Antagonistic Muscles

Key Stage 3

Antagonistic muscles are a pair of muscles that work to move a bone in opposite directions.

When a muscle gets shorter it has contracted and when a muscle gets longer it has relaxed.

Most muscles come in antagonistic pairs. This means when one contracts the other must relax.


When a muscle contracts it is called the 'agonist' and when it relaxes it is called the 'antagonist'.