Beach muscles

Beach muscles refer to the groups of muscles that lie on the front of the human body. These include the biceps, the pectoralis (chest) muscles, the abdominals, the obliques, the serratus anterior, and the quadriceps. Technically these muscles comprise the anterior chain, which operate as antagonists of the posterior chain.

Training effects
Beach muscles are often ignored by power lifters, who tend to focus on the posterior chain as their sole goal is to increase their strength. Power lifters concentrate on squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. These athletes focus on increasing their physical performance.

In contrast, the beach muscles (or anterior chain) are emphasized by those who train for aesthetic purposes, as these muscles have the greatest visual effect. For overall benefit, however, these muscles are not as crucial to pure physical performance as the posterior chain. It is therefore necessary to train both the anterior and the posterior chains equally in order to maintain structural balance.