Maximus Gage
Jogging is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health, build muscle, and boost your mood. It is a whole-body workout that engages all of your major muscle groups, including your core, hips, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. The degree of muscle engagement depends on your speed and terrain, with sprinting and uphill running demanding more from your muscles. Understanding which muscles are used during jogging can help you improve your form, technique, and performance while also reducing the risk of injury.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of exercise | Cardio |
| Muscle groups | Core, lower body, upper body |
| Core muscles | Abdominals, hip flexors, glutes, quadriceps |
| Lower body muscles | Calves, hamstrings |
| Upper body muscles | Biceps, triceps, deltoids, rotator cuff muscles, chest, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids |
| Terrain | Uphill, downhill, flat |
| Pace | Slow, fast |
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What You'll Learn
Hip flexors, calves, and glutes
Jogging is a whole-body workout, but it primarily works your core and lower-body muscles. Among these are the hip flexors, calves, and glutes.
Hip flexors
Your hip flexors are located at the front of your hips, right above your thighs. They connect your thighbone to your low back, hips, and groin. These muscles help with pelvic and spinal stabilization. When jogging, you use your hip flexors when you flex your knee and leg up toward your body, as well as when you move your legs forward.
Calves
Your calves are located on the back of your lower leg. They are responsible for reducing the shock of impact as you land, helping with balance, and ankle mobility. Each time you push off and raise your leg to propel yourself forward, you use your calves. They are also involved in extending and flexing your foot each time your foot strikes and pushes off the ground.
Glutes
Your gluteal muscles are located in your buttocks and play a vital role in jogging. They propel you forward and help you run faster. The glutes also help maintain stability in your torso so you can maintain proper posture. As the main muscles responsible for hip extension, they also help stabilize and strengthen your hips, ensuring alignment in your spine, knees, and feet.
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Quadriceps and hamstrings
Hamstrings, on the other hand, are located on the back of the thigh between the hips and knees. They are responsible for hip extension and knee flexion, and they help with thigh extension as the upper leg moves backward. Hamstrings are crucial in pushing off the ground with each step and maintaining a bend in the knee to prevent hyperextension.
Both muscle groups are essential for maintaining proper form, stability, and spinal alignment during jogging or running. Keeping these muscles strong and flexible helps prevent injuries and ensures maximum efficiency in your jogging or running form.
It is common for individuals to have weaker hamstrings in comparison to quadriceps, which can lead to imbalances in the hips, knees, and overall stride. This imbalance can cause tightness in the hamstrings, which may lead to further issues such as knee pain. Therefore, it is important to focus on strengthening both the quadriceps and hamstrings through specific exercises and stretching routines to ensure optimal performance and reduce the risk of injury.
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Core and torso
Jogging is a great way to strengthen your core and torso. The core, located in the torso and pelvis, is essential for maintaining proper posture, balance, and form while jogging. It connects your upper body to your lower body and helps to stabilise your spine, pelvis, and lower back. Strong abdominal muscles are key to keeping your body upright and reducing the impact on your back.
The intrinsic core muscles, including the transversus abdominis and internal oblique, are responsible for spinal and pelvic stabilization, which is critical while jogging. The rectus abdominis, obliques, and external oblique are also important for providing stability and transmitting force throughout the body.
To strengthen the core, exercises such as dynamic balancing drills with resistance bands, dead bugs, step-ups, hip thrusts, and side planks are recommended. It is important to focus on the delicate muscles of the deep core to ensure they are not overpowered by exterior muscles.
The torso and arms also play a role in jogging. Arm movements counterbalance the angular momentum of the legs, reducing torso rotations. This helps to stabilise the body and improve running dynamics.
Additionally, the gluteal muscles in the buttocks help to maintain stability in the torso and posture. They also assist in hip extension, stabilisation, and strengthening the hips, which aids in the alignment of the spine, knees, and feet.
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Upper body and arms
While jogging primarily engages the lower body, the upper body is also involved. The arms naturally swing while jogging, which helps with balance and building momentum. These arm movements are powered by the latissimus dorsi (the large, fan-shaped muscles in the back) and the shoulders. The back and shoulders also help to maintain an upright posture, which can enhance running efficiency.
The abdominal muscles are another important group of upper body muscles used in jogging. They stabilize the pelvis and spine, allowing the legs to move more efficiently. They also help to control rotation, preventing wasted energy from twisting back and forth. The abdominals engage further during the stance phase when weight is shifted onto one leg, creating stability so that the body does not fall to the side.
The biceps are also engaged during jogging, as the elbow is bent at a 90-degree angle, bringing the bicep muscles into play. Additionally, the triceps are involved in aiding arm swing and maintaining good posture.
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Foot and ankle
Jogging is a whole-body workout, but it primarily engages the core and lower body muscles. The foot and ankle play a crucial role in jogging, as they work together to propel you forward and absorb the impact of each stride.
The ankle joint and foot enable impact-absorbing pronation, which is when the foot rolls inward. This movement involves the tibialis posterior, a stabilising muscle in the lower leg that wraps behind the ankle bone and supports the arch of the foot. If the tibialis posterior tendon is inflamed, this area may feel tender or achy before becoming painful. Left untreated, it can lead to fallen arches.
The ankle also undergoes dorsiflexion, where the toes move closer to the shin, acting as a shock-absorbing mechanism. This movement is followed by plantar flexion, where the toes move away from the body, propelling you forward and upward. The ankle muscles work in tandem with the stabilising muscles and the elastic recoil of the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel bone.
The calf muscles, including the gastrocnemius and soleus, are responsible for extending and flexing the foot downward at the ankle. They play a crucial role in the push-off phase of running, especially when running uphill or downhill, as they help absorb the shock of impact and aid in balance and ankle mobility.
To prevent ankle injuries and improve ankle flexibility, it is essential to strengthen the muscles around the ankle. This can be achieved through exercises such as ankle circles and resistance band exercises targeting plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion.
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Frequently asked questions
Jogging is a whole-body workout, but you primarily use your core and lower-body muscles. These include the muscles in your abdomen, hips, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.
During the stance phase, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus stabilize the hips and pelvis. The abdominal muscles are also engaged during this phase, creating stability so that you don't fall to one side when lifting one leg.
Running uphill or downhill requires a slightly different form and engages different muscles. When running uphill, focus on using your hip muscles and hip flexors to propel yourself forward. Running downhill is easier on the cardiac muscles, but the hip, leg, and ankle muscles must work harder, especially the hip extensors, quads, and knees.
