Learning anatomy can seem overwhelming when you start studying for your Pilates certification. If you are struggling to remember all the muscles to pass your Pilates exam, or if you are just getting started with anatomy, you should begin grouping muscles together in muscle groups. Studying muscles in a group is one of the BEST ways to help you memorize muscles and associate those muscles with the Pilates exercises that use them.
I wrote a blog post about how to learn your muscles for your Pilates exam, and in that post, I mentioned that you should group the muscles together. If you are studying STOTT Pilates, they have already grouped the muscles you need to learn into sections by parts of the body. If you are not studying STOTT Pilates, then it is a good idea to divide the muscles you need to learn by parts of the body and functions of the muscle. Group the chest muscles together, arm muscles together, back muscles together, and so on. Many of the larger muscles will be easy to remember because they are big, uniquely shaped, and superficial on the body. There’s a good chance that you already know many of the larger muscles on the body. However, when you start studying and teaching Pilates, you will need to know many more muscles than the big ones that you typically focus on at the gym.
Many muscles are already grouped together by location, function, and names. I have listed below the main muscle groups that you will need to know to pass your Pilates exam and become a great Pilates instructor.
I strongly recommend purchasing a muscles flashcard system so that you can put the cards together, and so that you get used to seeing the muscles together in that group.
1. Abdominals
Starting with the easiest muscles to identify and the muscles most people associate with Pilates are the abdominal
*Rectus abdominis – This is the abdominal muscle most people care about. The six-pack. Its flexes the torso forwards.
Exercise: Any flexion of the torso. Supine Arms in straps with flexion.
*Internal Obliques
*External Obliques
The obliques work contralaterally to take the torso into lateral flexion and spinal rotation.
Exercises: Any spinal rotation and Mermaids
*Transversus Abdominis – This is the deepest abdominal muscle, and the one that most people don’t know or care about. It attaches to the spine and wraps around like a corset. When you do a Pilates exhale, you are activating the transversus abdominus. It is a very important muscle that should be activated in every exercise. This is why we do Pilates-style breathing when we do Pilates exercises. The stronger this muscle is the more stable the entire torso is and the more protected the back is.
Exercises: Breathing, Planks, Bridges
2. Rotator Cuff Muscles
*Infraspinatus
*Supraspinatus
*Teres Minor
*Subscapularis
The rotator cuff muscles help stabilize and mobilize the shoulder joint along with other shoulder muscles like the deltoids. The more mobile a joint is, the more small muscles there are within that joint, and the more delicate that joint is. These smaller muscles need to be mobilized, strengthened, and stretched just as much as larger muscles. Many clients will come to you with shoulder problems. Be aware of how these muscles work so you can help them. Though you won’t ever diagnose anyone’s injuries, you will be able to understand your client’s issues that are diagnosed by their doctor or physical therapist. If you ever work with a physical therapist knowing these muscles will help immensely when working with clients.
Exercises: Arm Circles, Supine Arms in Straps, Side Arm Rotation
3. Quadriceps
At the front of your thigh are four muscles, and they are called your quadricep muscles. The quadriceps include the following:
*Rectus femoris (This is the biggest quadricep muscle and the front of the thigh. It is superficial to the other three muscles)
*Vastus lateralis (Lateral means side, so this is the vastus muscle on the side of the thigh.)
*Vastus medialis (Medial means towards the middle of the body; therefore, this vastus muscle is towards the inner thigh.)
*Vastus intermedius (intermedius means between the medial and lateral muscle. This vastus muscle is the one right between the other two.)
All quadricep muscles attach to the patella (knee cap), and it is a good idea to tell clients to activate their quads when doing footwork. This will help stabilize the knee.
Exercises: Frogs (Feet in Straps, on the Chair), Eve’s Lunges (Single Thigh Stretch), and Footwork.
4. Hamstrings
On the back of your thigh are your hamstrings. There are three hamstring muscles.
*Semitendinosus
*Semimembranosus
*Biceps femoris
The hamstrings bend the knees and extend the hips. These are often neglected muscles since we are more aware of the front of the body. This neglect can often aid in knee problems when the quadriceps are doing all the work. Remember that the quadriceps are attached to the knee, so it is important that the hamstrings are built up to help the quadriceps and so that there is less pressure on the knees.
Exercises: Feet in Straps – Bend and Stretch and Bridges
5. Glutes
Along with your hamstrings at the back of the thigh are your glutes. There are three glute muscles.
*Gluteus maximus (The one most people care about because people can see it.)
*Gluteus medius
*Gluteus minimus
The glutes are responsible for extension, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation of the hip joint.
Exercises: Feet in Straps – Lower and Lift(Tick Tock), Leg Circles
6. Abductors (of the leg)
Your abductors take away, or literally abduct, your leg away from your body. The best thing about the abductors is that you already learned two of them.
*Gluteus medius
*Gluteus minimus
*Tensor fasciae latae (TFL). They not only move the leg away from the body, but they also help rotate the leg at the hip joint. (*a trick you can use to remember the tensor fasciae latae is to think about transportation for London. They both use the abbreviation TFL. And many people like to drink their “Lattes” on the tube to work. I know this is kind of silly, but coming up with little connections and stories helps you to remember trickier muscles.)
Exercises: Side Spits and Side Leg Lift Series
7. Adductors (of the leg)
Your adductor muscles add your leg to your body.
