The muscle map

Everything from your shoulder blades to your lower spine. It pulls your arms down and back, and holds your torso upright under load.

as primary

65

as secondary

60

equipment kinds

10

The front of your thigh, four muscles working as one. They straighten the knee, which is what stands you up out of every squat.

Read the Quadriceps article

as primary

63

as secondary

21

equipment kinds

9

The front and sides of your midsection. They bend and rotate the trunk, and more often they resist it bending under load.

as primary

61

as secondary

44

equipment kinds

9

Three heads wrapping the shoulder joint — front, side and rear. Between them they raise the arm in every direction it can go.

as primary

58

as secondary

104

equipment kinds

11

The largest muscle you have. It extends the hip — driving you up from the bottom of a squat and forward in every stride.

as primary

55

as secondary

51

equipment kinds

9

The muscles across the front of your ribcage. They bring your upper arm forward and in toward the midline, which is what every press and every fly asks for.

as primary

42

as secondary

23

equipment kinds

8

The back of your thigh. It bends the knee and extends the hip, so it works in a curl and a deadlift for two different reasons.

as primary

37

as secondary

57

equipment kinds

8

The back of your upper arm, and two thirds of its size. It straightens the elbow, so it carries every press you do.

as primary

25

as secondary

63

equipment kinds

8

The front of your upper arm. It bends the elbow and turns the palm upward, and it works in every pull whether you aim it there or not.

as primary

23

as secondary

40

equipment kinds

7

The muscles between elbow and wrist. They close your grip and steady the wrist, which is usually what fails first on a heavy pull.

as primary

17

as secondary

8

equipment kinds

7

The back of your lower leg. It points the foot down, which is every step, every jump and every moment you stand on your toes.

as primary

14

as secondary

20

equipment kinds

5

A broad sheet from the base of your skull to the middle of your back. It shrugs the shoulders up and pulls the blades together.

as primary

14

as secondary

14

equipment kinds

7

The inner thigh. It pulls the leg back toward the midline, and steadies it against sideways force in every squat and lunge.

as primary

1

as secondary

0

equipment kinds

1

The outside of your hip. It takes the leg away from the midline and keeps the pelvis level whenever you stand on one foot.

as primary

1

as secondary

0

equipment kinds

1

The muscles that move and brace your head. Kiptly does not yet carry an exercise that trains them as its main target.

Too few exercises in the catalogue for an article of its own yet — it gets one when the catalogue grows.