What are muscles?

Muscles are like stretchy bands inside your body that help you move.

Imagine you have a toy car. When you press the button, it zooms forward. Your muscles work kind of like that toy car, they contract (get shorter) and relax (get longer), which helps you walk, run, jump, or even sit down.

When you want to move your arm, for example, a muscle in your arm gets tighter, it contracts, and pulls your bone closer. Then, when the muscle relaxes, your arm goes back to its normal position.

Think of muscles like the strings on a puppet. When you pull one string, the puppet moves. Your muscles do something similar inside your body, they pull your bones so you can move around!

You have three types of muscles:

• Skeletal muscles help you move your bones (like when you lift your leg).
• Smooth muscles are in your stomach and help with digestion.
• Heart muscle keeps your heart beating all day long.

Muscles are strong, stretchy, and super hardworking, just like you!