๐ซ My body and food ๐ช Bones and muscles
The muscle
๐ In short
Muscles are strong, stretchy tissues in your body that let you move: walk, jump, smile, talk and eat. Your body has more than 600 muscles! Some move when you want them to, and some work on their own without you thinking about them.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- The human body has more than 600 muscles.
- You use more than 10 muscles in your face when you smile.
- The biggest muscle in your body is the one in your bottom that you sit on.
- There are two main kinds of muscle, skeletal and smooth, plus heart muscle.
๐ Find out more
๐ How does a muscle work?
A muscle can't push, it can only pull. When it contracts and gets shorter, it pulls the bone it's attached to, which moves. That's why muscles work in pairs: one bends the arm and the other straightens it.
๐ Muscles at your command
The muscles of your arms, legs and face move when you decide. They're attached to bones by strong cords called tendons.
๐ก Muscles that work on their own
The muscles of the stomach and intestines work by themselves to digest food, and the heart muscle beats day and night all your life without tiring or stopping.
๐ฏ Make your muscles stronger
Muscles get stronger with movement, sport and play, and they need food with protein like eggs, fish and lentils, and enough sleep to rest and grow.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 Which muscle works day and night without stopping?
2 How do you make your muscles stronger?
3 The human body has more than ?? muscles.
4 Which picture shows โThe muscleโ?