The most sore my adductors have been is after a heap of beach sprints I did after not doing any runnning for a while. It was ridiculous, they were in pain only hours after i finished, so I would say they do a lot of stabilizing.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
There’s no doubt that they get smashed doing wider stance squats/deadlifts and single leg movements. The question is could we get even better development from adding in some isolation. It only takes an extra 8 mins or so, so I figure why not give it a try and see what happens. [/quote]
My bet is they won’t shrink!
If you are training for sports however I don’t think the machines are very good. They train the adductors as prime movers rather than stabilisers, which doesn’t increase their stability. If you train them with the movements you mentioned in the first sentence they will get stronger at stabilising. When you are stronger at stablising, then the prime movers in your lower body are recruited more.
so what have you guys found works better: adductors in isolation or adductors in a stabilization role, as in single-leg stuff or beach sprints? because anatomically they can’t all three do extension; only one can. Are you guys sure that these wide stance hip extension exercises you’re doing are hitting all three? I know it feels like it, but I can’t fathom how the other two are doing anything.
regardless of anything else, it seems you can’t go wrong with pure adduction. KB, if your machine is broken, you can use cables too, in a pinch.
Damn, I think a lot of you guys are looking into the issue wayyyy too far.
Use them for a while. If you don’t like them or don’t see any results, stop doing them or do them harder. If they work, keep doing them.
I don’t know about isolation vs stabilization vs having them too big vs squat strength. They’re not just magically going to become hugatron over night. All I know is I get on the machine, do a light warm-up set and one set as possibly balls heavy as I can for like 14+ reps on a set, and move on. Easy enough.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
Generally bodybuilders try to avoid building their upper inner thighs, because it gives a blockier and more stout appearance when it’s overdeveloped. [/quote]
I disagree, Mr Popular.
Especially nowadays where the contest poses require a wider leg stance than BBers from years ago (who posed mostly with legs under them).
Today’s wide stances often leave a gap between the legs that would look better with more mass in the inner thighs.
when i first started lifting, I did wide powerlifting squats…i felt that built that area up well…
also bulgarian split squats also hit that inner thigh area…
im not a fan of the iso shit for this area…i think it needs heavier weight
[quote]SSC wrote:
Damn, I think a lot of you guys are looking into the issue wayyyy too far.
[/quote]
probably so. I just got inspired by the hamstring thread (which is admittedly WAY more important in the Bodybuilding world) when it revealed to me that the short biceps femoris head doesn’t do hip extension. Well, this was big for me since for a while now haven’t done any leg curls. I’d just done hamstrings with SLDL’s. This explained beautifully why there was a certain tendon coming from hamstrings that was horribly sore the first day after I brought them back in: it was that one that I’d been completely neglecting.
So, I got to wondering what other muscle groups don’t operate how I’d always thought, and how maybe certian heads hadn’t been getting worked at all, and this was the first biggie that I came across. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the Adductor Magnus, being Magnus and all, is the biggest influencer on inner thigh size and the other two don’t really contribute. But, maybe they do and a lot of other people have made the same bad assumptions about them that I had, and will see some marked increase in inner thigh size after a few months of incorporating these. And like KB said, it only takes a few minutes.
[quote]D Public wrote:
im not a fan of the iso shit for this area…i think it needs heavier weight[/quote]
yeah but my point is how do you work muscle heads that operate primarily in the adduction plane, and weakly in the flexion direction, if you’re only doing extension exercises like squats and deadlifts and split squats?
Will a split squat hit all three adductor heads? If it does, then two of the heads are only activated to stabilize, unless there’s something I’m missing.
As an aside, the Brachiallis is apparently activated more strongly by static holds than by flexion (simillarly to how the gastrocs contribute to holding a flexed knee more than to actually flexing the knee), which may mean that some heavy static holds might be good to build up arm size from this not-insignificant arm flexor. Is that the case here?
[quote]thrasher_09 wrote:
My adductors get smashed from any single leg movements. I think they stabilise pretty hard when you are standing on one leg…
I noticed lots of growth after doing single leg movements in my routine.[/quote]
This is especially evident when you go deep!
I put my forward leg up on a step when doing split squats. This allows me to go very deep where usually the floor would prevent that extra ROM. The next day your adductors will be screaming!
This is a cross section from the mid thigh area.
