Scientists from one of England’s top sporting universities brought Eddie Hall into the lab to try and figure out how one of the world’s strongest men is able to lift such heavy weights and as a result, they made a surprising discovery that may lead to game changing new training plans for athletes.
The study, recently published by the American Physiological society took a close look at Hall, who was a competitive swimmer, and 2017 World’s Strongest Man winner — to find out how his physique differed from the rest of the population in order to identify the muscles and mechanisms that the body most relies on for replicating such incredible lifts. Famously, Hall set a world record for deadlifting in 2016 by raising 1,192 pounds (500 kilograms). Scientists used an isometric mid-thigh pull with a barbell that was fixed into a static position to replicate the insane exertion that Hall displays in his deadlifts. “This is kind of as close as we could get, really, to asking him to do a maximum deadlift attempt,” explained Dr Thomas Balshaw, who is a Lecturer in Kinesiology, Strength, and Conditioning at Loughborough University.
Following the experimental lifts and MRI scans, the experts were not surprised to learn that Hall’s lower-body muscle mass was almost twice that of an untrained man. As expected for someone of Hall’s lifting ability, the big man’s quadriceps were also double that of the average man on the street, but they uncovered a surprising result:
“With Eddie, a strongman and deadlift champion, we expected the big muscles involved in extending the knee and hip would show the greatest development,” commented Jonathan Folland, who is Professor of Neuromuscular Performance at Loughborough University. “Whilst these muscles were certainly well developed, we were surprised that the greatest muscular development was of the long, thin ‘guy ropes’ muscles that stabilize the pelvis and thigh. This indicates that these stabilizing muscles may be more important for heavy lifting and carrying than we previously thought.”
The ‘Guy Ropes’ are of significance to weightlifters
The ‘guy ropes’ (sartorius, gracilis, and semitendinosus) are far less known than the quads or calf muscles, but appear to be essential for epic lifts. Here, Hall’s ‘guy rope’ muscles were found to be a whopping 140-202% larger than that of an untrained man. These muscles, running from the knee to the pelvis, appear to play a larger role in lifting than experts had previously thought, meaning that sports scientists and strength coaches will surely be taking a closer look at them form here on. The sartorius muscles are responsible for mobility, flexing at the hip and knee and are already of high interest to runners. The gracilis runs along the inner-thigh and helps to stabilize the pelvis. You can maintaining its flexibility by stretching.
Finally, the semitendinosus runs along the back of the thigh and helps to generate movements such as running, squatting, and jumping. You can strengthen these with Romanian Deadlifts, Leg Presses, and Leg Curls. For his part, Hall was excited to be part of the study. “It’s been very interesting to sort of learn how your muscles react and your tendons react to the forces I’ve been putting through my body,” said the strongman. Dr Balshaw concluded; “Overall, the results suggest how adaptable the muscular system is, with the greatest muscular development of the muscles that Eddie trains and uses the most. This suggests that we can all change and develop our muscular system to improve the function and performance of our muscles.”
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