorsiflexion of the ankle (bringing the toes up towards the shin) |
| Example in sport | Foot making contact with a football |
