Muscular System Notes:
Achilles tendon: Connects gastrocnemius to heel
Aerobic Exercise: “with oxygen” does not deplete the muscle cells of oxygen, keeps heart
and skeletal muscles working at steady pace
Contract: “shorten” Muscles work by contracting and pulling, not pushing
Endurance: How long you can maintain a given exercise or activity
Flexibility: the range of motion possible around a joint
Muscular System: all of the muscles and tendons in the body
Skeletal Muscles: Attach to the skeleton via tendons; provide movement at joints
 Voluntary or conscious control
 Cells are long, straight, parallel fibers with striations or stripes
 contract to pull in one direction
Smooth Muscles: found in many hollow organs in body (digestive tract, blood vessels,
etc.
 involuntary control
 cells are shorter, more irregular in shape, not parallel
 contract in all directions to constrict or squeeze
Strength: the maximum amount of work that a muscle can perform
Tendon: Strong connective tissue fibers that attach muscles to bone
Tissue: group of similar cells working together to perform a function or functions