Leg workouts - you either love them or hate it, but when we do get round to doing one, many of us are guilty of forgetting to do exercises that target the inner thigh area. If that’s you, then this quick workout will sort you out — all you’re going to need is a pair of dumbbells and 15 minutes spare.
Although the inner thighs (which are known as your adductor muscles) may not seem like a big deal when we compare it to the likes of our quads, hamstrings and calves, they really are. According to Cleveland Clinic, training your adductor muscles to ensure they’re strong is key to help us stay balanced, keep the hips and legs in alignment and allow rotation through the hips and legs. Plus, they give a nice shape to your legs too.
You’ll have seven exercises to get through in this workout and all the moves are relatively straight forward/probably ones you’ve heard of before. A lot of these exercises will also work the other muscles in your legs and glutes, so that you can strengthen your entire lower body at the same time. You’ll be aiming for 10 to 12 reps of each exercise and trying to complete the whole workout at least three or four times. Here’s what you’re going to do:
- Sumo squat with weight pick up
- Alternating sumo squat
- Lateral squat
- Triple pulse sumo squat
- Alternating heel lift
- Weighted front attitude (lift your leg in front of you at a 90-degree angle with the supporting leg’s foot turned out to the side)
- Step out sumo squat with heel drags
Opt for a light to medium dumbbell, as you're doing quite a few reps, therefore you want a weight that you can keep pushing with, rather than getting tired after the first six. Make sure each exercise is slow and controlled, so that you can really fire up those adductor muscles and get them working. If you rush, you'll most probably not even feel anything and if this is a muscle you've neglected for a long time, then mind-muscle connection will be key here. Don't own dumbbells? No worries! Just fill up two large water bottles instead. Alternatively, we have this bodyweight workout that will build muscle in your thighs, which also only takes 15 minutes, or if you hate squats (and lunges for that matter) strengthen your legs with this five-move workout instead.
