Taking a Look at the Sagittal Plane

Sagittal Plane

The sagittal plane, also commonly referred to as anteroposterior plane, is a plane that passes through the body from front to back and divides the body into left and right portions. The anatomical movements in the sagittal plane are flexion, extension, plantar flexion and dorsiflexion.

The following are the three exercises for sagittal plane.

1. Barbell Biceps Curl: This exercise is great for developing both the heads of the biceps muscle. The biceps curl exercise (performed with dumbbell or barbell or any equipment) involves flexion and extension of elbow joint during the concentric contraction and eccentric contraction respectively. The flexion and extension of elbow occur in a plane that is parallel to the sagittal plane. These flexion and extension moves cannot be seen from the other two planes.

2. Seated Leg Curl: Seated leg curl is an exercise for developing hamstring muscle. In this exercise, knee flexion takes place. In seated leg curl, the lower leg move in a circular path along the plane parallel to the sagittal plane during both concentric and eccentric phase of the movement. This circular travel of the lower leg cannot be seen from the top or front. Hence this movement occurs in sagittal plane

3. Standing Calf Raise: This exercise involves plantar flexion of the ankle. During the concentric phase of standing calf raise i.e. when you rise up on the balls of your feet, your heels travel in an arc which can be seen only from the side. Hence, this exercise is an example for sagittal plane.

Frontal plane

The frontal plane, also called coronary plane, is a plane that passes through the body from left to right and divides the body into front and back portions. The anatomical movements in this plane are abduct...

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...the shoulder i.e. subscapularis, teres major, pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi. When this movement is viewed from the top the forearms can be seen rotating about the long axis of the humerus bone which cannot be seen when viewed from the sagittal plane and frontal plane. Thus, the movement in this exercise occurs in transverse plane.

3. Pec-Deck Pectoral Fly: This exercise works pectoralis major muscle. This exercise involves pulling the handles across the chest towards each other i.e. horizontal adduction of glenohumeral joint. Hence, this exercise is an example for movement in transverse plane.

Works Cited

Griffing, James. ExRx.net (Exercise Prescription). 1 December 2013. 6 December 2013 .

Hatfield, Frederick C. Fitness: The Complete Guide. 8.6.6. Carpinteria: International Sports Science Association, 2013.