Buns of steel!!
As a runner and a physio I spend a lot of my time talking about the role of the gluteal muscles, I also spend a lot of time sitting on them! Its very easy to clump these muscles together and just refer to the ‘glutes’. There are actually 3 different gluteal muscles and this blog is a little bit of info about the biggest of those muscles the ‘Gluteus Maximus’ (think Roman Gladiator!!)
The Gluteus Maximus is the largest and heaviest muscle in the body. It is the most superficial of all the gluteal muscles and it’s size allows it to generate a large amount of force (or provide a very soft cushion). The main role of the glute max is hip extension which is the driving backwards of the hip. It also contributes to turning the leg out and keeping us upright. As a powerful extensor of the hip joint, the glute max is more activated in powerful lower limb movements eg stepping onto a step, climbing, or running but is not used greatly during normal walking. In our sedentary society the glute max is very much underused so can become weak. This can lead to problems around the hips or lower back as we recruit other muscles to take on some of the role of this powerful muscle. Although walking is a great way to get our bodies moving and burn some low level calories we are using very little of our glute max.
Let’s turn then to a typical middle aged person who decides to take up running. They may have been very inactive for several years, in a sedentary job. As they start to build up their run times they may find that their calves start to feel tight or their knees and ankles hurt. This is due partly to the impact involved in running (1.5- 3 times body weight) It is also due to the glute max not working properly to drive the hip back into extension causing a forward momentum. Other muscle such as hip flexors or calves have to pick up the extra work leading to them feeling tight and stiff. Hip extension is certainly an area to work on if you want to improve your running efficiency. The picture below of Mo Farah shows how much hip extension he achieves when running, this allows his hip flexors to stretch and recoil to bring the leg forward without any real effort.
So how can we be more Mo?? Firstly come along to my runners workshop on the 7th of April at Rumbletums and find out all the secrets to running more efficiently and reducing your risk of injury. Secondly we can work on strengthening the glute max. All runners should be including some type of strength based training but sometimes it can be daunting trying to navigate what and when to do it. There was a nice little study done in 2024 that looked at which exercises activate the glute max the most. They compared acceleration specific exercise to normal strength exercises and found that a hip thrust exercise elicited the highest peak glute max muscles activity. It was only a small study performed on well conditioned individuals but it is useful to see that an exercise as simple as a hip thrust produces good results. A hip thrust can be performed as a simple bridge exercise on the floor or made harder by placing your feet on a box or chair. If you have weights at home you can use these to add resistance to the movement. Performing sets of 15-20 really works into that endurance range and will improve the muscles ability to perform over a long period of time. When I do gait training (or retraining) we work on bringing in the glute max muscle in. As we start to engage the glute max it can feel like really hard work as the muscle calls for more oxygen leading to having to breathe harder. Once the glute max is doing more of what it should, it can help offload other muscles which in the longer term makes running much more efficient.
So hopefully you can see how important the Gluteus Maximus muscle is and have a little bit more of an understanding of it’s role and why you may be getting niggles in other areas. Try adding a simple bridge to your training but make it fast and explosive (not a Pilates type move!), 3 sets of 15-20 is a great start.
If you have any questions about strength training for runners or need help getting started then drop me a message. I also work with runners to improve their running form. Running is a skilled activity and making small changes can significantly improve your running and reduce your risk of injury
Happy hip thrusting folks
Running Workshop Monday April 7th @ Rumbletums (use code Newsletter to get 10% off a ticket) Book via the link below
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/runners-workshop-tickets-1270645267199?aff=oddtdtcreator
