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Originally Posted by ahimel  The problem is, the critical muscle for the ladies doing this is one of those minor ones that doesn't seem to serve any purpose and all of its movements can be covered by other muscles. |
Just off the top of my head, it's probably a muscle or set of muscles that are typically in synergy with other, bigger muscles or groups. You might look into applied kinesiology for "manual muscle tests" ... these are movements designed to help a clinician assess individual muscles one by one. Keep in mind that some muscles just
can't be individualized; their innervation is basically hardwired to other muscles, and the only way to seperate them is to paralyze one or the other, which is highly impractical.
I'm trying to find a good site to explain, but you might be better off to hit a library and look for a real kinesiology text.
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Originally Posted by ahimel Lie on your stomach on the floor, and bend your knees. Lay your head on the floor and use your arms to brace yourself. Now try lift your legs and lower torso off the ground by bending in the upper spine. Most people can manage to get their knees about 2-3 inches off the floor without bending at the waist; butterfly swimmers can frequently manage double that. But we've been unable to find a way to strengthen that muscle without learning the butterfly stroke, which is rather impractical. Any ideas? |
Hrm, I'm doing this motion, and all I'm activating is lower & middle back extensors. I get the feeling that this isn't the group to which you're referring, as these extensors are pretty easy to isolate.
Can you point me at a good series of pics so I can see what it looks like? (I can't really find anything with a quick search, and I hate to start doing an analysis on a moment when I'm not real sure what it looks like.) I'll can see if I can replicate it with some semi-willing victim: my cat or my niece or something.
My standard advice: keep doing the motion in practice with a partner and a third person to relieve some of the weight and/or spot. (I'm assuming no one there has any serious back problems
) Your body will generally do what you ask of it. Safe exercises should be slow and controlled, rather than a burst of quick motion followed by momentum (carries risk of straining, tearing, or impinging something).
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Originally Posted by ahimel People who've taken anatomy classes can probably give a good recommendation, but I remember my aunt using Gray's Anatomy when she went into medicine, and I recall it being extremely detailed -- covering all the muscles, not just the big ones everyone knows. |
For someone with little med background, I recommend Clemente or Netter. Grey is fair, but the "unrealistic coloring" in Clemente and Netter make it easy to visualise the layers. (Unfortunately, real bodies aren't color-coded.)