Health

Meet your lower body muscles

Exercise boosts your endurance and keeps your back and legs in good working order.

By SALLY ANDERSON
Published March 27, 2007

What is the largest lower body muscle? The one that we sit upon.

The gluteus maximus is the largest of our three gluteal muscles and covers the entire buttocks, extending down the back of the thigh.

The main responsibility of this muscle, often called the glutes, is to enable you to straighten your legs from the hips. When the glutes become weakened, it becomes difficult to climb stairs, pedal a bike or stand up from a sitting position.

The neighboring muscles, in the front of the hips, are a group of seven muscles called the hip flexors. Picture a marching band: If the members can lift their legs high while marching, they have strong hip flexors.

However, for the average person, the major problem with hip flexors is not so much the need for strength - they are generally already strong - but for flexibility.

When the hip flexors become tight and stronger than the surrounding muscles, an imbalance develops that can cause the hip and spine to be pulled out of their natural alignment.

Sedentary people may have a problem, since sitting for long periods of time will keep the hip in a constantly flexed position. This will cause the hip flexor muscle group to shorten, creating a loss of range of motion that can result in lower back pain, poor posture and loss of balance.

One of the best ways to help prevent knee injuries, or to protect an already injured knee, is to strengthen the surrounding muscles of the knee. The quadriceps, or quads, are a group of four muscles in the front of the thigh. They act together to extend and straighten the leg from the knee.

According to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting in late 2006, stronger quadriceps help prevent the deterioration of cartilage behind the kneecap among people who have knee osteoarthritis.

Behind the quads, in the back of the thigh, are another group of three muscles, the hamstrings. They enable you to bend your knees and also assist the glutes. Tight hamstrings are one of the causes for lower back pain.

We also have muscles on the sides of our legs that play an active role in stabilizing the knee. When you move your leg to the side away from the midline of your body, you are using your abductor muscles, on the outer thighs.

When you move your leg toward the midline of the body, you are using adductor, or inner thigh, muscles.

And we also have two muscles in our lower legs, the gastrocnemius and the soleus, which together make up the calf muscle. They provide us with the ability to raise on our toes.

By putting the lower body through its paces, you will not only be increasing your everyday endurance but will be keeping your back, hips, knees and ankles, in good working order.

If you are 50 or older and have not been exercising, check with your physician before beginning ANY exercise program. Sally Anderson, a trainer, is happy to hear from readers but cannot respond to individual queries. Write her in care of LifeTimes, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

Fast Facts:

Getting started

The top two exercises for targeting the gluteus maximus, quads and hamstrings are lunges and squats.

LUNGES: Maintaining a straight back by keeping shoulders over hips, step forward with a heel/toe movement; heel of the back foot lifted off floor. Slowly lower hips toward floor, pause, then push off and return to beginning position with a toe/heel movement.

WALL SQUAT WITH BALl: Stand in front of a wall with feet about shoulder-width apart. Place the ball between lower back and wall. Feet should be far enough from the wall so knees will not go beyond toes when you squat. With a straight back, slowly lower buttocks to level of knees; knees will be parallel to floor. Slowly return to original position. If you are a beginner, do not lower all the way to parallel knees.

HAMSTRING STRETCH: Lying on back, bend one knee and bring it into the chest. Support one hand under knee and one hand on lower leg or wrap a towel around the thigh. Slowly straighten leg until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings.

LEG LIFTS ON BALL: Lying on ball on your side, place hand on the floor for support, keeping top hip stacked over bottom hip. Bend one knee and extend the other leg. With control, slowly lift and lower the top leg, without touching the floor.

HIP FLEXOR STRETCH: Placing knee on a chair, tuck tailbone under and contract the abdominals. A slight leaning backward with the upper torso will increase the stretch: Do not exaggerate arching of the lower back. Keep most of your weight on the standing leg.

[Last modified March 27, 2007, 08:17:09]