Research Evaluation: Glute Max

Being evidence based is actually quite hard. The evidence is not always clear, and I would say more people look at data and make poor interpretations than actually take that data, put it into context and understand what value there really is to it.

The glutes are a great example for this, because if you didn’t know any better you’d think the abundance of data we have covers how you should train for glutes, when in reality there is almost no research done directly on the largest portion of the glute max.

This likely explains why there is such a large difference between the views of many people using in the field observations and results, or a biomechanics lens, versus someone that would choose exercises in what they mistakenly think is a more evidence based manner.

In the past I’ve spoken quite bluntly about how ridiculous I think it is that so many people would reference studies that aren’t actually measuring the muscles they are talking about. I’ve went as far to call it fraudulent, because in a way it is.

I love research, I invested in a lab myself, but I can’t put into words how important it is to understand this data in proper context before you go about making claims or training decisions based on it.