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The
Thigh Adduction exercise is excellent not only
for tightening up the inner thighs, but also developing
a strong squat. In fact, the adductor muscles
are CRITICAL during the squat! So it doesn't matter
if your goal is tighter thighs or a stronger squat,
the adductor exercise should be on your list.
The
adductor
muscles (Adductor Magnus, Longus and Brevis, the
Gracilis and the Pectineus) are located on the
inner thighs and serve to bring the thighs together.
Most
often, you'll see this exercise done either in
a specialized seated machine (where you sit down
and spread your legs then squeeze them together
against resistance), on a rotational hip machine
(done on leg at a time, bring the thigh down against
resistance) or using a low pulley and an ankle
harness.
But
none of these exercises can compare to the focused
tension and dynamic stabilizing requirement placed
on the adductors by the Cable Cross-Over variation
of this exercise! This exercise will work the
adductors and tighten up your inner thighs like
no other.
How To Do Cable Adductions:
First,
set a Swiss ball directly in the middle of the
two pulleys of the cable cross-over machine. Attach
the single handles to the low pulleys on either
side and set a moderate weight on the stacks.
Grab
the handles one at a time then move to the center
and sit on the ball. Your feet should be fairly
close together but let your knees splay out wide.
Brace your forearms against the insides of your
knees - your hands (and the cables) will be forward
of your knees. Basically, you are going to be
doing an adduction (squeezing your thighs together)
while seated on the ball. You will be holding
the cables in your hand for resistance and pressing
inward against your forearms until they get squeezed
together.
The
ball allows you to shift body position dynamically,
even while doing the exercise, by rolling forward
or backward on it. This instability makes the
exercise much more functional than a machine adduction
while also allowing you to use enough weight to
build strength.
---
In
addition, because you're using your arms as the
equipment, you can also squeeze in with your chest
to help spot yourself during the movement in order
to get more reps. You can make this one extremely
tough!
Adductions are obviously ideal for tightening
up the inner thighs - so how do they improve your
squat?
Easy
- every time you squat down, your adductors contract
hard to stabilize the legs and hips. As you start
to squat up, the adductors must also contract
hard to not only maintain the stabilization of
the hips but also to contribute in moving the
body to the standing position. This demand is
even more pronounced the wider the stance you
take in the squat. The stronger your adductors,
the stronger you'll be out of the bottom of the
squat.
So
basically, if you want a big squat, do this exercise.
It's not just for tightening the inner thighs.
And don't be afraid of working up to using a heavy
weight, especially if you want to use this to
build up your squat.
This
exercise is also ideal for athletes in sports
that require a lot of lateral movement, e.g. hockey,
football, soccer, etc. It's very rare you find
an athlete directly working the adductors - quite
honestly, adductions are often considered a "toning"
exercise and are shunned by serious athletes.
Don't fall into that trap! You will find that
strengthening of the adductors can help prevent
groin injuries!
Abductions
(moving the legs outward against resistance) can
also be performed with this set-up - it must be
done one leg at a time. To do abduction, you would
grab the left cable with your left hand and place
the left forearm on the outside of your left knee.
The cable would cross over in front of your knees.
Keep your foot directly in front and move your
knee out wide to the side.
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