Sections

Personal tools

Log in Register

Weblog Archive

2009

2010

Quills

« February 2012 »

You are here: Home › Fitness Industry Community › Blog › 2009 › May › 22 › Which exercise works the gluteals best...[blog]

Which exercise works the gluteals best...[blog]

by Steven Gourley — last modified May 22, 2009 11:45 PM

We posted a poll asking the following: Presuming your client could complete each of these movements well, which is the best compound exercise to strengthen the gluteals? Read on to find out the results and some of the science behind (nice pun) the answer...

Here's what you said...

Gluteals poll results image

So, let's work through a potential answer and see where we end up.

Firstly we need to eliminate any exercise that could be construed to be an isolation exercise as the question asks 'the best COMPOUND exercise to...' So, I'm going to ignore Prone Swiss Ball Hip Extension (heel lifts) and Supine Floor Hip Extensions (hips to neutral).

Secondly we need to normalise the approach, so we need to notionally say 'at the same load' (for example 60kg back squats, front squats, dead lifts etc) and we have already stated in the question posed that this is 'presuming your client could complete each of these movements well'.

Now we have a question we can work with. From here the greatest load in the gluteals will be found by working out which exercise gives the gluteals the longest moment arm - that is the distance between the hip joint (around which the gluteals will do the most work), and the line of force (which is where the load is acting through the centre of mass). A moment arm that is the longest will put the most load through the joint axis and therefore load the muscles of that joint the most - in this case the joint is the hip and the muscles are the gluteals. Let's find the longest moment arm around the hip then.

Here's a look at each of the exercises we have proposed and a few we didn't but I thought I'd put in just in case you were thinking about them too.

So, I'm going to eliminate the swiss ball squat because not only has it got a strange line of force and a tiny (if any) moment arm for the gluteals, but it would also be deadly on the knees with 60kg due to the line of force.

The exercise with the largest moment arm for the gluteals in our diagrams, which are sort of based on what a person doing the exercise should look like - is the dead lift.

Given the dead lift is tricky to teach and it requires great extensor chain strength and a linking of the pull and squat patterns one might use the back squat (a close second) instead. But, from a purely biomechanical perspective - dead lifts done correctly wins.

Document Actions

Send this

Comments (5)

Tim Armstrong Jul 14, 2009 12:36 PM

Why go through all those exercises and a range of exercises all to shape and build the gluteals???

PLay squash not only is it the worlds healthiest sport but renowned for building 'buns of steel'

Sally Easton Jul 28, 2009 11:54 AM

My brother recently ruptured his achilles playing squash. He had been working for 18 months flat out in a new job, got quite fed up with being so sedentary and decided to get back into shape. Being an all or nothing type of fella, he thought the squash court would be the best and quickest place to get his fitness back to where he felt more comfortable. He hit the squash court pretty hard first session and within 10 minutes had ruptured his achilles. The dynamic, ballistic, anaerobic, full on nature of this sport would surely see the vast majority of the population unable or ill advised to build their buns this way? Would it have been more sensible for my brother to have started with the range of exercises above?

Tim Armstrong Aug 04, 2009 12:53 PM

It depends on his level of exercise involvement. The issue that alot of people make and i am sure that you would be aware of this is that you get fit to play squash not play squash to get fit. After an 18 month hiatus it is no wonder that the result of diving straight back in was infact the injury that he sustained. The original post said providing that your client can do each of the following well. Which indicates some level of fitness and activity and obviuosly higher than beginner in consideration of their ability to do that range of exercises "well". Squash is infact and i know i repeat great to strengthen the glutes and also build then trust me my butt needs no work. You have to take into consideration surrounding aspects. You could nearly say that the injury caused in this case was 'self inflicted'. Thats why it is handy to know fitness professionals as well as have them as family members and friends.

I still stand strong that in terms of glute stuff squash is great and i rank it highly, it just so happens to incorporate another wide range of benefits. You also have to think of the gym versus a sport. Most people i know would rather play squash and have its numerous benefits that slave away with some iron to build an ass

Sally Easton Aug 10, 2009 02:36 PM

That's an excellent point - most people I know would much rather play a sport than slave away with some iron to build an ass, too. If motivation, accountability, variation and fun are things you look for in a regular exercise routine, then sport beats gym everytime for me. But with the old 'get fit to play squash not play squash to get fit' what do people do before being fit enough to play?

Daniel Speirs Sep 25, 2009 09:57 AM

Good points Tim. The origonal article assumed that if everyone was able to do all the exercises then the deadlift would be best. However assumption is a pretty dangerous thing. Im certainly of the viewpoint that the most effective exercise is the exercise a person will repeat often enough to actually achieve results. Because really what can you achieve with one deadlifting session or one game of squash? So for those who prefer squash to deadlifting and play it on a regular basis then squash will definately prove more effective for developing your buns of steel. The point Im trying to make is that when prescribing exercise for people we need to consider the exercises and activities people prefer to do as well as the exercises we may consider to be 'most' effective.