Change Your Metabolism - Learn About Our Largest and Longest Muscles in our Body - Quadricipe Sartoris and Human Legs

Ever wonder how to exercise efficiency? What if you knew the longest and the largest muscles in the human body? Would exercising those muscles generate a higher cardio rate? Would targeting those muscles help with your metabolism and managing your weight? Most certainly.

The human body has over 640 muscles. Both the longest and the largest muscles in the body - for both the female and the male are in our legs. The largest muscle being the quadricep, the longest muscle being the sartorius and are depicted above.

Remember clinical studies have proven that "sedentary sickness" can and does kill. Lack of movement increases the likelihood of killer diseases.

Start moving today and keep moving daily!

Yet the legs contain both the largest and the longest muscles in the human body.

Ever wonder how to exercise efficiency? What if you knew the longest and the largest muscles in the human body? Would exercising those muscles generate a higher cardio rate? Would targeting those muscles help with your metabolism and managing your weight? Most certainly.

The human body has over 640 muscles. Both the longest and the largest muscles in the body - for both the female and the male are in our legs. The largest muscle being the quadriceps, the longest muscle being the sartorius and are depicted above.

Uneducated Response - Inactivity Verses Wise Response - Mobility/Exercise

As we age, we tend to have back problems and knee problems. The typical "uneducated response" is to lessen the use of our body in order to lessen the pain. However, science has now taught us that decreasing our activity level is oftentimes the exact wrong thing to do! While each case is different and can only be properly diagnosed by a physician,

ALL of us would be better off if we understood the importance of our muscles and how they protect and help us.

And ALL of us are better off with greater mobility.

Protection and Help - Your Body's Armour = Your Muscles

Beautiful and Complicated Tapestry of Muscles

Protecting our back is a beautiful tapestry of complicated muscles. Muscles that protect your back are located not only in your back but also in your abdominal and obliques (the lateral muscle of the torso called quadratus lumborum and the abdominal obliques) - these are the muscles that serve as your back's armor. Additionally, our hamstrings - the muscles that are in the back of our legs serve to protect our back. If our hamstrings are tight, more than likely we will develop back pain. See how this complicated tapestry of 640 muscles actually works? If we more fully understand the interconnection, then we can better manage our bodies.

The essence of the body's needs is muscle and movement. Stretching and strength training are your body's mechanisms for protecting and helping you.

The quadriceps femoris (which is a Latin word meaning "four-headed muscle of the femur"), is also commonly called the quadriceps. Other terms include quadriceps extensor and quads. Our quadriceps are a large muscle group on the front of the thigh. It is the great extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur. The "quad extensor" is the strongest and leanest muscle in the human body.

Quadriceps and Quadricipes - Let's Get the Terms Correct!

Wikipedia shares with us that "The proper plural form of the adjective quadriceps is quadricipes, a form not in general use; instead, quadriceps is used in both singular and plural (i.e., when referring to both legs). The form quadricep [sic], though common even in professional contexts, is incorrect. The error may derive from a mistaken belief that quadriceps is a plural noun (rather than an adjective in the singular), since English typically forms its plurals with the addition of the letter s to the end of a word stem."

The Sartorius muscle as shown above is a long thin muscle that runs down the length of the thigh curving and embracing our quadriceps (as we learned from Wikipedia in the pharagraph above). The Sartorius muscles is the longest muscle in the human body.

Wikipedia shares with us the etymology of the term sartorius is "the Latin word for "sartorial" (i.e. "to do with tailoring", in turn from sartor i.e. "tailor", in turn from sartus i.e. "patched" or "repaired", in turn from sarcio i.e. "to patch", "to repair"), and it is sometimes called the tailor's muscle.

There are four hypotheses as to the genesis of the name: One is that this name was chosen in reference to the cross-legged position in which tailors once sat. Another is that it refers to the location of the inferior portion of the muscle being the "inseam" or area of the inner thigh tailors commonly measure when fitting a pant. A third is that the muscle closely resembles a tailor's ribbon. Additionally, antique sewing machines required continuous cross body peddling. This combination of lateral rotation and flexion of the hip and flexion of the knee gave tailors particularly enlarged sartorius muscles."

The Sartorius muscle assists in what is termed "flexion, abduction and lateral rotation of hip, and flexion of knee" or essentially various movements of the leg.

Just Do It!

Nike Motivational Quote

The complexity of the human body and your personal health make the starting point unique for each individual. On a general basis, if we experience low-back pain, daily moderate exercise is recommended.

Everyone is different but one fact remains - some sort of daily movement is the very best. Aim for 3 times a week of cardio, aim for adding resistance training. The main item is to start! If you can manage to start small and keep up the consistency - you are ahead of the game compared to gung ho and stop and start again.

If you can afford a personal trainer - he/she will save you time and money. A great personal trainer is someone who will keep you motivate and on track and injury free. Talk to friends, ask at your club. Negotiate. Most importantly, don't sign up for something you cannot afford. Be realistic with your financial and physical goals.

Below are a couple of my favorite videos for our legs. My knees won't allow me to do the thigh dancing but all of the others are within my abilities. The last video is advanced - not recommended for everyone but you must watch!

Try each exercise out - pick your favorite and try to do a couple of repetitions daily or work these exercises into your regular routine. Just do it!

Weight loss is best achieved through a combination of cardio, resistance training, stretching, diet and continual motivation! Keep your mind, all these are critical. Exercise alone will not give great results. And that four letter word "diet" is mandatory for weight loss. Keep you eye on the target, play at it every day!

Your body was made for movement. Your muscles were designed to be pushed. Your muscles and your mind love a challenge!

Follow Nike's advice - just do it! Simply make a small daily commitment and stick with it will take you farther by building your confidence and feeling the changes in your body. Just do it!