Glute training is all the rage, but don't forget about the other side of your hips. Your hip adductors are the missing piece in your core and leg training.
Sure, if your gym has an adductor machine – the one where you sit and bring your legs together – you could get on it and creepily stare at the person training right in front of you, but here's a better option:
Structural balance is important. When muscles that pull in one direction are stronger than muscles that pull in the opposite direction, you'll get all kinds of problems.
Just as it's important for your quads and hammies to be well balanced, it's important for the muscles on the outside and inside of your hips to be balanced.
The more you work your glutes doing all those booty band and cable exercises (ABDuction-focused), the more you need to be doing ADDuction-focused exercises like this.
Not worried about groin strains and hernias? Well, weak adductors can also hold back your glute gains. If the muscles supporting joints and producing movement in one direction are weak, your body won't want to be adding to that structural imbalance by getting you even stronger in the opposite direction.
It's inefficient and can lead to injury.
If you've been working hard on your "assets," great job. But start using one adduction (legs move together) exercise for every two abduction (legs spread apart) exercises. If that means six sets of the abductor machine followed by three sets of the adduction machine, then so be it. But this is better and more challenging!
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