Hip Adduction Machine

The hip adduction machine is a seated strength machine that targets your inner thigh muscles - the hip adductors - with some help from your glutes. You push padded levers inward against resistance, making it a simple isolation exercise for beginners.

Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and your hips settled into the seat. Place your legs inside the padded levers so the pads rest against the inner sides of your knees or lower thighs. Adjust the starting width so you feel a comfortable stretch in your inner thighs, but not strain.

Begin by squeezing your knees together and pressing the pads inward until they meet or come close. Hold the squeeze briefly. Then reverse the motion slowly, controlling the return until you feel a light stretch again. Repeat for the set.

Brace your core gently and sit tall throughout the set; avoid rounding your lower back. Exhale as you squeeze the pads together and inhale as they return. To make it easier, start from a narrower position and use a smaller range of motion. To make it harder, start from a slightly wider position within that comfortable stretch or slow down the return phase.

Fault: Slouching or rounding the lower back during the set. Fix: Sit tall, avoid rounding, and keep your back against the pad with a neutral spine.

Fault: Letting the pads snap apart on the way back. Fix: Control the return so the pads move smoothly and tension stays on your inner thighs.

Fault: Setting the start width too wide and feeling a sharp pull. Fix: Set the start width to a comfortable stretch, then increase range only as your mobility allows.

Fault: Bouncing or using momentum to bring the pads together. Fix: Squeeze your knees together deliberately, pause briefly at the close, and keep the motion controlled in both directions.