As you can clearly see the adductor complex (the right, outermost pink area) makes up about a third of the leg mass as depicted in the diagram so you would be correct on the ‘Magnus’ assumption being big!
So to everyone interested in building massive legs why would you neglect these bad boys? If you are currently targeting your quads and hams I honestly dont see the difference in targeting your adductors with the same ferocity and intensity!
[quote]nschneid wrote:
[quote]SSC wrote:
[/quote]
Maybe the Adductor Magnus, being Magnus and all, is the biggest influencer on inner thigh size and the other two don’t really contribute. But, maybe they do and a lot of other people have made the same bad assumptions about them that I had, and will see some marked increase in inner thigh size after a few months of incorporating these. And like KB said, it only takes a few minutes.[/quote]
Some of you really missed the point here, lol.
Construction by Adduction by Eric Cressey: Construction by Adduction
Might have some relevance to the discussion.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
Construction by Adduction by Eric Cressey: Construction by Adduction
Might have some relevance to the discussion.[/quote]
i think you just won the thread. single leg and very wide stance for heavy weights, plus isolation on the adductor if you don’t mind looking like a girl 
[quote]nschneid wrote:
Will a split squat hit all three adductor heads? If it does, then two of the heads are only activated to stabilize, unless there’s something I’m missing.
[/quote]
To address this specific point ^ the Adductor Longus, Brevis & Magnus are Postural muscles meaning that they act predominantly to sustain your posture. So in essence the are all primarily stabilisers first’ and as a result they are fully activated in the split squat position. Btw postural muscles contain mostly slow twitch muscle fibres so that may also have a bearing on how you train them.
Wide stance squats, as have already been stated, will target them all brilliantly because a stretched muscle will contract hardest. Plus you get a wide ROM, from deep flexion to extension, for them to be fully recruited.
The Gracilis & Pectineus on the other hand are Phasic muscles and are therefore more suited to movement. They are usually fast twitch in nature.
Below is a list of Postural Muscles & Phasic Muscles that might be of interest to you:
Postural Muscles: Shoulder Girdle - Arm
Pectoral Muscles
Levator Scapulae
Trapezius (upper)
Biceps Brachii
Wrist & Finger Flexors
Phasic Muscles: Shoulder Girdle - Arm
Trapezius (middle)
Trapezius (lower)
Serratus Anterior
Triceps Brachii
Deep Cervical Flexors
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Deltoid
Wrist & Finger Extensors
Postural: Trunk
Lumbar Erector Spinae
Cervical Erector Spinae
Quadratus Lumborum
Phasic: Trunk
Thoracic Erector Spinae
Rectus Abdominis
Transversus Abdominus
Postural: Pelvis - Thigh
Hamstrings
Iliopsoas
Rectus Femoris
Adductors
Piriformis
Tensor Fasciae Latae
Phasic: Pelvis - Thigh
Vastus Lateralis
Vastus Medialis
Gluteal Muscles
Postural: Lower Leg - Foot
Gastrocnemius
Soleus
Phaisc: Lower Leg - Foot
Tibialis Anterior
Peroneals
Toe Extensors
[quote]mr popular wrote:
Generally bodybuilders try to avoid building their upper inner thighs, because it gives a blockier and more stout appearance when it’s overdeveloped. [/quote]
This is wrong.
Thick inner legs is a valuable commodity. Its the abductors that you dont want to overdevlop. Look at Johnnie Jacsksons abductors. Then look at Branch Warren’s adductors. Branch has the gold standard of leg development. JOJ’s legs dont have good shape at all.
I have a fairly wide squat stance and I feel this hits my adductors quite well. Also single leg leg press does too.
[quote]liffy wrote:
Is it really beneficial to have these muscles very developed? Won’t this lead to the need for moving your legs strangely outward when walking, so that they don’t rub against each other?[/quote]
If your legs dont rub together youre doing it wrong.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Thick inner legs is a valuable commodity. Its the abductors that you dont want to overdevlop. Look at Johnnie Jacsksons abductors. Then look at Branch Warren’s adductors. Branch has the gold standard of leg development. JOJ’s legs dont have good shape at all. [/quote]
Quit calling them aBductors! 
I’m going to narrow my stance stance because I have more adductor development than I’d like. They’re fine when I’m lean but a little too much when I’m less so.