Often, we spend most of our days engaging our legs in forward and backward motions, to strengthen our leg muscles, but does this help us solve the how to build inner thigh muscle question. The inner upper part of our legs or groin area consists of five muscles known as adductors, which aid in maintaining balance and pulling the legs towards the centerline of your body.
They are responsible for stabilizing the outward rotation of the knee and play an essential role in hip extension and flexion as they are attached to your pelvis.
As such, every time you bend, walk, or turn, these muscles play a crucial role in maintaining your balance, stability, and moving safely.
However, these muscles are quite small, and most leg exercises that focus on the butt, quads, and hamstrings fail to focus on them.
If you are looking for how to build your inner thigh muscles, then this is the ideal post for you. We will take an in-depth look at some of the best and easiest ways to build your inner thigh muscles.
Tips for building your inner thigh muscle
Generally, bodybuilding leg workouts include exercises that mostly focus on the hamstrings and quadriceps muscles. These exercises neglect the inner thigh muscles, forgetting that these muscles consist of some of the largest leg muscles.
Inner thigh muscles have five muscles known as adductors. Contrary to popular belief that quadriceps are the largest leg muscles, hip adductors are larger as they consist of three types of muscles, including adductor brevis, adductor longs, and adductor magnus.
These three muscles work together to adduct your hips, which occurs by bringing your hips together towards your body’s centerline.
The adductor magnus is the largest of all the three muscles. It is further divided into two more parts; the posterior head and the anterior head. Once you lack mass in this muscle, it shows when you stand on stage as it will appear that you have a large gap between your thighs.
Inner thigh muscles exercise routines improve your flexibility, increase your leg muscles’ range of motions, ease muscle tension in your groin and legs, and increase blood circulation in your lower body.
These exercises also aid in boosting your athletic performance, improve your posture and balance, and prevent muscle tears, strains, and other injuries.
To help build your inner thigh muscles, it is crucial to incorporate these exercise routines within your daily workout to aid in toning this area.
Let us quickly delve into some helpful tips to get you started in targeting and toning your inner thigh muscles when you work out.
Dynamic and static stretching
A combination of dynamic and static stretching in your daily workout routine is most useful for building, stretching, and strengthening your inner thigh muscles.
Not only do these stretching exercises improve your flexibility and boost your athletic performance, but it also prevents your risk of injuries while working out.
Dynamic stretching refers to a type of targeted warm-up that occurs before you start exercising. These stretches copy the motion of your planned workout, ideal for preparing your body for exercise.
Some dynamic stretches include leg swings and crossover stretches. These stretches are excellent for increasing your blood flow and body temperature as it gets your body ready for working out while preventing the risk of muscle strain and tear.
On the other hand, static stretches are most helpful when done after a workout. These stretches involve holding certain positions in place for a specific period, without any further movement.
They allow your muscles to loosen up and relax while increasing the range of motions and your overall flexibility. They include butterfly stretches, lateral squats, and reclining angle bound pose. It is advisable to perform dynamic and static stretches together for a more effective workout.
Exercises for building your inner thigh muscles
When you are trying to develop your inner thigh muscles, you need to know which exercises are beneficial and will ensure that your inner thigh muscles grow stronger and tuned. Some of these exercises include:
Lateral lunges
Also referred to as side lunges, this exercise routine is an excellent exercise routine for muscle toning. It works to strengthen our glutes, hamstrings, and quads while also blasting the fat in your outer and inner thighs.
Performing this routine gives you a calorie burn by incorporating integrated movement by training your adductors and hitting your glutes as well.
To do this exercise, begin with your feet together. Proceed to take a large step to the side and lower your body into a lunge. Keep your hips behind as you lower your body, and avoid hinging your upper body too far forward.
Return to your starting position by pushing off with the same foot. Repeat this motion for eight to twelve times, and proceed to switch your legs.
Sumo squats
Performing squats is one of the best exercises for your body. Not only do they tone and strengthen your leg muscles, but they also give you more flexible joints to make you a better athlete.
To ensure that your squats hit the inner thigh muscles, stand with your legs wider than usual and your toes pointed outwards and do sumo or pilé squat. Bend your knees, and lower your behind down below your knee level, and avoid turning your toes in. As you come up, push your knees out and ensure your knees and toes are straight to prevent injury.
Remember to engage your abs, keep your chest open, and squat down to your knees while maintaining an upright position, especially in your lower body. Avoid bending forward while bending.
Do three sets, each of 15 to 20 squats, for maximum results. You may opt to add extra weight by adding a bar or dumbbell to engage your inner thigh muscles further. Hold a dumbbell in both hands and lift it to your chest as you squat to make a goblet squat.
Ball squeezes
Contracting or squeezing a ball aids in tuning both long and short adductor muscles. Find an exercise ball to put your legs on either side and place it between your ankles.
Squeeze it with your legs for ten seconds as hard as you can and then relax for two seconds when focusing on the long adductor muscles.
You may also opt to lie on your back while bending your knees and squeeze the ball with your knees to tune and build the long adductor muscles more. If the move is too easy, try raising the ball off the floor as you squeeze it.
You might also find a hip adductor machine in the gym to help you in building these muscles. These machines combine hip rotation and hip adduction, due to the provision of the angled position on the hip when you sit on it.
Simply, sit with your legs extended to the front of you and put them apart. Proceed to move your legs towards the centerline of your body against the resistance. It is best to start with low weights and slowly progress into heavier ones.
The good thing is, finding the equipment tool for this exercise is easy. This URBNFit exercise ball and workout guide is made of quality PVC, and is perfect for home, office and gym fitness. it allows you to perform your exercise effectively from anywhere. It also has a dual action inflation pump for travel.
More tips on how to gain inner thigh muscles
As discussed earlier, inner thigh muscles are an integral part of the overall lower body strength. It is definitely beneficial to dedicate some time and exercises in your daily workout routine to burn them out.
However, it is also crucial to note that inner thigh muscle workouts do not directly define them. The exercises strengthen the muscles, but your overall bone structure, body composition, and body fat determine their appearance.
Perform strength training and cardio workouts regularly, as well as follow a healthy nutrition plan to see overall changes in your body composition, including in the thigh area.
More so, long-term strength training exercises increase total muscle mass, burning more calories in your body at rest.
While working out your inner thigh muscles, avoid making sudden, bouncy, or jerky movements as they can injure or tear the muscles. It is also helpful if you start with a few stretches first before embarking on intense inner thigh workout routines. Move into more demanding routines as you gain more flexibility.
Feeling a little discomfort is normal, but if you feel a sharp or sudden pain while stretching, stop right away. Do not forget to breathe in, while doing exercise as it aids in relieving stress and tension in your body muscles. It also helps in ensuring that your stretch and work out longer.
Don’t know how to stretch? Here is a muscle stretching program that will help you Ramp up tension relief, achieve full muscle flexibility and boost your core strength within acceptable time.
Conclusion
Your inner thigh muscles play a vital role in maintaining stability in your hips, knees, core, and lower back. As such, you should ensure that you work them out for optimum health and flexibility while preventing stiffness and injury.
The best way to keep these muscles toned and relaxed is by doing some dynamic stretches in your warm-up routine and some static stretches in your cool-down routine. Remember to contact your doctor if you feel any sudden and intense pain while building your inner thigh muscles.
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