Too many people work their legs in one plane – the sagittal plane – meaning forward and backward. The thing is, you have muscles that need to work rotationally (the horizontal plane), and laterally (the frontal plane).
I recently read an article specifically about your adductors. These muscles can be found on the inside of your legs – where your thigh gap may or may not be! Just to put this out there – the presence of a thigh gap or lack of one is not an indicator of your fitness level.
The article was a review of 3 studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the “Copenhagen Adductor” exercise. Overall, they found it to be effective in improving strength and preventing injury in athletes – specifically football players (they’re English so soccer for us Americans).
You don’t play football/soccer so what do you care? Well, do you have hip pain? Knee pain? Ankle pain? I could keep going but you get the point. I would argue that these exercises might help alleviate or prevent some issues that I see all the time.
The exercise:
– In a side-lying position using your forearm as support on the floor, the other arm is placed along the body, the upper leg is held by a partner*, approximately at the height of your hip, placing their hand on your ankle and the other one on on the knee. Then you raise your body from the floor, around a 3 second concentric hip adduction (3 seconds up), until your body is in a straight line, so your feet are touching each other. Then you lower your body half way to the ground, around a 3 second eccentric adduction (3 seconds down), until you’re touching the floor without using it for support.
– *Don’t have a partner? Use a step stool, a chair, a couch, an ottoman, a step, something to set your top leg on. It’s not the end of the world if you go a little higher than your hip.
– The article reviews the frequency of prescription from each study and I’ve included a rough average below:
| Level | Times per week | Sets | Reps |
| Beginner | 1-3 | 2-4 | 3-5 |
| Intermediate | 2-3 | 1-2 | 7-10 |
| Advanced | 2-3 | 2-3 | 6-15 |
I always suggest you put at least one day before doing the exercise again, so if you do this on Monday, wait until Wednesday to do it again. When dividing your sets, depending on your level of expertise and goals with your work out you can do a couple of different things. I would suggest either you alternate sides between your sets or taking at least a 30 second break before starting your next set.
It’s worth a shot if you’re looking for new exercises or trying to improve your overall fitness. Like I said earlier, it may help with some pain and/or discomfort in your legs, BUT you should talk to your doctor (or a doctor of physical therapy) before hand to be sure it’s appropriate for you!
See article: Copenhagen Adduction Exercises to Increase Eccentric Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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