Gluteus Minimus

legsMusculus gluteus minimus

The gluteus minimus is the smallest and deepest of the three glutes, lying directly under the gluteus medius. It does the same job — abducting the hip and stabilising the pelvis.

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

The gluteus minimus is a fan-shaped muscle immediately beneath the gluteus medius, arising from a lower band of the outer hip bone and attaching to the front of the same bony knob at the top of the femur. It is essentially a smaller, deeper version of the muscle above it.

It abducts the hip and helps keep the pelvis level on one leg, exactly as the medius does. Its more forward attachment gives it a stronger internal rotation component, so it turns the thigh inward more than the medius does.

The two share a nerve, share an insertion area and share their function completely. There is no movement that trains one and not the other, and no way to feel the difference between them.

It is the deepest of the three glutes and cannot be seen or palpated. Its contribution to the appearance of the hip is indirect — it adds to the volume beneath the medius rather than to any visible outline.

Training notes

Everything that trains the gluteus medius trains this: abduction work, band walks, and any single-leg loading that asks the pelvis to stay level.

Because its internal rotation component is stronger, abduction performed with the thigh turned slightly inward emphasises it a little. The effect is real and small, and not a reason to build a separate exercise around it.

Its practical significance is as part of the abductor mechanism rather than as a target in its own right.

Anatomy

Origin
  • Outer surface of the ilium, between the anterior and inferior gluteal lines
Insertion
  • Anterior surface of the greater trochanter of the femur
Actions
  • Abducts the thigh
  • Internally rotates the thigh
  • Helps hold the pelvis level while standing on one leg
Innervation
Superior gluteal nerve (L4–S1)

Exercises

Antagonists

Synergists