How do people like this exist?

[mrflibble]

A little background: I'm currently studying Remedial Massage. Helping and hurting people, what could be more fun? Most of our teachers clearly know their stuff.

Enter our functional anatomy teacher. Masters in Osteopathy. Human Movement Degree with a Major in Biomechanics. Worked for 10 years as a Personal Trainer and Remedial Massage Therapist. Hasn't got a clue. (While all might be true, one of the above oddly enough doesn't appear on his resume.)

Today, he discussed reciprocal inhibition. Basic stuff. Used the biceps/triceps as an example. A sedentary student asked about pushups. He then explained that triceps are involved concentrically on the way up, but biceps work on the descent. Glutton for punishment that I am, I called him on it. He expanded that both muscles must work, otherwise we'd just fall flat to the floor. I tried to explain that the biceps shut down (duhhh reciprocal inhibition) while the triceps contract eccentrically to partially counter gravity, to allow for a slower-than-gravity descent. He didn't buy it. Finally resorted to a pathetic appeal to authority ("I have a degree in blah blah!")

Ok, so he's not exactly alone in being cluelessly edumacated. But where I am stumped is how anyone can be so oblivious to something so basic, when it would take literally seconds for him to push on something with one arm and fondle his biceps with the other in order to experience the mystical interaction of the human body and gravity first hand.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Ask him if he has to pull his heavy presses back down to his shoulders using his lats. Glassman actually told me that he thinks the hip flexors are required to pull the hips into flexion at the bottom of the squat, so this is pervasive.

[hamburgerfan]

Thank God for triceps. If I didn't have triceps to push me down from the bar when I do chinups, I would be stuck up there forever.

[Carlos Daniel]

I'll do curls to get swole triceps!

[Zee-man]

I can see the bro conversation in the gym later that night...

Bro #1: "Dude I learned in Anatomy class today that Push-ups work your biceps in addition to your pecs and tri's."
Bro #2: "So like, I can work all the important muscle groups with one exercise?"
Bro #3: "I know, its totally awesome."

The conversation might be much more limited in vocabulary, but its hard to look for smaller words sometimes... I'm just lazy.

Perhaps the professor spent so much time in the anatomy and physiology classes that he missed out on some of the basics of Physics - gravity is cool.

[Carlos Daniel]

I can see the bro conversation in the gym later that night...

Bro #1: "Dude I learned in Anatomy class today that Push-ups work your biceps in addition to your pecs and tri's."
Bro #2: "So like, I can work all the important muscle groups with one exercise?"
Bro #3: "I know, its totally awesome."

The conversation might be much more limited in vocabulary, but its hard to look for smaller words sometimes... I'm just lazy.

Perhaps the professor spent so much time in the anatomy and physiology classes that he missed out on some of the basics of Physics - gravity is cool.

What he missed is actually doing some push-ups. Anyone who has done push-ups for high reps know that the part that burns is not the biceps, no matter how you do you push-ups.

[mlentzner]

We've been arguing about whether the biceps gets used in push-up and bench presses at my gym for a while.

Not in the way this "professor" states it - that's just stupid.

But since the biceps also crosses the shoulder joint isn't it involved in a push-up/bench press motion at the very bottom of the ROM to help move the shoulder joint forward? (Similar to the way the hamstrings are involved in the squat once you go below parallel)

[Mark Rippetoe]

The biceps are shoulder flexors, so they are not asleep. But their contribution is minimal.

[Tamara Reynolds]

...when it would take literally seconds for him to push on something with one arm and fondle his biceps with the other in order to experience the mystical interaction of the human body and gravity first hand.

I admit that I just did this for fun. I think because you used the word "fondle."

[mlentzner]

The biceps are shoulder flexors, so they are not asleep. But their contribution is minimal.

Is this because of the mechanical position the muscle is in or the lack of muscle mass compared to the other involved groups? (or both)

It also appears (looking at the anantomy) that only the short head can contribute in a horizontal press motion.

Thanks,

Matt