What’s the largest muscle in the human body?
If you had to guess, what is the largest muscle in your body, what would you say? Your back? … Your biceps … Your quadriceps? Well, if you think it’s one of those, I am sorry to say, you are sadly mistaken :(
The largest muscle in your entire body is actually ……… YOUR GLUTES! If you got the right answer, congratulations!
For those of you who didn’t guess correctly … Yes you read that right, your glutes! To be specific, the largest muscle in your entire body is found within your glutes and it’s actually called the gluteus maximus. Your glutes are made up of 3 muscle layers. The most superficial or outer layer being your gluteus maximus! Then you have your gluteus medius which is slightly smaller and is found within the middle layer. The deepest layer is your gluteus minimus which is the smallest of the 3 muscles.
Your glutes play a crucial role in the biomechanics of movement. They are responsible for hip extension which is when you raise your quads, hip abduction when you kick your leg to the side and hip external rotation when you rotate your legs outwards. When you come to think of it you wouldn’t be able to do much without your glutes! You wouldn’t be able to…
🚶Walk
🏃Run
🪜Go up the stairs/ climb
🪑Get up from a chair
💥Jump
🏋️♂️Squat
👟Kick
🚴Use a bike
🪨Carry something heavy
💃🏻🕺🏽Dance
🧍Maintain good posture
The list goes on and on.. Any variation of the movements or activities mentioned above require your glutes to be activated. They are heavily involved in the transfer of power between our upper and lower body. Glutes are muscles of our lower extremities but they play a role in most of activities of daily living. A strong lower body helps to stabilize our entire body. Your glutes along with your core help translate our every move with complete ease. A strong core and powerful glutes are a dynamic duo when it comes to executing movements with power.
Power and strength are closely related. Since the gluteal muscles are so large they are able to exert more power and strength when we generate movement. Think of trying to throw something or maybe pick something up from the floor. You may think that your arms or core are the only muscles involved, however there are a wide range of muscles that get activated in order for you to be able to perform those tasks. The important one being your glute max!
The glutes are known as the explosive muscle! This is why athletes such as sprinters, track and field runners, powerlifters, cyclists, and gymnasts typically have very strong and powerful glutes. Most of their movements rely on the performance of their lower body to generate enough power!
All of our muscles are interconnected through muscle fibers and fascia that help them to create movement and work together. So whether you’re an athlete or not, we can all benefit from having strong glutes!
FUN FACT!! Did you know that humans are among some of the few species to have fully developed and well functioning glutes! In other species, the glute muscles are much smaller since they walk on all 4s!
