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Exercises

Hip adduction machine: how to set it up, use it, and program it

Published October 19, 2026

The hip adduction machine trains your inner thighs. You sit with your legs spread and the pads against the inside of your knees, then squeeze your legs together against the weight. Set the start position to a stretch you can control, sit tall against the back pad, close your legs smoothly, and let them open slowly without letting the stack touch down between reps.

Your last hip adduction machine set

How to do the hip adduction machine

Squats and lunges work the adductors only partway. The machine loads them on their own through a long range, with nothing to balance, so you can push close to failure safely and add weight in small steps. It is the simplest way to give the inner thighs direct work at the end of a leg day.

Steps

  1. Set the range lever so the pads start wide enough to give your inner thighs a stretch you can hold without strain, and pick the weight on the stack.
  2. Sit with your back and hips pressed into the back pad, put your feet on the footrests and place the inside of your knees against the pads.
  3. Hold the side handles and brace your stomach lightly so your hips stay planted.
  4. Squeeze your knees together in a smooth arc until the pads meet or nearly meet, and hold the squeeze for a moment.
  5. Let your legs open slowly back to the starting stretch, stopping just before the plates touch, then start the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips glued to the seat
  • Squeeze, pause, open slowly
  • Stop the stack from resting

Common mistakes

  • Setting the start too wide: if your hips lift or your groin pinches at the bottom, bring the range lever in a notch and add depth over a few weeks.
  • Slamming the pads together: close at a steady speed and pause, so the adductors do the work rather than momentum.
  • Letting the legs fly open: control the return for about two seconds; that stretch is where most of the work happens.

Swap for: Band Hip Adduction, Copenhagen Plank, Sumo Squat

Muscles the hip adduction machine works

The hip adduction machine works the adductors on the inside of your thigh: the adductor magnus, longus and brevis, plus the gracilis and pectineus. The adductor magnus is a large muscle that also helps extend the hip, which is why it gets worked hard in deep squats too. The machine does not train the outer glutes; that is the abduction machine's job.

Sets, reps and reps in reserve for the hip adduction machine

GoalSets × repsRIRRest
Build muscle 2–4 × 10–15 1–2 60–90 s
Put it after your squats or lunges, when the compound work is done.
Strength and groin resilience 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Use a slow return and a one-second pause at the widest point you control.
First weeks on the machine 2 × 15–20 3 60 s
Start with a modest stretch and widen the range a notch every week or two.

Hip adduction machine variations

  • Multi-Hip Adduction start position

    Multi-Hip Adduction

    Stand on a multi-hip machine and sweep one leg across your body when you want to train each side alone with the hip straight.

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  • Band Hip Adduction start position

    Band Hip Adduction

    Pull a band anchored at your side across your body when you have no machine or want light extra work at home.

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  • Copenhagen Plank start position

    Copenhagen Plank

    Hold a side plank with your top leg on a bench when you want hard adductor work with just your bodyweight.

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Hip adduction machine alternatives

Compound lifts that load the inner thigh

  • Sumo Squat start position

    Sumo Squat

    Take a wide stance with a dumbbell or kettlebell when you want inner thighs, quads and glutes in one lift.

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  • Cossack Squat start position

    Cossack Squat

    Shift side to side into a deep lateral squat when you want adductor strength through a long stretch.

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Side-to-side lunges

  • Dumbbell Lateral Lunge start position

    Dumbbell Lateral Lunge

    Step out to the side holding dumbbells when you want single-leg work that stretches the trailing inner thigh.

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The opposite machine

  • Hip Abduction Machine start position

    Hip Abduction Machine

    Turn the pads to the outside of your knees and push out when you want to train the outer hips and upper glutes.

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Hip adduction vs hip abduction

Adduction brings your legs toward the middle of your body; abduction moves them away from it. On the adduction machine the pads sit inside your knees and you squeeze in, which trains the inner thighs. On the abduction machine the pads sit outside your knees and you push out, which trains the gluteus medius and minimus at the side of the hips.

Many gyms have one combination machine that does both: you flip the pads and change the range setting. Doing both in the same session is fine; they work different muscles and do not compete.

Will the adductor machine slim or grow your thighs?

No exercise removes fat from one spot, so the machine will not slim your inner thighs on its own; overall body fat decides that. What it does is build the adductor muscles. Over months that adds a little firm size on the inside of the upper thigh, which mostly shows as a fuller, more shaped leg rather than a noticeably bigger one.

It does not grow the glutes directly either. Strong adductors help you squat deeper and stay stable in lunges, which lets the glute lifts work better, but for glute size you still need hip thrusts, squats and lunges.

How often should you use it?

Two sessions a week with 2–4 hard sets each is plenty for most people. The adductors recover like any other muscle, so using the machine every day mostly adds soreness without extra progress. If your inner thighs are still sore at your next leg day, cut a set.

Questions

What is the hip adduction machine good for?

It builds the inner-thigh muscles directly, which helps you squat and lunge deeper with your knees tracking well, and gives the groin some extra strength for sports with lots of cutting and side steps.

Do hip adductions grow glutes?

Not directly. The adductors sit on the inside of the thigh. Pair the machine with hip thrusts, squats or the abduction machine if glutes are your goal.

Does the hip adduction machine make thighs slimmer?

It cannot burn fat off the inner thigh specifically. It builds muscle there; losing fat overall is what makes the thighs slimmer.

Do hip adductors make your legs look bigger?

Trained adductors add some shape to the inner thigh, but the change is gradual and modest. Most of how big your legs look comes from the quads, glutes and body fat.

How much weight should you use on the adductor machine?

Pick a weight you can squeeze for 10–15 controlled reps while stopping 1–2 reps short of failure. Add weight once you hit the top of the range on every set.

What happens if you train adductors every day?

Daily sets usually leave the inner thighs sore and tired without faster progress. Two or three sessions a week leaves room to recover and add weight.