Guide to the inner thigh muscles
First off, the technical name for the inner thighs is the adductors. They are responsible for adduction, or moving your legs toward your midline—AKA together. There are five adductor muscles, all of which are found on the inside of the thigh:
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Gracilis: A thin muscle that runs from the bottom of the pelvis all the way down past the knee.
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Obturator externus: This small muscle runs horizontally from the base of the pelvis to the top of the femur.
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Adductor brevis: The smallest of the three adductor muscles, this one attaches at the pelvis and towards the top of the femur.
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Adductor longus: This muscle is next, attaching just below the adductor brevis on both the pelvis and the femur. It’s a little bit bigger.
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Adductor magnus: The largest of these last three, it attaches at the pelvis and the bottom half of the femur.
Why you should work the inner thighs
Remember the days when everyone wanted a “thigh gap”? While this aesthetic trend isn’t as popular as it once was, it did bring some attention to the inner thighs. Yes, toning and strengthening your adductor muscles will give your thighs a tighter, leaner look, which is certainly a benefit. But the adductor muscles also play a key role in your mobility and stability. Since adduction is movement toward your midline, your adductors are responsible for helping you move laterally and helping you stay steady and balanced if you’re doing different things with each side of your body, such as holding a child in one arm and putting away groceries with the other. They also play a key role in supporting the pelvis, maintaining optimal body alignment and preventing potential issues that can arise from an unstable pelvis.
How to work the inner thigh muscles
Here’s where we’re busting one of the myths we mentioned earlier: You don’t have to do exercises that only engage the inner thigh muscles in order to strengthen them. These are certainly effective, and we’ve included some of them below, but almost every standing lower body exercise is going to call on the adductors. If an exercise requires you to step in any direction or to balance on one foot, you’re working your inner thighs. Likewise, exercises that require you to balance in a staggered stance also call on your adductors to keep you from toppling over. The exercises below feature a mix of these effective ways to tone and strengthen the inner thigh muscles.
8 inner thigh exercises
Ready to power up these powerful muscles? Here are 8 of our favorite exercises for strengthening the inner thighs.
Lateral lunges
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Weights to use: medium to heavy weights
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How to do it: Start with your feet together holding weights at your sides. Take a large step straight out to the side and bend your stepping leg, pressing your butt back so your knee forms a right angle and framing the knee with your weights. Press off of the same leg to return to the start, keeping your other leg straight the entire time. Repeat on the other side.
Monster walks
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Weights to use: medium to heavy weights or a resistance band
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How to do it: Hold weights at your sides or place a resistance band around your thighs. Lower into a squat, keeping your chest lifted. Staying in the squat, step out to the side with one foot and bring the other foot in to meet it. Do a couple steps in one direction then repeat in the other direction.
Reverse lunges
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Weights to use: medium to heavy weights
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How to do it: Start with your feet together holding weights at your sides. Take a large step back and bend both knees, getting them as close to right angles as possible and keeping your front knee directly over your ankle. Push off your back foot to return to start. Alternate sides.
Inner thigh lifts
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Weights to use: bodyweight
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How to do it: Come onto your side on the floor or on a mat. Prop your elbow directly under your shoulder, extend your bottom leg out straight, and bend your top leg to place your foot flat on the floor in front of your bottom leg. Flex your bottom foot and lift the leg straight up, then lower back down. Repeat on the other side.
Single-leg RDLs
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Weights to use: light to medium weights
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How to do it: Start with your feet hip-width apart, back tall, and knees slightly bent. Extend your arms long in front of your thighs with your palms facing toward you. Shift your weight to one side and prop your other toe just behind you. Send your butt back and hinge at the hips, keeping your back flat, to lower your torso until you feel a stretch in your hamstring. You can keep your opposite toe on the floor or let your leg float up behind you as you hinge. Squeeze your glute and hamstring to return to start. Repeat on the other side.
Squats with inner thigh squeeze
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Weights to use: resistance band or bodyweight
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How to do it: Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes turned out slightly. If you’re using a resistance band, place it around your thighs. Lower into a squat, keeping your chest up. Staying in the squat, move your knees back and forth to squeeze your thighs in and out.
Stationary lunges
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Weights to use: medium to heavy weights
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How to do it: Start with your feet together holding weights at your sides, then take a large step back with one foot. Bend your knees until your back knee taps the floor (or as close to this as possible) then press back up. Repeat on the other side.
Lateral lunge knee lifts
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Weights to use: one medium weight or bodyweight
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How to do it: Start with your feet together and hold the weight at your chest, if using. Take a large step straight out to the side and bend your stepping leg, pressing your butt back so your knee forms a right angle and framing the knee with your weights. Press off of the same leg, bringing your knee straight up in front of you to balance for a moment, then step directly back out into your lunge. Repeat on the other side.
Strong and sculpted in no time
Exercises that target the inner thighs are key to include in your lower body workouts if you want toned, strong legs along with optimal balance and mobility. All of the moves here and more can be done with the amp device to turbocharge results, thanks to smart resistance modes and personalized, AI-powered workouts. Start your journey with amp today.