*Adductor longus
*Adductor brevis
*Adductor magnus
These three muscles have the same first name, so that will make it easy to remember them. The second name refers to the shape and size of the muscle. Adductor longus is long, adductor brevis is short, and adductor magnus is big. (In Latin, magnus means “great.”)
Exercises: Feet in Straps with the fitness circle between the ankles.
8. Deep Six Lateral Rotators of the Hip
Want to sound fancy when teaching a Pilates class? Bring up the Deep Six Lateral Rotators of the Hip. Much like the shoulder joint, the hip joint is very mobile with many small muscles working to help stabilize and mobilize it. There are six of them. Learn these muscles! So many people have hip problems just like they have shoulder problems and often for the same reason. We need to mobilize, strengthen, and stretch these smaller muscles which are often neglected because people are unaware of their existence.
*Piriformis (Many people have trouble with this muscle, which can lead to a lot of back pain. Often people with Sciatica are told to stretch and strengthen this muscle. Figure-four stretching helps, as do bridges.)
*Obturator internus
*Obturator externus
*Gemellus inferior
*Gemellus superior
*Quadratus femoris
I know that these names can seem a little intimidating, but remember that the names of the muscles refer to where the muscle is located in relativity to the joint and the other muscles and the shape of the muscle. The gemellus superior will be above the gemellus inferior. The obturator internus will be inside the joint, while the obturator externus will be outside. The quadratus femoris has four sides and will be attached to the femur bone.
Exercise: Leg Circles
9. Hip Flexors
Hip flexors are a really important muscle group for Pilates instructors to become familiar with. Many people these days have short or tight hip flexors due to sitting at a desk all day, driving a lot, or sitting at home. People can also have short or tight hip flexors due to over-usage like running or cycling. Short or tight hip flexors, along with short and tight glutes and hamstrings can be a big cause of a lot of lower back pain. Focusing on these muscles in Pilates is a great way to help people struggle with lower back pain from these short and tight muscles.
*Iliacus
*Psoas major
(Sometimes both of these muscles are referred to as the iliopsoas)
*Rectus femoris (*Remember this guy? It is one of your quadricep muscles. )
Exercises: Single Thigh Stretch (Eve’s Lunges), Bridges, Feet in Straps – Lower and Lift (Tick Tocks)
10. Hip Extensors
Opposite to flexion is extension. So what extends your hip?
Gluteus maximus – your largest glute muscle, which you already know.
Hamstrings ( biceps femoris, the semitendinosus, and the semimembranosus)
The good news is you’ve already learned these! And you can see how muscles can be a part of different muscle groups depending on location and function.
Exercise: Swimming
11. Erector Spinae
The erector spinae muscles run along the back of the torso. They counterbalance the abdominals to hold the torso erect. When you contract the abdominals, they take you into flexion so you can do ab crunches. When you contract the erector spinae, they take you into extension – the opposite of flexion.
There are three main erector spinae muscle groups which are divided into sections.
- Iliocostalis
- illiocostalis cervicis
- illiocostalis thoracis
- illiocostalis lumborum
- Longissimus
- longissimus capitis
- longissimus cervicis
- longissimus thoracis
- Spinalis
- spinalis capitis
- spinalis cervicis
- spinalis thoracis
Just like the deep six lateral rotators, the way to remember and identify these muscles is to look at the location of the muscle. Spinalis muscles are going to be attached to the spine, Iliocostalis muscles are going to be attached to the ribcage, and longissimus muscles will be in between. The second name of the muscle will also tell you where they are. If it says thoracis, then you know it is in the thoracic part of the spine. If it says lumborum, then you know it is in the lumbar part of the spine.
These muscles are important to train since so many people are hunched over their phones and rounded over their desks at work or home. Balancing these muscles with the abdominals will help up get closer to our ideal posture and can help ease pain.
Exercises: Swimming, Spread Eagle on the Cadillac, and Swan Dive
12. Neck Flexors & Extensors
Another very mobile, yet delicate part of the body is the neck. And, sure enough, you will have a lot of people who have neck issues as clients. Learning the muscles that stabilize the neck, as well as taking the neck into flexion, extension, and rotation, will help you when working with these clients. These days so many people have their heads stuck in flexion as they look at their phones, tablets, and computer screens all day. Exercising these smaller neck muscles will help people with and without neck problems.
NECK FLEXORS
*Longus colli
*Longus capitus
*Rectus capitus
*Longus cervicus
NECK EXTENSORS
*Semispinalis cevicis
*Multifidus
*Rectus capitis posterior major
*Rectus capitis minor
*Obliquus capitis superior
*Obliquus capitis inferior
Exercises: Head Nods, Ab Prep
Though these aren’t all the muscle groups in the body, these muscle groups are essential for every Pilates instructor and Pilates-instructor student to know. Learning these muscle groups will not only help you to pass your Pilates exam, but it will make you stand out as an instructor.
Books and Flashcards I recommend to help you learn Anatomy for Pilates:
Bryan Edwards Flash Pack System (Unfortunately, these are out of print, but you can find used ones on the internet.)
Trail Guide to the Body Student Workbook
Mat/Ref Support Materials Book (If you are a STOTT Pilates student, you need this book.)
Can you think of any other muscle groups that are important for Pilates instructors to know?
