Which muscle extends the legs at the hips?

Which muscle extends the legs at the hips?

• A. Quadriceps
• B. Hamstrings
• C. Gluteals
• D. Abdominals

Answer: (C)

Extending the leg at the hip means moving the thigh backward away from the front of the body. The gluteal muscles, especially the gluteus maximus, are the main movers for this action, pulling the thigh back from a flexed hip as in standing up, climbing, or sprinting. The hamstrings can assist with hip extension, but they also flex the knee, so they’re not the primary hip extensor. The quadriceps mainly extend the knee, not the hip, and the abdominals don’t move the hip joint in this action. So, the primary muscle that extends the leg at the hip is the gluteal muscle group.

Extending the leg at the hip means moving the thigh backward away from the front of the body. The gluteal muscles, especially the gluteus maximus, are the main movers for this action, pulling the thigh back from a flexed hip as in standing up, climbing, or sprinting. The hamstrings can assist with hip extension, but they also flex the knee, so they’re not the primary hip extensor. The quadriceps mainly extend the knee, not the hip, and the abdominals don’t move the hip joint in this action. So, the primary muscle that extends the leg at the hip is the gluteal muscle group.