VIDEO

The hips are some of the strongest muscles in the human body. They keep the torso upright, control the hip and knee joints, and are engaged during various activities and even at rest. Their proper functioning is extremely important, and anyone should know how they function. The muscles located on the hip are involved in both hip and knee movements, providing different positions of the hip in space depending on the proximal or distal support. Topographically, the hipі are divided into three groups. The anterior group includes the flexors: the quadriceps and the tailor muscle. The medial group consists of the hip drive muscles: the comb, the long, short, big adductor, and the thin muscle. The posterior group includes the hip extensors: biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semi-perineal. The lateral outer and inner thigh muscles are considered antagonistic pairs: while one group is working, the other group relaxes. The abductors, including the middle gluteal, small gluteal, thigh broad fascia tensor, pear, and tail muscles are responsible for your leg movements from the middle of your body. Essentially, whenever you take a step to the side or turn your foot on the bed, you are activating the abductors. The inner thigh muscles, particularly the large adductor, small adductor, short adductor, and long adductor muscles perform the opposite task, working whenever you move your leg toward the center of your body. Strong and injury-resistant athletes have well-trained hip muscles. This is very important when it comes to fast sports with a lot of lateral movements, such as tennis or basketball, but also when you want to work out without pain. If your goal is to strengthen your hip muscles, which is really important, but you don't have your favorite leg workout, we will share some great exercises with you. Wide Squats. Every leg workout should include different variations of squats. This exercise targets the lower body, including the inner and outer thighs. But to really engage your thigh muscles, you should do deep squats with your legs turned outward. Sumo Deadlift. The Sumo deadlift is based on a similar leg position as in the wide squat. However, it is the external rotation of the thigh muscles that results in increased involvement of the inner and outer thighs. Side Leg Raises. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy found that side leg raises without weights are just as effective as other weighted exercises. Side Leg Pull-Ups. The pull-up exercise can be done anywhere because you don't need anything but a comfortable mat. This is a great exercise that you can add to your daily home workout routine.

Hamstring muscle training is often neglected, but for most athletes, however, it is very important because strong hamstrings help avoid many injuries. They are a group of powerful muscles that extend from the pelvis to the knee at the back of the upper leg. Their two main roles are to extend the leg (pull it back) and bend the knee, movements we use both in mountain walking or running and in everyday life. We engage and overuse them more than we realize, which creates tension and can lead to acute or chronic injuries due to overuse. For example, when you run or hike up a mountain, it may seem like you are primarily using your quadriceps, but you are also straining your hams, especially if you are overzealous or taking a big step to navigating over rocks or roots. These muscles consist of three parts: the semi-tendon muscle, the biceps femoris muscle, and the semitendinosus muscle. Together they form a large group of muscles that work at the base of the thigh. Their main function is to bend the leg at the knee joint. Before performing any strength exercises, it is important to warm up and stretch the hamstring muscles well, because the muscles are often in a contracted condition. Training It is better, to begin with, a 5-10 minutes light workout. This can be cycling, running, etc. Such workouts are good for warming up before stretching, after which you can proceed to the main workout. Training cool muscles is not a good idea. Wise advice for beginner athletes who want to train with extra weight - use a lighter load and more reps at first to gradually develop muscle strength. There are many exercises that do not directly target your hamstrings, but where they help your hamstrings, such as pull-ups, lunges, and squats. However, to develop them well, it is also important to do some isolation exercises where you focus directly on your hams. To help you on your way, we decided to list the most important exercises below. Hamstrings Compression helps relieve pain and tightness. Stretching relieves stress and helps strengthen the ligaments in the back of the knee as well as the hamstrings. Quadriceps stretching with support. This exercise will strengthen your hams instead of your quadriceps. It also improves knee mobility. Leg lift with resting on arms. Lifting one leg is aimed at pumping the glutes, as well as strengthening the hamstrings. Wall Squats. Such squats will strengthen your knees and also reduce pain if any. The exercise works all the muscles that are connected to the knees. Lunges also engage your hamstrings, glutes, inner thigh muscles, and calves. The strength of these muscles determines the strength of your knees. The stronger they are, the more tension they will absorb, thus preventing injury and pain. Exercises with a roller are a perfect way to massage and relax your muscles.

To work out the perfect buttocks, you need to know what functions they have. In this article, you may read everything about the structure and functions of the gluteus muscles. So, let’s start examining the glutes right now! First things first, you need to know that glutes consist of three separate parts: large, medium, and small. Accordingly, the functions of the glutes reflect a combination of the functions of these three muscles, and if any of the muscles are not used, then we lack some of them, and, as a result, we do not get the desired look of the buttocks. Probably, it is time to have a closer look at every glute muscle. The gluteus maximus is the largest of this group of muscles and can reach the thickness of 2-3 cm. It has a rhomboidal shape and almost completely o covers the middle and small gluteus maximus, being on top. In fact, it is this muscle that we usually associate with the considered area of the body that creates the main visible volume. Here are the main functions of the gluteus maximus: maintains the position of the torso when the person is standing assists in extension of the torso after bending over rotates the hip outward acts in hip extension. This muscle is very active during stair climbing and different types of stepping on an elevated surface. It is involved as soon as you change from stepping to running. It is active during upward jumps and various pushing movements of the legs. Besides, the gluteus maximus works together with other muscles in squats and all exercises involving the extension of the thigh and torso. The middle gluteal muscle (lat. musculus gluteus medius) has a triangle-like shape. It is located under the gluteus maximus but is visible from behind and the side. The main functions of the middle gluteus muscle are: extends the hip to the side participates in the inward and outward rotation of the hip participates in the torso straightening And the last, but no less important is the gluteus minimus. This muscle is not visible from the outside because it is the deepest of all three muscles and is completely overlapped by the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus. The shape of the small gluteus maximus resembles the middle gluteus maximus, but it is thinner. In fact, the functions of this muscle are almost similar to that of the gluteus medius, and they usually work in tandem to create a beautiful shape of your buttocks. If you are working out your entire body in one workout, do it at least three times a week. Choose one exercise for your gluteus and incorporate it into your program. To avoid stagnation, change exercises after 1-2 workouts. If you prefer splits, choose 1-2 movements and do it on your leg workout day. Keep in mind that most glute exercises also load the muscles of the posterior surface of the thigh. So if you want to do a heavy deadlift or leg press in a machine, it is better to start with them. Otherwise, the muscles will get tired and you will not be able to work out fully. We hope that you know more about your glutes right now and your workout will be more effective! Have a nice shape, dear friend.