Building the inner thigh

[andezzz999]

Ok, need some help tighting up the inner thigh. Can anyone offer some suggestions of stance variation that will hit these. Don't tell me to do the inner thigh machine because that isn't doing shit.

I am thinking that maybe a more open stance at the smith machine...like a sumo squat will hit this area.

Any suggestions?

 

[Eze]

If you keep a wider stance during squats, you should feel more of an emphasis on the inner quads.

Are you trying to build the tear drop at the knee? If so, I have found that hack squats will hit this part of the quads pretty good.

 

[andezzz999]

I will try both the wide stance and hacks, I am not doing either at the moment. The real problem for me is that inner section, it's just no tightening up in proportion to the rest of my legs.

 

[FEEDDMACHINE]

I agree with Easto, keep a wider stance on squats/leg press & hacks
Also when your pushing the weight up or forward, try to focus on pushing with your heels & not your toes. This way it hits the outter & inner quads insted of around your knees.

 

[SkedMedz]

Side-Lunges. Isolates them.

 

[house1]

reverse hacks with a wide stance hits them aswell

 

[elijah_123]

Use the girly machines where you sit with your legs spread and squeeze your legs together. It hits the inner thigh like nothing else. I tried wide stance squats and felt a little sore in the morning. The next time it was leg day I did 3 sets of the leg squeeze and the inner thigh was burning the next day!

Also hooking your foot into a cable machine that is set low and sweeping your leg in works great.

 

[GearTripper]

Use the girly machines where you sit with your legs spread and squeeze your legs together. It hits the inner thigh like nothing else. I tried wide stance squats and felt a little sore in the morning. The next time it was leg day I did 3 sets of the leg squeeze and the inner thigh was burning the next day!

Also hooking your foot into a cable machine that is set low and sweeping your leg in works great.

i never understood those machines. i personally believe that you may feel some type of "effect" in your tendons between your legs, but not the actual muscle. i mean, you might get somewhat of a small, very small workout... my reasoning is this: aren't your legs muscle stretched down the tops and bottoms of your legs... it's not like they wrap around horizontally, so how could this exercise possible give your thigh (a vertical muscle) any true workout?

 

[elijah_123]

You should also realize that working the inner thigh to tone it depends alot on your body fat. It is like asking for an alternative to crunches to tone up your abs. While building muscle is important getting the fat off is more important for the look.

i never understood those machines. i personally believe that you may feel some type of "effect" in your tendons between your legs, but not the actual muscle. i mean, you might get somewhat of a small, very small workout... my reasoning is this: aren't your legs muscle stretched down the tops and bottoms of your legs... it's not like they wrap around horizontally, so how could this exercise possible give your thigh (a vertical muscle) any true workout

How exactly do you feel something in a tendon?
Not all the muscles in the leg wrap like you suggest, here is a picture of the inner thigh muscle that abductors target.
The two main mucles are the gracillis and abductor longus.

And a link to a site (exrx) that shows the exercises in action
http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Hip.html#anchor846250

 

[GearTripper]

How exactly do you feel something in a tendon?

i dunno, i was guessing "maybe feel something". i know when you over "pull" or strain a tendon you can feel it. if a tendon snapped loose, you would feel it. can go into the "how" but i think it has something to do with nerves sending electrons or some shit to the brain that makes you say ouch.



thanks for the picture, i'm going to go read the link also - but i still think unless there is some way to "curl" that small little innner thigh muscle, those girly machines won't really have too much effect. it would be like doing arm curls without curling your arm... your bicep wouldn't contract, and thus not a good workout. yea you would "feel" it in your bicept but not effective as a curling movement.

 

[b fold the truth]

Use the girly machines where you sit with your legs spread and squeeze your legs together. It hits the inner thigh like nothing else. I tried wide stance squats and felt a little sore in the morning. The next time it was leg day I did 3 sets of the leg squeeze and the inner thigh was burning the next day!

Also hooking your foot into a cable machine that is set low and sweeping your leg in works great.

Good advice..seriously. I do them and they help with a big squat too...

B True

 

[elijah_123]

i dunno, i was guessing "maybe feel something". i know when you over "pull" or strain a tendon you can feel it. if a tendon snapped loose, you would feel it. can go into the "how" but i think it has something to do with nerves sending electrons or some shit to the brain that makes you say ouch.



thanks for the picture, i'm going to go read the link also - but i still think unless there is some way to "curl" that small little innner thigh muscle, those girly machines won't really have too much effect. it would be like doing arm curls without curling your arm... your bicep wouldn't contract, and thus not a good workout. yea you would "feel" it in your bicept but not effective as a curling movement.

You are thinking about the muscle all wrong. It is designed to sweep the leg from out to in. Doing the machines and cable sweeps are like doing dumbell flys to work the pec muscles. Try this, sit in a chair and get a long book and put it length ways between your knees. Relax and put your hand on your inner thigh then squeeze, you can feel the muscles tense up. If you have ever tried to do the splits these are the muscles that hurt like a mug

If you want a real test of how those muscles work try spreading your legs and then squeezing them back together while standing on the ice. The abductor (a) and gracilis (b) control the inward sweept of the leg in while the glutes (c), vastus lateralis (d) and sartorius (e) control the outward sweep.

Sorry for the rough photoshopping

Training them does increase squat just as training stabilizing muscles for the chest helps with bench. It lets the big muscles (glute/ham/quad) focus on going up and down and not so much on stability.

 

[GearTripper]

i'm beginning to understand this more i think:

similar to the pec fly movement, isolating the Gracilis with side movement with some sort of resistance will in fact shorten (contract) sufficiently (not a lot, but some) and thus you are "working" your inner thigh? the pec is able to enter a highly noticeable contracted state - can/does this also happen with the Gracilis muscle?

i'm reading the Active/Passive Insufficiency tension curve and either i'm starting to "get it" or becoming more confused

 

[elijah_123]

THe muscle won't contract fully on the girly machines, but with a cable sweep you can. Just sweep the leg until you are unable to sweep it any farther. Start with the leg swept as far out as possible then sweep it to parallel and beyond until you can't do it any more. That should give a great contraction. Both muscles should get a good contraction. If in doubt just put your hand and feel if it is contracting. You may look a little silly but hey thats what bodybuilding is about, we look silly to most people when we use powerracks for squats

You probably won't notice a buldge like you do with pecs/bis though. However if you flex your wrist watch how the muscles work. Their contraction is as complete as it can be. The sweep muscles (both inward and outward) function much like the flexors for the wrist.

 

[andezzz999]

Good info Elijah! I will give these a try. I have been doing the inner outer but I think the addition of a cable sweep will help.

 

[ucadaddy]

I like to do wide squats with my feet pointing out ward.

 

[billybadass]

all i can say is keep squating that the best way

 

[house1]

elijah, i tried the cable sweep yesterday. it does the job nicely from there i jumped into the girly machine[lol] awesome job

 

[elijah_123]

Told ya they worked, and you can also chat with some nice girls there.

I prefer to be seen on girly machines 1000x more than doing 55lb barbell bicept curls in the power rack while people are waiting for squats. GRRRRRRRRRR sorry pet peeves coming out

 

[Flexx]

head for the girly machine