Abductors exercise
Hip Abduction (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Hip Abduction?
- Sit tall with your back against the pad and feet on the footrests.
- Set the pads on the outside of your knees.
- Hold the handles and push your knees apart as far as is comfortable.
- Pause, then let your knees come back together slowly.
Cues
- Sit tall; only your legs move.
- Push out through your knees.
- Control the way back in.
Common mistakes
- Rocking your body to swing the weight.
- Letting the weight slam back down.
- Using such a short range that the knees barely move.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Seat top about 48 cm above the floor; the back pad is near upright, reclined about 10° from vertical. Sit tall with the hips back against the pad and the hands on the handles beside the seat. Knees bent about 90°, feet on the footrests, thighs level on the seat. The leg pads press on the outside of the knees, so the legs sit inside them. Start with the knees nearly together and the weight stack lifted just off its rest.
The movement
Only the hips move. Push the knees apart against the pads in a smooth arc, both legs at the same speed, until the thighs are about 38° out each side. Pause briefly, then let the knees come back together slowly against the load. The feet ride on the footrests with the legs, the knees stay at 90° and the hips stay on the seat. The trunk stays still and tall, with no rocking forward or back.
End position
Start: each thigh about 4° in from straight ahead (knees nearly touching). With the thighs level and the back 10° behind vertical, hip flexion is about 80°. The end range sits near the mean active hip abduction of healthy adults [3].
Tempo
1.4 s out, 0.5 s pause, 1.9 s in, about 0.5 s with the knees together (stack still off its rest).
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back pad recline from vertical | 10° | 0–20° (machine) | |
| Knee flexion, held | 90° | 80–100° | [1] |
| Each thigh at the start, from straight ahead | 4° in | 5° in to 5° out | [1] |
| Each thigh at the end, from straight ahead | 38° out | 30–45° out | [1][3] |
| Left–right difference in thigh angle | 0° | ≤ 3° | |
| Trunk rock over the rep | 0° | ≤ 3° | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Hip Abduction is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
