Hip Adduction
An isolation exercise for the inner thighs: you squeeze your legs together against the pads of a machine, or pull one leg across your body with a low cable.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Adductors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Adductors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
Hip adduction trains the adductors directly, while squats and lunges only use them as helpers. The machine is the simple pick: you sit, both legs work at once, and the load is easy to track. The cable works one leg at a time standing up, so it takes some balance but lets you control the range on each side. Unlike a bodyweight hold, both versions let you add load in small steps and move through a full range.
How to do it (Machine)
Sit with your back against the pad and set the leg pads so your knees start apart at a range that feels like a stretch, not a strain.
Press your legs together against the pads.
Hold the closed position for a moment.
Let your legs open slowly under control without letting the stack rest between reps.
Attach an ankle strap to a low pulley, stand side-on to the machine and strap it to the ankle closest to it.
Step away so the cable pulls your leg toward the machine and hold the frame for balance.
Pull the strapped leg across in front of the standing leg, squeezing your inner thigh.
Let it return slowly to the stretched position, then switch sides. Keep your torso still; only the leg swings.
Common mistakes
Setting the starting range too wide
Opening the pads further than your hips allow turns the stretch into a strain. Start at a range you can control and widen it gradually over the weeks.
Slamming your legs together
Throwing your legs closed with momentum skips the hard part of the rep. Press the pads together under control and hold briefly when they meet.
Letting the stack rest between reps
When the weights touch down in the open position, your adductors get a break every rep. Stop just short and start the next squeeze from there.
Swinging your torso on the cable
Leaning or twisting helps the leg across without your inner thigh. Hold the frame, keep your upper body still and let only the working leg move.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
