Adductors exercise
Hip Adduction (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
How to do it
How do you do the Hip Adduction?
- Sit tall with your back against the pad and feet on the footrests.
- Set the pads on the inside of your knees, legs comfortably wide.
- Hold the handles and squeeze your knees together.
- Pause, then let your legs open slowly to the start.
Cues
- Sit tall; only your legs move.
- Squeeze through the inside of your knees.
- Let the legs open slowly.
Common mistakes
- Setting the start so wide it strains the groin.
- Letting the weight pull your legs apart fast.
- Rocking forward to snap the pads together.
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 inside of the knees. Set the start lever so the legs begin wide, about 40° out each side, at a stretch that feels firm but not painful, with the weight stack lifted just off its rest.
The movement
Only the hips move. Squeeze the knees together against the pads in a smooth arc, both legs at the same speed, until the pads nearly meet. Pause briefly, then let the legs open slowly against the load back to the wide start. 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.
End position
Start: each thigh about 40° out from straight ahead. The wide start sits at the edge of normal active hip abduction (mean about 38° in [4]); the machine's start lever sets it, and it should not be forced wider.
Tempo
1.4 s in, 0.5 s pause with the pads nearly together, 1.9 s out, about 0.5 s at the wide start (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 | 40° out | 30–45° out | [1][4] |
| Each thigh at the end, from straight ahead | 6° out | 0–10° out | [1] |
| Left–right difference in thigh angle | 0° | ≤ 3° | |
| Pause at the end | 0.5 s | 0.5–1 s | [2] |
| Trunk rock over the rep | 0° | ≤ 3° | [2] |
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 Adduction 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
