It’s time to throw the ego out the door

When you think of the muscles in your legs, what do you usually think of? Let me guess, the quads (the three vastus muscles), hamstrings, glutes, and calves – right? Well, there’s one muscle (or group of small ones) you’re missing that can make a, quite literally, massive difference in the size and muscularity of your legs: the adductors. Or as they’re commonly known: the inner thigh. Although there are multiple muscles in that area, I’ll just refer to them as the adductors from here on.

For some reason, it’s something many gym-goers often neglect — my former self included. They aren’t exactly “show” muscles, it’s kind of hard to flaunt them on Instagram — and they’re usually hidden under your shorts.

I mean, chances are, no one’s going to come up to you and compliment you on your adductors. Because we’re all in the gym strictly to impress others, aren’t we? Or is that just me, I don’t know.

Seriously though, look at some of the best legs to ever grace bodybuilding like Tom Platz, or even just normal people in the gym who you perceive to have “big” legs. Sure, most of them will have popping vastus medialis (teardrop) muscles that will look really cool, but that’s not what gives them their circumference. It’s the adductors and the hamstrings. They’re what will help fill the shorts out and give your legs that added “thickness” and 360-degree look.

If anyone else remembers the thigh-gap fad/phase of years past, the ductors are the solution. You aren’t going to get thick, tree-trunk legs without them.

So how can you build them? Well, like always, there are a plethora of ways. And as per usual, I’m not an expert. These are just opinions based on my near 10 years of experience in the gym.

The thing about the adductors is they can be well-targeted through pretty well most of the stereotypical quad-dominant movements like squats, hack squats, lunges, and the leg press (even deadlifts) depending on your stance, foot positioning, and other small variables. From my experience, typically (within reason) the wider the stance, the more the adductors are targeted. From what I’ve seen, sumo deadlifters usually have some pretty beefy inner thighs.

Personally, my preferred method for targeting them through compound exercises is using the leg press with my feet slightly wider than shoulder-width, driving my knees outward. That’s just how I’ve discovered works best for me. However, there’s really only one true way to isolate them — and you’re probably not going to like it.

It’s the no eye contact, leg spreader extraordinaire itself: the adductor machine. You know, the one you probably give other people the weird eye for using. Adduction meaning bringing the legs/knees/hips together, as opposed to abduction which refers to moving them apart.

Now, for some completely unknown reason, this machine tends to be avoided at all costs in the gym — especially by males. I wonder why? I’m utterly baffled. I get it, that was me. It’s not exactly an ego-boosting machine; you put yourself in a pretty vulnerable position. Legs spread and groin exposed for everyone to see? Not ideal.

But, here’s the thing: it can be a pretty bloody great muscle-building exercise. The key there is muscle-building — if your goal is to translate in gym performance to other athletic endeavours, then my opinion would change. And if you were to ask me about the abduction machine, well, don’t get me started.

However, my goal isn’t optimizing athletic performance — it’s building muscle. It’s creating a well-balanced and proportional physique. Sure, it may be a tad egotistical according to others from afar, but who cares. It’s what I’m passionate about (and slightly addicted to). And for my first five or so years in the gym, I pretty much ignored my adductors entirely — and it showed as you can see above. My legs were narrow. I was only focused on the show muscles: the vastus trio. Those were what I could show off in the mirror.

Do you have to use the adductor machine to grow your inner thighs? Of course not, but it can be beneficial even if you don’t use it as a main exercise in your leg routine — it has for me. I’ve had periods where I’ve used it for working sets to failure, and periods where I’ve used it simply as a warm-up exercise before squatting or leg pressing to get blood into the area, activate muscle fibres, and develop mind-muscle connection.

In both scenarios, I’ve found it incredibly beneficial for muscle growth and my groin mobility/range of motion has seemed to improve as well, although that may be correlation and not causation. The only issue? I had to throw my ego out the door.

My solution? Don’t wear tight pants or shorts and wear a long shirt to cover your downstairs region. Seriously though, you just have to not care (easier said than done). Close your eyes or just stare at the weight stack if you have to. It’s been worth it for me.

Just another thing for you to potentially contemplate and consider next time you decide not to skip leg day.

Be smart, be safe, and happy training!