Your abductors are the muscles that run along the outside of your thighs and move the leg away from the body. A torn muscle can be painful, however, it doesn't mean that you need to give up activity all together. There are still many exercises you can do to keep fit. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of exercise a day, most days of the week. Please consult a physician before beginning any diet or fitness program, especially if you have an injury or health condition.
Upper Body Resistance Training
Upper body weight training can help tone and develop strength in your upper body and arms. You can work the muscles in your chest by doing pushups and chest flys. You can do back exercises such as rows and rowing. You can work out your shoulders by doing lateral or front raises. You can work your arms even more by doing biceps and triceps exercises.
Core Exercises
Situps and other crunches help you tone your abs and other core muscles. You can do planks, side planks, bicycle crunches or use the ab machines at your gym. Keeping a strong core may even help to prevent future injuries by helping you become more stable during functional movement.
Cardio
Even though you have a leg injury, you can still burn fat by doing cardio exercise. Swimming, the rowing machine, water aerobics and using a punching bag can all help you to burn fat and get a cardiovascular workout. However, if you experience discomfort due to your leg injury, discontinue activity and ask your doctor for more exercise ideas. You can even go for a brisk walk if that doesn't induce pain.
Stretching
Yoga and other flexibility exercises can help stretch your muscles and alleviate pain that may be caused by tightness. There should be plenty of yoga moves that you can do, even with a torn abductor. You should consider taking a class with an experienced teacher so they can provide you with modifications if needed.
What to Avoid
Running and any lateral movement --- such as in tennis --- will likely aggravate the injury and cause pain. Also avoid any other high-intensity movements such as jumping jacks, and any other plyometric move that requires jumping. When your abductors are injured, you have less overall leg stability, so take a break from intense exercises.
