Every day you can see various videos on social networks and users who crowd the weight room in search of the exercise that optimally activates the gluteal musculature. There are those who argue that you must work with high repetitions and low load and those who say that you must perform exercises with high load and few repetitions. Who claims that one is more useful squatting or those who say swimming.
Index
Where is the truth?
To understand the reality of the facts one must analyze lanatomy and functional biomechanics. I speak of this word - functional - now abused in any fitness sector precisely to emphasize that before talking about exercises or movements that are better than others, it would be appropriate to start with a simple question.
If I talk about gluteal muscles, what do I look for in my workouts? Transfer for a specific sport such as running 100 meters, swimming or rugby or a purely aesthetic hypertrophy or definition?
As good dear Michael Boyle, functional training expert, says the latter is simply "Sensible training" and to make sense it would always be necessary set yourself a goal.
Basics of gluteal muscles
I buttocks they are made up of 3 distinct muscle bellies but which in a myofascial vision fall into a complex chain (one of many since there are others all over the body as a map) and intimately connected with the other structures through a continuum that starts from the foot, it goes up on the leg, continues along the thigh.
Ascending and descending information is sorted from the pelvis that leads the body to be functional in both flexion-extension and torsion movements (for example, in a functional perspective with respect to the "core", flexion and anti-flexion, extension and anti-extension or rotation and anti-rotation on the various anatomical planes). The three muscles that make up the entire gluteal area are: the large, medium and small buttocks.
THE GREAT GLUTEO
The gluteus maximus is the most superficial and posterior of the three bundles. It is a strong extensor, external hip rotator as well as adductor with its lower bundles. It originates from the coccyx, from the outer edge of the sacrum, from the posterior portion of the iliac crest, from the ligaments sacrotuberous and sacroiliac.
Its insertion is on the gluteal tuberosity (lower fibers) and on the iliotibial tract (superior fibers). These features combine to give stability to the knee, in addition to all the functions listed above.
THE MIDDLE GLUTEO
The gluteus medius is located in the lateral and superficial portion of the hip, so that the back is covered by the gluteus maximus but the upper and outer portion remains superficial (even though it is placed between the gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus).
It is primarily a hip abductor. Its anterior fibers flex and intrarotate the coxo-femoral joint, while the posterior fibers extend and extrarotate. The muscle origin is on the gluteal surface of the ileum, between the iliac crest and the posterior and anterior gluteal lines.
The insertion is on the lateral surface of the greater trochanter. With its convergent pulling fibers that pull the femur in various directions, the gluteus medius muscle can be considered the "deltoid hip muscle".
THE LITTLE GLUTEO
The small gluteus muscle lies deeply in the middle gluteus and is inaccessible.
This muscle has the same muscle origins as the middle gluteus, except for the posteromedial portion of the iliac crest. The insertion is on the front edge of the greater trochanter.
It abducts, flexes and rotates the hip. What can be seen by analyzing the entire gluteal musculature is that, contrary to what is commonly thought, the buttocks can also be adductors, flexors and intrarotarors of the hip, as well as extensor and extrarotator abductors.
Main functions of the gluteal muscles
Generally speaking the gluteus package performed three main functions:
- Acceleration;
- Deceleration;
- Anti-gravity boost.
The muscle fibers of the gluteus maximus are purely phasic, therefore a rapid contraction.
This condition leads this muscle to prepare for exercises and movements FORCE e POWER what uphill race, box jump, lunges while walking, squats under the parallel, squats starting from low pins, hip thrust with overload (maybe even with combined isometry).
How to activate gluteal muscles?
To forcefully activate the gluteus maximus, the foot is on the ground in such a way as to push it and activate the anti-gravity extensor chain in closed and unopened kinetic chain.
It is highly recommended to use overloads with percentages above 85% 1RM for strength work, or medium loads on power movements such as kettlebell swing.
The gluteus maximus is also a strong starter in acceleration and deceleration movements in various sports where a continuous change of direction is necessary, such as in football or tennis.
It is not advisable to perform free-standing impulses and jerks in an upright or quadrupedal position with the illusion of massively strengthening the gluteus just because in the first place no overloads are used and in the second instance because they are movements in an open kinetic chain.
The middle and small buttocks are strong hip stabilizers together with the pelvis-trochanteric muscles (upper and lower twin, internal and external obturator, square of the femur). Such muscles have characteristics of muscular resistance through a predominance of slow-twitch (tonic) fibers.
THE CHAIN START
The last necessary analysis is that related to the so-called "CHAIN START" on the timing of activation of the posterior chain in which it is possible to discriminate whether the athlete activates the gluteal muscles or the hamstrings.
- A little curiosity about hamstrings: these are the hamstrings, called "ham fibers" because in eighteenth-century England, butchers displayed the carcasses of pigs in their cabinets, hanging them by the tendons located behind the knees.
The subject is prone and asked to flex the knee at 90 ° (one leg at a time is tested). At this point, the operator places one hand on the buttock and one on the ischium cruralis and the athlete extends the hip (although the precise term would be hyperextension since the hip is already extended from prone).
If hamstrings are activated first, the motor pattern can be re-educated by asking for a co-contraction of the buttock before extending the hip.
There would be other secondary technical considerations but this is the juice that interests us athletes!
Marco Dalessandro
Degree in Motor Sciences and Master's Degree in Sciences of motor education and adapted physical activities
Four-year diploma of Shiatsu operator
Diploma Osteopath DO e MCB massage therapist
Inferno OCR Elite athlete
CrossFit trainer LV2 / Kids
Facebook page: Marco Dalessandro
Instagram: @marco_ocr_elite e @m_dalessandro_osteopata
We have activated a lot of discounts on Amazon: from 30 to 70% on all sports categories! It's all on our dedicated channel ????
SUBSCRIBE HERE TO THE TELEGRAM CHANNEL