Squats and lunges are known to work your quads and glutes, but in fact they are better exercises for your inner thighs than the adductor machine at your local gym. Furthermore, by altering the direction in which you point your toes for squats and the direction in which you lunge, you can tone your inner thigh muscles even more.
Muscles and Function
The adductor muscles -- adductor magnus, adductor longus and adductor brevis -- take up much of your inner thighs. If your legs are spread apart, the adductor muscles are the primary muscles you would engage to bring your legs back together or to bring one leg toward the midline of your body. Additionally, if your hip is bent and your thigh is in front of you, the adductor muscles assist your glutes and hamstrings in pulling your thigh back toward the midline.
Sumo Squats
Sumo squats may be done under a barbell or by holding one dumbbell in front of your pelvis. This exercise is performed with your feet much wider than your shoulders and your toes pointed out in a diagonal direction. Bend your hips and knees until both thighs are almost parallel to the floor, then contract your adductor muscles to raise your body back up. When you squat down, your legs open up and are further away from the midline of your body, compared to when you contract your adductors, drawing your legs closer to the midline. If you are holding one dumbbell, encircle the fingers of both hands around one end so the opposite end of the dumbbell is dangling beneath your pelvis. Place a barbell behind your neck and across your shoulders to do sumo squats, just as you would for basic squats.
Lateral Lunges
Lateral lunges are more difficult than lunging with your legs in front of you. This exercise is best done without any weights initially until you are comfortable with lunging in a lateral direction. Stand with your feet close together and your arms in a boxer's ready position. Step out to your right with your right leg as far as you can, lowering your body until your thigh is nearly parallel to the floor. Push through your right heel to stand back up using the inner thigh muscles of both legs. Contract your abdominal muscles to improve your balance as you step out to the side and return to the start position.
Considerations
Squats and lunges are more effective than machine-weight exercises at developing muscles in the leg, including your inner thigh muscles. If you have time to incorporate several leg exercises, begin with your basic barbell squats and walking dumbbell lunges because you can use heavier weights for these exercises. These effectively tone your inner thighs as well as your glutes, quads and the hip end of your hamstring muscles. Incorporate sumo squats and lateral lunges to more strongly engage your adductor muscles. When you have just a few minutes to work on your legs, do lateral lunges to focus on your inner thighs, working your other leg muscles a little bit as well.
References
- "Anatomy & Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau, Ph.D., and Kevin Patton, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Personal Trainer Manual"; American Council on Exercise; 1997
- "Equal But Not The Same, Considerations for Training Females"; C.H.E.K. Institute; 1997
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