The glutes are the most powerful muscle group in the body. For anyone training the squat and deadlift seriously, understanding how they work is not optional. Weak or underactivated glutes are behind more stalled lower body lifts than almost any other single factor.
Anatomy and Location
The gluteal group is made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. They sit at the back of the pelvis and upper thigh, forming the mass of the posterior hip.
The gluteus maximus is the largest of the three and one of the largest muscles in the entire body. It forms the bulk of what you see when you look at the glutes. The medius sits above and lateral to the maximus. The minimus is the deepest of the three, sitting underneath the medius.
Origin and Insertion
Gluteus maximus: Originates from the posterior ilium, sacrum, coccyx, and sacrotuberous ligament. Inserts into the gluteal tuberosity of the femur and the iliotibial band. The broad insertion into both the femur and the IT band means it influences both hip extension and knee stability.
Gluteus medius: Originates from the outer surface of the ilium between the anterior and posterior gluteal lines. Inserts into the greater trochanter of the femur.
Gluteus minimus: Originates from the outer ilium between the anterior and inferior gluteal lines. Also inserts into the greater trochanter, anterior to the medius insertion.
Primary Functions
Gluteus maximus: The primary function is hip extension, which is the movement of driving the thigh back and the hips forward. This is the dominant action in the lockout of a deadlift and the drive out of the hole in a squat. It also assists with external rotation of the hip and contributes to hip abduction through the IT band.
Gluteus medius: Primary function is hip abduction, moving the leg away from the body's midline. It also plays a major role in pelvic stability during single-leg stance. When you walk, run, or stand on one leg, the medius on the stance side fires to prevent the opposite hip from dropping. In the squat, the medius keeps the knees tracking out over the toes and prevents valgus collapse.
Gluteus minimus: Assists the medius in abduction and internal rotation of the hip. It is the smallest and least loaded of the three under heavy training.
Why the Glutes Drive the Squat and Deadlift
The hip extension moment in both the squat and the deadlift is the primary force demand of the lift. When you drive out of the bottom of a squat or lock out a pull from the floor, you are producing hip extension. The gluteus maximus is the primary producer of that force.
When the glutes are weak relative to the quads or hamstrings, the body compensates. On the squat this shows up as good morning out of the hole, where the hips rise faster than the shoulders and the torso pitches forward. On the deadlift it shows up as a slow or grinding lockout, or an inability to fully extend the hips at the top without hyperextending the lower back.
The medius matters for knee tracking. If you see knees caving inward on the squat descent or out of the hole, that's a medius weakness or a motor control issue with the medius. Cuing knees out and direct medius work fixes this over time.
Training the Glutes Effectively
The gluteus maximus is most active at the end range of hip extension, which means hip thrusts and Romanian deadlifts train it more directly than squats do. Squats train the glutes but peak activation is not at full hip extension because the movement reverses before the glutes reach their shortest position. This is why lifters who only squat often have undertrained glutes relative to their overall lower body strength.
The medius responds well to banded abduction work, lateral band walks, and single-leg variations. These do not need to be heavy. Consistent volume and good activation quality matters more than load for the medius.
For a powerbuilding program, treat the glutes the way you treat any primary mover: progressive overload, sufficient volume, and enough frequency to drive adaptation without accumulating excessive fatigue in the hip flexors and lower back that share the load.
