If you’ve been in the gym long enough, you’ll eventually notice someone taking an extremely wide stance when performing an exercise. Initially it might seem like they are training to become a sumo wrestler or preparing for some ancient tribal dance. Even though it looks somewhat odd and slightly uncomfortable, it has a purpose. A rather great purpose especially for the adductors (the inner thighs).
Adductor development does not just happen randomly when training ‘legs’. This muscle group needs to be targeted directly through specific exercises using specific training parameters. Would you expect to lose weight if all you’re doing is eating? Or would you expect you to become flexible if you don’t stretch? The same can be said for inner thigh development or any muscle group for that matter. You need to focus on the muscle group that you want changed and, in this case, you need to change how you approach ‘leg day’ if you want to develop your adductors.
Countless studies have been done to look at the effects that different stances have on muscle recruitment within different parts of the legs. Most of the research done has been proven over and over again that stance DOES play an important role in muscle development and injury prevention, especially in the adductor group. And this matters to you especially if you want to have slimmer, sexier inner thighs.
Taking a wider than ‘shoulder-width’ stance is an effective way to target and isolate the inner thighs allowing these muscles to fully activate in certain movements unlike a narrower stance. Adductor activation has been shown to increase with a wide stance. Research proves this. This is because the thigh shows increased abduction and lateral rotation during the descent with a wide stance and during the ascent; the adductors are therefore activated to draw the thigh back to the midline of the body. These physiological actions must exist in order for the body to move and for the adductors to activate at a near max capacity.
Now the trick is to find that happy spot of where strength, stability, and mobility collide. This is the perfect combination that will lead to pain-free adductor development. Sometimes it’s not as simple as widening your stance on your next leg training day but that’s definitely a start in the right direction. Proceed slowly if you’ve never tried this stance before because it completely changes the dynamics of any movement. And if you’re not careful, you could end up injuring yourself.
To learn more about how to properly and safely target your inner-thighs for maximal adductor development, please visit:
