Is your goal to define your glutes and legs? If you want to show off your firm and well-contoured legs, also ensuring that your limbs are in top shape and are your best support in any physical activity you undertake, discover the importance of abductors and adductors when training, below
What is the function of the abductors and adductors?
They are two complementary and antagonistic muscle groups about which there is some confusion due to the similarity in their names. The hip abductors are located on the outer side of the thigh and are mainly the buttocks (major, middle and minor) and the pyramidal muscle, while the adductors are those that are located on the inside, among others: adductor Magnus, medium and short and also the pectineus muscle.
Both groups intervene directly in the movement of the legs, hence it is essential to train abductors and adductors to always maintain good posture and the necessary body balance. The abductors help spread the legs. They pull on our thighs, for example, when doing a side raise. The adductors, on the other hand, do just the opposite, that is, they allow us to bring our legs together or cross them at a given moment. The perfect combination and coordination between both groups is essential. From staying on our feet, to performing a running test with all the guarantees, it depends, in part, on them.
Why is it important to work abductors and adductors?
When we think about working the muscles of the lower body, quadriceps, hamstrings or calves take center stage and focus all our attention, but we should not forget that there are other groups, just as important, especially if your goal is to gain strength and power in the legs. By training the abductors and adductors you will achieve:
Greater stability and range of motion in the lower extremities
By working the abduction (outward) and adduction (inward) movements, you will make these muscle groups your best allies when it comes to achieving greater stability for your entire body. Firm and well-developed abductors and adductors help stabilize the pelvis, even influencing good posture of the spine. In addition, they are essential to perform movements such as external rotations (of the legs, hips or knees) with greater amplitude and with greater safety when it comes to preventing injuries.
Flaccidity under control
The inner thighs are one of the areas with the greatest tendency to flaccidity. In this sense, the specific exercises to train abductors and adductors, – especially those focused on the adductors -, are a guarantee of strong, toned legs and without a hint of unsightly sagging.
Better results in general leg training
Absolutely all the muscles of the lower extremities are involved in making our locomotors system work perfectly. The connection between muscles, ligaments and joints is total, therefore, including exercises for abductors and adductors in the training will result in greater performance of the major muscles considered more “important”, such as the quadriceps, optimizing the results of each session. Both aerobic and strength training.
More power and flexibility
It is one of the great benefits of training your abductors and adductors. Elevations, rotations, stretches, resistance contractions are specific exercises that contribute to its development and that, in just a few months of training, will show visible results. More power, for example, in each stride when running or greater flexibility when going down and up doing a squat. these are just two situations that show that working the abductor and adductor muscles always improves results.
Whether you practice fitness in the gym, or if your goal is to improve in any other sports activity that requires a good development of the muscles of the lower body: cycling, running, football, athletics. Remember that it is important not to leave abductors and adductors outside of your workouts.
