The gluteus maximus is the strongest and biggest muscle of the body. The gluteus maximus is not only a hip extensor but also plays an important role in pelvic and spinal stabilisation. Through the gluteal muscles your hips are stabilized and proper leg alignment is maintained. Through evolution the gluteus maximus enlarged in humans as a means to stabilise the trunk while standing and counteract the high impact forces that tend to flex the trunk anteriorly during running and sprinting. However over time we have developed a way of living that goes against the way our body was designed to work, we spend long amounts of time sitting on our derriere as oppose to using it which causes it to ‘go to sleep’ or something called ‘gluteal amnesia’. The less the glute muscles are used the more likely the muscles are going to go through a process called atrophy and a simple forgetting of how to use them and consequently the lower body in the right way. This can lead to poor performance, lower body strength and is often a root cause of lower body pain. When the glutes don’t activate properly other parts of your body will compensate to try and do the movement, these body parts such as your back and knees (amongst others) aren’t designed to do these movements so discomfort pain and eventually injury is quite likely to happen. There are a number of ways that you can re-activate and strengthen your glutes and re-establish correct movement patterns. With such a positive effect on your core stability and lower body injury prevention it should be a must to incorporate glute work into core strength training!

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