Your Gluteus are more important than you think

When it comes to strengthening and conditioning the glutes are an often overlooked area of the body. There is a lot of emphasis placed upon the core and core strengthening for fitness and rehabilitation – but your glutes play an important role too.

Gluteus 101

Essentially, your gluteus are your butt muscles! There are 3 main muscles that make up your gluteus:

• Gluteus Maximus

• Gluteus Medius

• Gluteus Minimus

 The Gluteus Maximus is the largest of these muscles (and indeed the largest in the whole body!) which is primarily used for upper leg extension.[1]

Gluteus Medius and Minimus perform similar functions, mostly to do with supporting and stabilising your body on your legs and helping to internally rotate your thigh.[2]

So why are your Gluteus so important?

Your gluteus play a very important role in keeping your body stabilised and supported. In fact, we use them all the time when running, walking up stairs and even plain old walking. Your gluteus stabilise the hip by counteracting gravity and maintaining proper leg alignment.

Strong glutes keep you balanced and supported, ensuring that every activity your body does is positively impacted. [3] Without them we couldn’t walk upright!

With our increasingly sedentary lifestyles  we spend a lot of time sitting so it is vitally important that we actively and mindfully work our posterior muscles.

Here are some of the benefits of stronger gluteus[4]:

• Better Posture

• Improved Balance and;

• Reduced Chance of Injury

Weak gluteus and hip pain

The hip joint is one of the most powerful joints in your body, playing an important role it’s smooth and unimpeded movement.

In the case of hip flexor strains the origin of the pain is not usually at the front of the hip, but rather in the posterior hips muscles – the gluteus.[5]

[1] https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/butt-ology-101-how-to-enhance-your-gluteal-muscles
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_medius_muscle
[3] http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/facts-about-glutes/slide/3
[4] https://fitstrong.co.za/why-are-strong-glutes-so-important/
[5] http://www.fitnessnetwork.com.au/resources-library/hip-flexor-strains-glutes-may-be-the-answer