Bigger bums help athletes run faster
Large gluteus maximus can boost performance
Unsure who to place a bet on in the men's 100 meters at next year's Olympics? Well, scientists may have a useful mantra for you: 'I like big butts and I can not lie.'
Experts from Loughborough University found that sprinters with a large gluteus maximus — the muscle that forms the bottom — can run up to 44 per cent faster.
The team discovered this ' booty boost' factor after comparing the lower body muscles of of men who were either elite sprinters, sub-elite athletes or untrained.
Elite sprinters — those with a personal best of under 9.99 seconds in the 100 metres — were found to be not only more muscular generally, but also in a very specific way. While their calf muscles were similar in size to those of their sub-elite counterparts, others — including the gluteus maximus and hip extensors — were far bigger.
The findings have the potential to revolutionise the physical training and performance of many athletes, the researchers claimed.
In their study, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging — MRI — to measure the size of 23 lower body muscles in 42 different men. Of these participants, five were elite sprinters, 26 were sub-elite athletes and 11 were untrained men.
The team found variability in performance among the elite and subelite sprinters, with personal bests for the 100 metres event that ranged from 9.91– 11.25 seconds. The researchers' analysis revealed that 44 per cent of this variability in performance was explained by the size of the gluteus maximus — with this muscle being around 45 per cent bigger in elite sprinters than their subelite counterparts.
'Sprinting is thought to be influenced by many factors — technique, psychology, nutrition, anatomy of other structures,' explained paper author and neuromuscular performance expert Jonathan Folland. 'To find a single muscle that alone seems so important, explaining nearly half the variability, is remarkable,' he added. 'It appears that muscle size is more important for fast running than we thought and especially the size of the hip extensors and gluteus maximus.'
' The logical implication is that with a larger gluteus maximus the runner will be able to generate more power and therefore greater sprint speed. Thus, increasing the size of the gluteus maximus in particular — as well as the other hip extensor muscles — would be expected to improve sprint performance.'
The team is now building on the research with a study focused on women instead. They are also collecting data for a comparison of the muscle anatomy of runners that compete over different distances.
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.