A recent case study on a World’s Strongest Man–level deadlift record holder (Eddie Hall – the first man to ever deadlift 500kg!) suggests the answer isn’t just “bigger quads and glutes”. It may also come down to smaller “support” muscles that stabilise your hips and knees so you can produce force safely and efficiently.

The big idea: strength NEEDS stability

Most beginners focus on the muscles you can easily see in the mirror: thighs, glutes, and back, or on squats, deadlifts, or bench press, or exercises which are similar (i.e. a dumbbell bench press, or seated chest press machine, instead of a barbell bench press). Those exercise certainly matter—but research that looked into heavy deadlifts found that some lesser-known muscles in the legs were especially developed in Eddie Hall, who we know is an absolute beast when performing just about any heavy lift or carry.

What the research found as a key differentiator between Eddie Hall and others who lift, was the size and strength in what the researchers termed his “guy rope” muscles.

What are “guy rope” muscles?

In the study, the researchers highlighted three muscles that act like tension cables between the pelvis and the inside of the knee. They help control and stabilise your leg as you squat, hinge, lunge, and carry:

• Sartorius – the longest muscle in the human body, a thin, superficial muscle running from the outer hip down to the inner knee
• Gracilis – a long, slender, and superficial muscle in the medial thigh compartment, acting as a key hip adductor and knee flexor
• Semitendinosus – a long, superficial muscle in the posterior thigh, forming part of the hamstring group with the biceps femoris and semimembranosus

These muscles contribute to hip and knee stability, especially controlling rotation and keeping your pelvis and thigh “locked in”, which can make a big difference when the weights get heavy.

What the study found

The study concluded with 3 findings, 2 of which give us a good insight into what we should consider if we want to improve our strength:

1. The athlete’s overall leg muscle size was roughly double that of untrained men

This is hardly surprising given that pro athletes are stronger and/or faster than your average person training at the gym

2. Two areas stood out as “extra” developed compared with untrained men

• The “guy rope” muscles (inner-thigh/hamstring stabilisers)
• The plantar flexors (your calves/ankles—important for bracing and force transfer

Now this is interesting and of course, is the focus of this blog post. Those who are able to lift heavier weights, are far more developed in these muscles. That clearly shows that we should all be prioritising the training and development of these muscles much more, if we want to start lifting much heavier weights as part of our strength training. It’s not just about lifting heavier weights as improving these muscles will also give you more endurance too, meaning you’ll be able to maintain better stability for more reps – which is what you want if your training goals are not about lifting heavy.

3. Interestingly, the study also noted that tendon size didn’t increase as dramatically as muscle size

What this simply means is that tendons don’t grow at the same rate as muscle does, or to the same sizes or mass, which in turn means they don’t recover as fast either. So no matter how determined you are to get stronger, give your tendons adequate recovery term to avoid injury. This is why many athletes will often take a holiday from their training at their end of their programme for a week or two, to help allow for additional recovery.

How you can apply these findings to your own training (practical quickfire tips)

1) Keep the “big lifts”… but ensure they’re done with good positions and good form

Squats, deadlifts (or hip hinges), presses, rows, and carries should still be your foundation. But the goal as a beginner is to own strong positions:

• Feet grounded (tripod foot: big toe, little toe, heel)
• Knees tracking smoothly (not collapsing in)
• Pelvis and ribs stacked (brace before you lift)

2) Add 2–3 “stability builders” each week

You don’t need a full anatomy lesson to train the “guy ropes”. You train what they do: stabilise the hip and knee and control movement.

Good beginner-friendly choices:

• Split squats (bodyweight → dumbbells)
• Step-ups (low box, slow and controlled)
• Lateral lunges (gentle range at first)

Keep researching strengthening exercises for your adductors and abductors, as well as stability exercises for your hips, knees, and ankles – and of course if you want to receive training for improving these areas then book a free trial with us using the form below!

3) Don’t ignore hamstrings and inner thighs (adductors)

Most people are quad-dominant at the start. Balancing your training helps your knees and hips feel more stable.

• Hamstrings: hip hinge (Romanian deadlift), hamstring curls, glute bridge variations
• Inner thigh/adductors: adductor machine (if available), side-lying adductor raises, lateral lunges

4) Train your calves like they matter (because they do)

Calves/ankles help you stay rigid through the lower body—think of them as part of your “base of support”. Add:

• Standing calf raises (straight knee)
• Seated/bent-knee calf raises (targets more of the soleus)

and I highly recommend training calves for higher repetitions as well as training sets of heavier weights, as the calves are mostly an endurance type muscle (type 1, slow twitch) so they’ll respond well to high repetition stimulus.

5) Progress slowly (muscle adapts faster than tendons)

A simple rule: increase one thing at a time—either reps, sets, or load—and keep jumps small. If something feels sharp, pinchy, or “tendon-y” (front of knee, groin, Achilles), back off and rebuild with cleaner reps and lighter loads.

A simple 10-minute “support muscles” add-on (2x/week)

Add this to the end of a workout after your main lifts:

• A) Split Squat — 2 sets of 8 reps each side (slow down, steady up)
• B) Hamstring Curl (machine, band, or sliding towel curl) — 2 sets of 10–12 reps
• C) Lateral Lunge — 2 sets of 6–8 reps each side (controlled range)
• D) Calf Raises — 2 sets of 12–15 reps (full range, pause at the top)

Keep it easy-to-moderate at first. You should finish feeling like you trained… not like you survived.

Ready to get stronger (with a plan that fits you)?

If you’re training in (or near) St Albans and want help building strength safely—without wasting months guessing—StAPT can help!

Get in touch using the form below to book a 1-to-1 personal training session and we’ll map out a simple programme that builds your main lifts and the stabilisers that keep you progressing – now is always the best time to start your journey on becoming the person you want to be!

Sources and credits

Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash

Balshaw, T.G., Massey, G.J., Miller, R., McDermott, E.J., Maden-Wilkinson, T.M. and Folland, J.P. (2024) ‘Muscle and tendon morphology of a world strongman and deadlift champion’, Journal of Applied Physiology, 137(4), pp. 789–799. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00342.2024. Available at: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00342.2024

Armitage, S. (2025) ‘Scientists Studying Strongman Eddie Hall Discover “Guy Ropes” Are Essential For Strength And Big Lifts’, Sport Manual, 20 November. Available at: https://sportmanual.co.uk/2025/11/20/scientists-studying-strongman-eddie-hall-discover-guy-ropes-are-essential-for-strength-and-big-lifts/