5 Hip Adduction Exercises That Strengthen Your Inner Thighs and Boost Mobility

When we think about building strong legs, it’s easy to focus on the obvious moves squats, lunges, and deadlifts. But your hip adductors, the muscles on your inner thighs, deserve just as much attention. Strong and flexible adductors not only enhance lower-body strength but also improve balance, stability, and overall athletic performance.

Your hip adductors consist of five key muscles the adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, gracilis, and pectineus. Together, they stabilize your pelvis, help move your leg toward your body’s midline, and contribute to everyday movements like walking, running, and pivoting. According to physical therapist Schuyler Archambault, DPT, CSCS, weak or tight adductors can throw off your movement patterns and contribute to knee, hip, or back pain.

Why Hip Adductor Strength Matters

• Supports pelvic stability and balance

• Enhances lateral movement and agility

• Reduces risk of knee and hip injuries

• Promotes better posture and core engagement

• Improves performance in sports and everyday activities

However, balance is key your hip abductors (outer thighs and glutes) need to be just as strong to prevent issues like knees collapsing inward during movements.

How to Train Your Hip Adductors

Experts recommend starting with exercises that directly isolate the adductors. Archambault suggests incorporating one to two adductor-focused exercises into your workouts two to three times per week. Stacy Orsborn, CPT, advises warming up with lighter mobility drills and saving more challenging strengthening exercises for the middle of your session, followed by flexibility work during cooldown.

5 Hip Adduction Exercises to Strengthen and Mobilize Your Inner Thighs

1. Standing Adductor Ball Squeeze (Isometric)

   • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

   • Place a small exercise ball or foam roller between your thighs.

   • Squeeze firmly for 10–15 seconds, then release.

   • Complete 3 sets.

2. Side-Lying Leg Lift (Adductor Focused)

   • Lie on your right side, torso supported by your right elbow.

   • Bend your left leg, foot planted in front of the right thigh.

   • Engage your core and lift your right leg a few inches.

   • Lower with control and repeat.

   • Perform 3 sets of 10–15 reps per side.

3. Copenhagen Plank

   • Set up in a side plank on your right elbow with your left leg elevated on a box.

   • Lift your hips and bottom leg off the floor, engaging your core.

   • Hold for 15–30 seconds, then switch sides.

4. Sumo Squat

   • Stand wide with toes pointed slightly outward.

   • Lower into a squat, keeping knees aligned with toes and chest upright.

   • Pause, then press through feet to return to standing.

   • Complete 3 sets of 10–12 reps.

5. Cossack Squat

   • Begin standing with feet wide apart.

   • Shift weight to your right side, deeply bending the right knee while keeping the left leg extended.

   • Roll onto your left heel, toes pointing upward.

   • Push through your right foot to return to standing.

   • Alternate sides for 3 sets of 10–12 reps.

The Bottom Line

Building stronger, more flexible hip adductors can improve how you move, reduce injury risk, and help you feel stronger both in and out of the gym. Integrating just a few targeted exercises into your weekly routine can make a major difference in how you move, lift, and live.

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