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Inactive muscles are those that feel like they're not firing or contracting at all, no matter how hard you try. This can be due to weakness, but it's often the result of habitual movement patterns and muscle tension preventing the muscle from functioning properly. While strengthening muscles is a physical process, activating them is primarily a mental one that involves releasing chronic muscle tension and retraining your body to use those muscles again. This can be achieved through exercises such as Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, and Flowering Arch & Curl, which help to gently wake up your abdominals and back muscles.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Releasing tension | Chronically tight antagonist muscles |
| Training the nervous system | Training the nervous system to use muscles that haven't been used in a while |
| Exercises | Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, One-sided Arch & Curl, Diagonal Arch & Curl, Flowering Arch & Curl |
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What You'll Learn
The difference between weak and inactive muscles
There is a difference between weak and inactive muscles. Weak muscles are not strong and are not capable of lifting heavy weights or giving much resistance. If you have an inactive muscle, it feels like you can't get it to contract at all. It's described as "not firing".
Weakness can be a factor in this, but the bigger issue is that your habitual patterns of movement and muscle tension are actually preventing this muscle from working the way it's supposed to. So, while strengthening muscles is a physical endeavour, activating muscles is mainly a mental one that requires releasing chronic muscle tension and retraining the way you use your body.
As you make progress in releasing the chronically tight antagonist muscles, you should find that it gradually becomes easier to use your inactive muscles. While the focus in Clinical Somatics is on releasing tension, you can use the exercises to start gently activating your muscles as well. This part is a mental workout—you're training your nervous system to use muscles that you haven't in a while. The more slowly you move, the more effectively your nervous system will be able to learn.
If you feel like you've begun to release your tight lower back muscles, you can start spending some time gently activating your abdominals. The exercises that will best allow you to do this are (all from Level One): Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, One-sided Arch & Curl, Diagonal Arch & Curl, and Flowering Arch & Curl. Always start with the Arch & Flatten, which will gently wake up your abdominals and back muscles.
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Releasing chronically tight antagonist muscles
Activating inactive muscles is mainly a mental endeavour, requiring the release of chronic muscle tension and retraining the way you use your body.
The exercises that will best allow you to do this are (all from Level One): Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, One-sided Arch & Curl, Diagonal Arch & Curl, and Flowering Arch & Curl. Always start with Arch & Flatten, which will gently wake up your abdominals and back muscles.
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Retraining your nervous system to use muscles you haven't used in a while
The first step is to identify the muscles that are inactive. These are muscles that feel like they won't contract no matter how hard you try. This is different from a weak muscle, which is simply not strong enough to lift heavy weight or give much resistance.
Once you've identified the inactive muscles, you can start to gently activate them. This involves doing exercises that will wake up the muscles, such as Arch & Flatten, which targets the abdominals and back muscles. It's important to move slowly so that your nervous system can learn effectively.
As you make progress in releasing chronically tight muscles, you should find that it becomes easier to use your inactive muscles. For example, as you release tension in your lower back, you can start to gently activate your abdominals.
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Strengthening muscles with weight or resistance
To strengthen and activate these inactive muscles, you need to fatigue them with enough repetitions of exercises with weight or resistance. This can be done through exercises such as Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, One-sided Arch & Curl, Diagonal Arch & Curl, and Flowering Arch & Curl. Start with Arch & Flatten to gently wake up your abdominals and back muscles.
Additionally, releasing chronic muscle tension and retraining your movement patterns are crucial for activating inactive muscles. This is a mental workout, as you're training your nervous system to use muscles that you haven't in a while. The slower you move, the more effectively your nervous system will learn. For example, as you release tight lower back muscles, you can start spending time gently activating your abdominals.
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Exercises to wake up your abdominals and back muscles
It's important to understand the difference between weak and inactive muscles. Weakness can be a factor in a muscle's inactivity, but the bigger issue is that your habitual patterns of movement and muscle tension are preventing the muscle from working properly.
Activating muscles is mainly a mental endeavour, requiring you to release chronic muscle tension and retrain the way you use your body. This is a mental workout, where you're training your nervous system to use muscles that you haven't in a while. The more slowly you move, the more effectively your nervous system will be able to learn.
If you feel like you've begun to release your tight lower back muscles, you can start spending some time gently activating your abdominals. The following exercises will help you to do this:
- Arch & Flatten
- Arch & Curl
- One-sided Arch & Curl
- Diagonal Arch & Curl
- Flowering Arch & Curl
Always start with Arch & Flatten, which will gently wake up your abdominals and back muscles.
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Frequently asked questions
Weakness can be a factor in inactive muscles, but the bigger issue is that habitual patterns of movement and muscle tension are preventing the muscle from working properly.
Activating muscles is mainly a mental endeavour that requires releasing chronic muscle tension and retraining the way you use your body.
Exercises that can help activate muscles include Arch & Flatten, Arch & Curl, One-sided Arch & Curl, Diagonal Arch & Curl, and Flowering Arch & Curl.
Clinical Somatics focuses on releasing tension, but the exercises can be used to start gently activating muscles.
The more slowly you move, the more effectively your nervous system will be able to learn.
