Agonist Muscles and Strength Training Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Strength Agonist Muscles and Strength Training By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer"; and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." Learn about our editorial process Updated on February 10, 2020 Medically reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and nutrition and exercise healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Michael Lau, PT, DPT Medically reviewed by Michael Lau, PT, DPT Michael Lau, PT, DPT, CSCS, is a licensed physical therapist, strength and conditioning coach, and co-founder of The Prehab Guys. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print gradyreese / Getty Images Exercise and everyday activities require the use of your muscles. Reaching up, leaning over, or bending down all use a series of muscles that are arranged in opposing pairs. When the muscles in the front of your body contract, the muscles in the back stretch and vice versa. The muscle group that is contracting is known as the agonist muscle and its opposing muscle group is the antagonist. This is great information to know when putting together your own strength training workouts. For example, as you contract the chest, such as in a chest press, you're actually stretching the back. If you lace your fingers together and stretch them forward as you round the back and you squeeze the chest, you'll feel a deep stretch in your upper back. That means that, while your agonist is working, your antagonist decreases activity. This is called reciprocal innervation or reciprocal inhibition. Opposing Muscle Groups There are lots of ways to train your muscles and one is by opposing muscle groups, or agonist followed by antagonist. In this method of strength training, you do each exercise, one after the other, without rest. While you work the agonist muscle, the ​antagonist muscle is resting, so you can immediately work that opposing muscle group next. This results in a faster, more efficient workout. Sample Workouts With Opposing Muscle Groups There are a number of options for how you can set up a workout with opposing muscle groups. One option is to do an upper body opposing muscle group one day and a lower body opposing muscle group on different days. You can also split your workouts further like this: chest and back on one day, shoulders and legs on one day and then biceps and triceps. Total Body Workout With Opposing Muscle Groups Opposing muscle group total body workouts provide added intensity without overworking any one muscle group. The workout moves quickly because you're always doing and an exercise rather than resting. Below is a sample total body workout with a focus on working agonists and antagonists. You can do this in a variety of ways: Workout 1 Do each pair of exercises, one after the other, and repeat for 1 to 3 sets. Rest about 30 to 60 seconds between sets, aiming for about 8 to 16 reps of each exercise. Workout 2 Do each pair of exercises, one after the other, going through the entire series of pairs, resting briefly between pairs. This is a circuit-style format that will keep your heart rate up and make the workout a bit more intense. You could do one to three circuits, resting in between. Squats and Deadlifts One Leg Squats and One Leg Deadlifts Lunge and Step-Ups Leg Extensions and Hamstring Rolls Outer Thigh Leg Lifts and Inner Thigh Squeezes Chest Presses and Dumbbell Rows Front Raises and Rear Delt Flies Biceps Curls and Triceps Extensions Focusing on your agonists and antagonist muscles is an excellent way to train your body. You save time and you work all of your muscles so your body is balanced and strong. Try it whenever you need a change in your routine and you'll find your body works in a different way. Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Council on Exercise. ACE Personal Trainer Manual, 5th Edition. San Diego: American Council on Exercise, 2014. By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer," and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles Effective 20-Minute, Strength Workout You Can Do at Home Get Pumped With Supersets in Weight Training How to Create a Split Workout Try Push-Pull Strength Training to Burn Calories and Build Muscle Try This Total Body Home Workout With Dumbbells for Beginners Strength Training: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Stronger Effective 20-Minute, Full-Body Workout You Can Do at Home Weight Training Exercises and Workout Basics 8 Simple Moves to Build Strength in Your Chest, Back, Arms, and Shoulders Weekly 7-Day Split Workout Program for Advanced Weight Training Best Chest Exercises for Men Here's What You Need to Know About Your Antagonist Muscles Learn About Doing a Lower Body Circuit Blast to Tone Your Legs 8 Simple Strength-Training Moves to Work Your Whole Body The 8 Most Effective Exercises for Your Triceps Want to Get Started with Bands? Try This Beginner Band Workout When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All