Study of former World’s Strongest Man shows ‘shoulder’ muscles are important for lifting weights

A team of sports and exercise specialists from the UK, Qatar and Ireland have discovered that a little-known group of long, thin muscles that run from the knee to the pelvis play a much more important role in lifting heavy objects than previously thought.

In their study, published in the Journal of Applied PhysiologyThe group assessed the physique of a very muscular man named Eddie Hall, who was once hailed as the strongest man on Earth.

As seen in the recent Summer Olympics, weightlifters work for years to build muscle. In this new study, the research team found that an often-overlooked group of muscles called the semitendinosus, sartorius, and gracilis, collectively known as the “tension cord,” grows during training more than the more well-known muscles of the legs, such as the hamstrings, glutes, and quads.

Previous research has shown that their primary purpose is to stabilize the pelvis at its connection to the thigh bone.

The researchers wanted to learn more about how the body responds to strength training programs like those followed by bodybuilders and powerlifters. To do so, they turned to Hall, who was crowned the World’s Strongest Man in 2017.

At the time of the examination he admitted that he was not as strong or as fit as when he won the title, but he was still much more developed than the average man.

To learn more about muscle development, the researchers measured all of Hall’s muscles, using a variety of techniques including tape measures and MRI scans.

They found that his “stay” was about three times larger than that of an average man, a bigger difference than any other muscle or muscle group in his body. The research team suggests that the “stay” must play a much more important role in heavy lifting than previously thought.

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