“Easily Lifts 500kg” The World’s Strongest Man… ‘These Muscles’ Developed 3 Times

What muscle is the most developed of the world’s strongest man? Analysis of his muscles and tendons revealed that the long, thin leg muscles and tendons that had not been noticed until now were the most developed. This is the goose foot tendon (Pes anserinus) that stabilizes the pelvis and thighbone.

This is what the Guardian recently reported, based on a paper by researchers at Loughborough University in the UK published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

The research team analyzed the muscles and tendons of Eddie Hall (36), a British truck mechanic who won the 2017 world champion title at the Strongman World Championships. Hall is considered the strongest man of all time, having lifted 500 kg for the first time in the world at the 2016 Deadlift Championships, where a barbell placed on the floor is held with the arms straight up to hip height.

The research team reported that among the muscles and tendons of the man who had been consistently strength training for 15 years, the goose heel tendon, which runs from below the knee to the pelvis, was the most developed, reaching three times that of men who did not do strength training. The difference in mass of the goose heel tendon was the greatest compared to that of ordinary men.

The goose ankle tendon is also called the “guy rope muscle” because it acts like a rope that keeps a tent from blowing away in strong winds. The sartorius, gracilis, and semitendinosus muscles combine above the shin bone to form a single tendon, and its shape resembles a goose’s webbed feet, hence the name goose ankle tendon.

The researchers said Hall’s development of the goose-toe tendon likely helped him set a new deadlift world record. Hall bench-pressed 300 kg and also set a world record in the axle press, lifting a barbell from the floor to overhead, at 216 kg.

In addition, Hall’s quadriceps femoris was more than twice as large as in untrained men. It was 18 percent larger than the largest elite runner the researchers measured. Hall’s hamstrings were also twice as large as in untrained men, and his biceps femoris, the large muscle at the back of his thigh, was two to three times larger. However, other muscles and tendons, such as the patellar tendon and hip flexors in the knee, showed no significant differences.

“The goose heel tendon has received little scientific attention, so we didn’t know how important it is for a wide range of tasks,” said study lead author Jonathan Poland, professor of neuromuscular function at Loughborough University. “We found that people who have been lifting and carrying heavy loads for decades and are very good at it have a very well-developed goose heel tendon,” he said. “It suggests that this set of leg muscles and tendons may be more important than we thought.”

The study’s lead author, Dr Thomas Balshaw, a kinesiology professor at Loughborough University, said hip rotation and knee flexion exercises could be helpful for strengthening the goose heel independently of squats and other common exercises.

The paper can be found at the following link (