When it comes to building your workout routine, you are likely like most people and hit the major muscle groups without a problem. Chest, shoulders, back, quads, hamstrings, glutes – they're all accounted for.

But, could you be missing out on some of the lesser-known muscles? Could you be actually giving yourself a muscle weakness without even realizing it? As it turns out, many people are doing just that.

Let’s take a closer look at four muscles that you may be ignoring and how you can ensure they start getting the attention they deserve.

The Rotator Cuff

While doing barbell presses and dumbbell shoulder presses are both great for hitting the deltoids, they aren’t working your rotator cuff like they should.

While you can’t physically see your rotator cuff muscles, so working them is not going to change your aesthetical appearance, they play a key role in stabilizing the shoulder joint and preventing injury.

If yours are a week, it’s only a matter of time before an injury is likely to set in. To work these, you’ll want to do internal and external rotations, either with a resistance band or a light dumbbell.

Erector Spinea

So you do deadlifts and rows for your back and figure that’s taking care of everything you need. Very much, it is. But it’s still a great idea to work your erecter spinea muscles on their own in isolation. These muscles help keep your spine in proper position and can also help to prevent injury.

Furthermore, when they’re strong, they can also help boost your overall deadlift performance, so that’s another reason to make sure they don’t get overlooked.

Work these by using a back hyperextension machine in the gym and focusing on only coming up until you’re in line with the legs. Hold that position there and really feel the muscles squeeze.

Tibialis Anterior

Most people don’t give hardly any thought to their lower leg muscles. If they do a few sets of calf raises as an afterthought to their workout program, they’re lucky.

But, what you may be forgetting is that there are more muscles than just the calves making up that lower leg. You also have a muscle that runs along the front of the shins, which will be important for stabilizing the ankle and preventing shin splints. If you neglect it, an injury may occur.

To strengthen it, sit with your feet on the ground, knees bent at 90 degrees. Now raise your toes up as high to the ceiling as possible before lowering once again.

Forearm Extensors

Finally, let’s not forget the forearms. These are important to work because they are going to be involved in ensuring you can carry each heavy dumbbell or barbell you are lifting, therefore, are important for maximum strength gains.

They’re also important for protecting your wrist, so that’s another reason to make sure they are included in your workout routine.

To hit this muscle group, tie a plate weight onto a string and hang that from a stick. Now hold the stick out in front of you horizontally with both hands. Roll the weight up by shifting the stick around in circles. Once up, roll back down and repeat.

So have a good look at your current workout program. Are you neglecting any of these muscle groups?

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