Sprinting vs squats claim

The viral “sprinting builds glutes better than squats” line skips the main point in the research: sprinting and squats both train the gluteus maximus, but the strongest hypertrophy evidence is for resistance training, not head-to-head sprinting trials. (frontiersin.org) The gluteus maximus is the body’s largest hip extensor, and it works when you drive your leg back in a sprint or stand up out of a squat. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found a moderate overall effect of resistance training on gluteus maximus hypertrophy across 11 studies, with back squats, hip thrusts, leg press, kneeling hip extensions, and combined programs all increasing size. (frontiersin.org) Sprinting clearly recruits the glutes at high levels. A 2025 meta-analysis of 12 sprint studies found gluteus maximus activation rose with sprint speed, and the muscle was most active in early stance, when the foot hits and the body has to produce force fast. (mdpi.com) That is not the same as proving sprinting builds more muscle than squats. The available evidence in this debate is mostly two different kinds of research — sprint biomechanics on one side and resistance-training hypertrophy studies on the other — rather than randomized trials comparing sprint programs against squat programs for glute growth. (mdpi.com) (frontiersin.org) Exercise scientists also separate “muscle activation” from “muscle growth.” A 2020 systematic review of 16 electromyography studies found very high gluteus maximus activation in step-ups, deadlifts, hip thrusts, lunges, and squats, but that review described activation levels, not long-term hypertrophy outcomes. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) That distinction matters because social posts often point to sprinters’ physiques and marathoners’ physiques as if body type alone proves causation. Elite sprinters and endurance runners differ in event demands, training volume, body mass, genetics, and selection effects, so their appearance is not a controlled experiment on one exercise. (mdpi.com) (frontiersin.org) There is evidence that strength work helps sprinting, which cuts against the idea that the two methods are rivals. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis covering 510 subjects found a very large correlation between gains in lower-body strength, measured with the back squat, and improvements in sprint performance, with mean sprint improvement of 3.11% after resistance training. (springer.com) Newer lab work points the same way on specificity. A 2024 study of 24 participants found two acceleration-specific drills produced peak gluteus maximus activity similar to hip thrusts and higher than split squats, suggesting sprint-pattern drills may be useful additions, not proof that traditional lifts are obsolete. (springer.com) Strength coaches generally program both. The National Strength and Conditioning Association says staple glute work includes compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, hip thrusts, and glute bridges, while also noting that stronger glutes support sprinting, jumping, cutting, and rotation. (nsca.com) The cleanest reading of the evidence is narrower than the viral clip: sprinting is a real glute exercise, squats are a real glute exercise, and the claim that sprinting builds glutes “better” than squats has not been settled by direct comparative trials. (frontiersin.org) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)