On previous occasions, we have already talked in Vitónica about how to focus our buttock training either at home or in the gym. This time we will stop at a specific muscle of this muscle group: the gluteus medius.
Anatomy of the gluteus medius
The buttocks are composed of three muscles with differentiated origins, insertions, and functions. The whole muscle group as a whole is an indispensable part of the concept that we know as core or core, providing stability to both the spine and the hip.
The gluteus medius is a broad, thick, fan-shaped muscle that sits on the outer face of the pelvis. Its origins are as follows:
- The external edge of the iliac crest.
- Anteroposterior iliac spine.
- External iliac fossa.
- Gluteal aponeurosis.
It is inserted through a very thick tendon in the lateral aspect of the greater trochanter of the femur.
Its main functions are external hip abduction and rotation although its anterior fibers are able to support internal hip flexion and rotation while the posterior ones do exactly the opposite.
Also during the march and next to the lower gluteus, they are responsible for keeping us upright in a standing position while maintaining pelvic stability in the frontal plane.
What exercises are best for training the gluteus medius?
As we have said before, the gluteus medius is responsible for abducting and externally rotating the hip. The particularity of the abduction is that it can be done both in the frontal and transverse planes, so we must select exercises that work in each of these planes.
Finally, we must select exercises that are responsible for externally rotating the femur. Let’s see what exercises we are talking about.
We should not confuse this exercise with the monster’s walk or monster walk since this exercise is performed by moving forward. To maintain the work of the gluteus medius in the frontal plane we must move to one side or another.
It is important to take small steps to maintain a minimum of constant tension in the band. This is another abduction exercise but it differs from the previous one in that in this the gluteus medius works in the transverse plane. To understand what the transverse plane is we can imagine how if a thin sheet of paper immense and parallel to the ground will cross us at the height of the hip. The abduction movement we perform moves on the surface of this sheet of paper.
By performing the exercise by performing a hip hinge, that is by flexing it, we can better isolate the middle gluteus since it does not interfere with the gluteus maximus during its extension.
Finally, we select an external rotation exercise, which we can do with a pulley or with an elastic band tied to a fixed point.
The video shows very well how the movement should be performed by pivoting on our own heel. We must think about rotating the femur on its own axis. It is an exercise where we must pay special attention to the sensations it produces.
