Gluteus Medius

legsMusculus gluteus medius

The gluteus medius is the fan-shaped muscle on the side of your hip. Its most important job is keeping your pelvis level every time you stand on one leg — which is every step you take.

Gluteus Medius highlighted on an anatomical figure, from behind.
Where it sits, from behind.

The gluteus medius sits on the outer surface of the hip bone, partly covered by the gluteus maximus behind and exposed in front. Its fibres converge downward onto the bony knob at the top of the thigh bone, the one you can feel at the side of your hip.

Its obvious action is lifting the leg out to the side. Its important one is the reverse. When you stand on one leg, gravity pulls the unsupported side of the pelvis down; the gluteus medius on the standing side contracts to hold it up. Walking is a continuous alternation of standing on one leg, so this muscle works at every step of every day.

Its front and back portions pull in different directions around the hip, so the front part rotates the thigh inward and the back part rotates it outward. That means it also has a role in controlling which way the knee tracks when the foot is planted.

Because it is on the side rather than the back, nothing in a squat, deadlift or lunge trains it through a range — those all move the leg forward and back. It is trained by moving the leg sideways, or by having to stabilise against a load trying to move it sideways.

Training notes

Direct abduction work is the obvious answer: band walks, side-lying raises, cable abduction, seated abduction machines. All are cheap, all work, and none needs much weight.

Single-leg work is the better answer for most people, because it trains the muscle in the job it actually does. Split squats, step-ups, single-leg deadlifts and single-leg presses all require the pelvis to stay level under load.

It matters for how the knee tracks. When the hip abductors are not holding the femur's position under load, the knee tends to drift inward during a squat or a landing — which is a mechanical description of a common pattern, not a diagnosis or a prescription.

It responds well to higher repetitions and short rests, being a muscle built for near-continuous low-level work rather than for maximal efforts.

Anatomy

Origin
  • Outer surface of the ilium, between the anterior and posterior gluteal lines
Insertion
  • Lateral surface of the greater trochanter of the femur
Actions
  • Abducts the thigh, drawing it out to the side
  • Holds the pelvis level while standing on one leg
  • Internally rotates the thigh through its anterior fibres
  • Externally rotates the thigh through its posterior fibres
Innervation
Superior gluteal nerve (L4–S1)

Exercises

Antagonists

Synergists