Glorious Glutes
Could our backside be the next longevity litmus test?
Has it ever happened to you that a particular topic came into your life—be it in a conversation, podcast, movie, article, random thought, whatever—and then everywhere you looked, there it was? In my experience, when themes repeat like this, it is usually for a good reason, and paying attention can turn out to be game-changing. This is one such topic.
The maximus muscles have been on my mind for quite a while. Recently, I’ve written several posts on the essential role of muscles as we age, as well as on the critical function of mobility, both of which are very much intertwined and of utmost importance. Then, of course, I relayed the unfortunate tale of our dear orthopedic surgeon neighbor getting knocked off balance and breaking his hip. The theme of hip and glute strength has recurred so much that I’ve felt compelled to look for new ways to incorporate several simple lower-body exercises into my daily routine.
As these ideas percolated in my mind, the topic came up again in my reading and viewing. First was a podcast with orthopedic surgeon and wellness champion Dr. Vonda Wright, who is on a mission to make women’s bones durable, especially the hip and leg bones. Strong gluteal and leg muscles go hand in hand with strengthening the bones. Then there was a Huberman Lab post conveying that exercise involving the largest muscles of the legs, hips, and core is most effective for increasing levels of alertness…clearly a tie to cognitive function.
The final kicker was, of all things, Pride and Prejudice. Although Andrea and I have watched it umpteen times, upon our latest viewing, I was struck by a previously unnoticed highlight of the hindquarters. As Lizzie was visiting Mr. Darcy’s palatial home and wandering through the well-curated sculpture gallery, the camera panned on the picture-perfect posterior of “Reclining Naiad” by 19th-century sculptor Antonio Canova (Italian, of course.) My immediate thought: that hard-to-turn-away-from-fanny shot just sealed this topic as vitally important in my life.
Move over, grip strength
In my estimation, brute glute strength is (or should be) on par with grip strength as the biomarker of frailty and life expectancy. Grip strength has long been a measure of longevity, brain health, and all-cause mortality for various reasons. Mind you, this is not necessarily trained grip strength (although that is important, too), but rather what grip strength reflects. If your hands are strong, it’s most likely because you’ve been leading an active life, including moving heavy objects, which impacts a host of health factors such as cardiovascular health, insulin resistance, cognitive function, and muscle strength. Not to mention, strong hands and upper body strength can help you catch yourself if you start to slip and fall…the dreaded kiss of elderly death.
Likewise, the rippling impact of the glutes, the two largest muscles in our body, cannot be overlooked nor underestimated, especially when planning for a long health span. While gluteus maximus is one of three gluteal muscle groups, it accounts for approximately 16% of the cross-sectional body area. Considering there are approximately 600 muscles in the body (the actual count appears to be a hotly debated number), it’s easy to see the significant weight these two muscles in the buttocks carry by themselves.
Prodigious posterior
These rearmost muscles are at the center of powering our day. In the most straightforward sense, they propel our bodies forward, but they also play a crucial role in other vital functions: hip extension for running, jumping, and standing; hip rotation for pivoting and turning; and critical core stability and pelvic stabilization. These movements alone are responsible for innumerable actions in a healthy, active life.
Strong glutes have a cascading impact both up and down the body. As you work those muscles, many other muscles are activated: the core is engaged, the key muscle groups of the legs actuate and strengthen, and the ankles and feet stabilize the action.
Especially in fending off the “senior fall,” possessing the strength and ability to walk powerfully and purposefully and maintain balance is ground zero; getting up off the floor—which requires strength, stability, and rotation—is also paramount.
Invisible benefits
As the largest organ in our body, the entire muscular system is our longevity superpower because of its dual role in mobility, movement, and metabolic function. It is responsible for glucose metabolism, which can prevent chronic disease and cognitive decline; it produces hormones that are key to optimal endocrine balance; it releases myokine cells during physical activity that signal fat and microbiome cells; and as I wrote in Muscles Are Our Pharmacy, it also releases BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) which safeguards brain neuroplasticity and augments cognitive wellbeing.
The impact of muscle on our overall health and well-being is undeniable, and the trio of gluteal muscles is the powerhouse of the skeletal muscle system, much like the engine of a locomotive that powers a system far greater than its size.
Easy exercise additions
On a personal level, I have started to include daily movement and exercise that targets these muscles. For instance, most mornings, I do at least 15-20 step-ups on a 16” tall super stable surface (a table) and bum-to-the-floor deep squats to open up the hips and stretch my back. I also get up and down off the floor several times daily—putting on my shoes is the perfect opportunity.
On my three strength-training days, in addition to traditional glute exercises, I have been doing a kneeling exercise anyone can (and should) do. I start by kneeling on my right leg, putting my left knee down, then bringing my right knee up, so now I’m kneeling only on my left knee, then standing up. It is a compound exercise that is surprisingly challenging for strength and balance. Weights up the ante. I’ve worked up to 8 on each side, holding 12 pounds.
In the end…
Getting back to the hard-to-miss sculpture from the movie, I’d love to go back in time and understand how on earth an adult woman had such a picture-perfect posterior. Maybe it was a romanticized version in the sculptor's mind…he was, after all, Italian. (I’m married to one, so I can say these things.) Idealization aside, no doubt that the toxin-free whole foods diet and active lifestyle in 19th-century Italy are part of the overall picture…or sculpture.
As a side note, I almost wonder—in the most primal sense—if the cross-cultural allure of the ideal tush is the vigor that it signifies. Humans are evolutionarily hardwired to be attracted to beauty that indicates good health and strong genes, which, in my mind, further solidifies the importance of these muscles in our longevity toolbox.
If beauty isn’t enough motivation, the specter of decline certainly is. Remembering the times when my mom lived with us, and I desperately needed to help her get up off the floor, only to realize she had absolutely no lower body strength and was incapable of even assisting me in my efforts… this is a literal position that I never want to be in. Plus, I want to be able to hike, jump, lunge, and walk my way into the next couple of decades. I will focus on the behind in order to look forward to living well, aging great.
P.S. Thank you for enduring all the “cheeky” double entendres!