These Are the Largest Muscles in the Human Body (Weekly Infographics #4)

A newsletter dedicated to summarizing interesting strength/hypertrophy related research.

Often, we think about the size of a muscle based on its outwards appearance, this is its surface area. However, muscles are 3-dimensional, they occupy space within the body. As a result, the volume of a muscle is a much better measurement for determining the size of muscles.

1) The Largest Upper Body Muscles

The information in the graphic has been obtained from this study.

Quite surprisingly, the deltoids (shoulders) are the largest muscle in the upper body. Equally surprisingly is the fact the triceps are a close second. Both of these muscles are larger than the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi!

Unfortunately, the trapezius (for some reason) wasn’t included in this study.

2) The Largest Lower Body Muscles

The information in the graphic has been obtained from this study.

The gluteus maximus appears to be the largest lower body muscle!