Stop Ignoring Your Inner Thighs

Coach Dave
12 minutes ago
3 min read

When athletes think about performance, they usually picture powerful glutes, explosive quads, or a rock-solid core. But there’s one muscle group sitting quietly on the inside of your thighs that plays a far bigger role than most realise — the adductors.

These muscles don’t get much attention because they don’t “show up” in the mirror, and you rarely feel them burn like your quads after a hard session. Yet, they influence almost every major movement pattern in both running and swimming. Ignore them, and you’re building strength on a shaky foundation.

Understanding the Adductors

The adductors aren’t a single muscle but a group of five — the adductor longus, brevis, magnus, pectineus, and gracilis — that run down the inner thigh. While their main function is to pull the leg toward the body’s midline (“adduction”), they actually do far more.

Depending on the joint angle and phase of movement, the adductors can act as:

Hip extensors (helping drive the leg back behind you)
Hip flexors (helping lift the leg forward)
Internal or external rotators of the hip
Dynamic stabilisers that prevent excessive movement of the pelvis and femur

That versatility means they’re involved in almost every stride, kick, or change in direction — whether you realise it or not.

What the Adductors Do for Runners

Running might look like a linear, forward-only movement, but the body’s ability to stay stable in that plane depends on side-to-side control — and that’s where the adductors shine.

Every time your foot hits the ground, the adductors:

Control pelvic tilt and rotation, keeping your hips level through stance.
Stabilise the femur, preventing the knee from collapsing inward (which protects against ITB and knee pain).
Assist in hip extension, particularly the adductor magnus, which fires alongside the glutes and hamstrings to drive the leg backward.
Help reposition the leg during swing, coordinating with the hip flexors to prepare for the next step.

When they’re weak, other muscles overcompensate — often the TFL, glute med, or quads — creating imbalances that lead to overuse injuries. Common outcomes include groin tightness, medial knee pain, hamstring issues, or lower back discomfort.

A strong adductor system gives runners better stride stability, more efficient force transfer, and greater resilience at higher speeds or longer distances.

What the Adductors Do for Swimmers

In the water, the adductors play a slightly different but equally important role. While the environment is low-impact, it’s highly unstable, and maintaining alignment is everything.

Streamline control: During freestyle and backstroke, the adductors help keep the legs close together, reducing drag. Even slight separation of the legs increases resistance and wastes energy.
Propulsion in breaststroke: The adductors are primary movers during the inward “squeeze” of the kick. Weakness here limits power output and can lead to knee pain due to poor tracking.
Core and hip connection: Along with the deep core muscles, the adductors help link the upper and lower body, stabilising the pelvis through rotation and undulation.
Kick alignment: In flutter and dolphin kicks, the adductors work eccentrically to control outward movement and concentrically to bring the legs back to centre — contributing to both speed and efficiency.

Swimmers who undertrain their adductors often “scissor” their legs, over-rotate their hips, or lose tension through the core — all small leaks that cost speed and increase fatigue.

Why They’re So Often Neglected

They’re hidden. You can’t see them as easily, so they don’t get prioritised.
They don’t feel glamorous. Exercises that train them rarely look or feel “athletic” — until you understand their value.
Training is often one-dimensional. Most programs focus on forward-and-back movements, with very little lateral or rotational loading.

The result? Weak or underactive adductors that limit your performance and increase your injury risk.

How to Strengthen Them

You don’t need fancy machines. A few targeted, functional movements go a long way:

Copenhagen Plank: The gold standard for adductor strength and hip stability. Start with a bent-knee variation before progressing to full-leg.
Sliding Adduction Lunge: Use a towel or slider under one foot; slide it out as you lower into a side lunge, then pull it back in using your inner thigh.
Lateral Sled Pulls or Band Walks: Great for building eccentric strength and hip control under load.
Adductor Bridge or Ball Squeeze: Simple activation drills that improve connection before running or swimming sessions.

Aim to include adductor work 2–3 times a week — even short, focused sets will build noticeable strength and control over time.

The End Result

When the adductors are strong and well-integrated, the whole kinetic chain benefits:

More efficient stride mechanics and reduced ground contact time.
Better pelvic alignment and core stability in both land and water.
Greater power output from hip extension and leg drive.
Lower risk of groin, hip, or knee injuries.

For runners, that means smoother, more stable movement and better endurance. For swimmers, it means a tighter streamline, more powerful kicks, and less wasted energy.

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