The inner thighs, or adductors, are a very interesting muscle group.
They are an area of the body that almost every woman complains about. That most men don’t care about (but they should!).
But they are also an area of the body that anyone with knee, hip, low back or even ankle pain needs to work and pay attention to…Especially if you have knee pain!
It is one of those few areas where we can kill two birds with one stone and not only work on those aesthetic complaints but also alleviate and prevent injury at the same time!
Another area like this is the glutes…Glute activation moves not only activate the glutes to prevent and alleviate injury but can also make those butt cheeks strong and perky! (Plus, it is important to activate those glutes while you work your adductors to help maintain balance and stability around the hip joint and prevent and alleviate knee and ankle pain.)
But the inner thighs aren’t only interesting because most people want to tone them and because they can be responsible for pain, especially knee pain.
The adductors are also an interesting area to work because they can be both tight AND weak. And both issues can create and perpetuate pain.
So including adductor or inner thigh exercises in your workout routine isn’t as simple as just doing some lunges.
To properly strengthen and tone your adductors to prevent and alleviate pain, you’ve got to not only strengthen them, but also stretch them and improve your mobility as you strengthen. That is why many of these moves can be both stretches and strengthening moves. It is important that you not only strengthen, but strengthen through a full range of motion.
Many of these moves may help you also improve your range of motion and then maintain that range of motion by strengthening through it. All too often we spend time stretching to then only lift through a limited range of motion, which in turn only tightens everything back up.
It is very important that we strengthen through a full range of motion to prevent and alleviate pain and truly strengthen and tone those inner thighs. That is why moves like the Cossack Squat are so important to include because they stretch and strengthen at the same time.
To improve our adductor strength and mobility at the same time, it is also important that we include adductor foam rolling moves and even some Jane Fonda-esque moves in our inner thigh routine as well as the stretching and strengthening exercises.
Check out these 21 Inner Thigh Exercises to strength and tone your adductors. Then try out some of the Inner Thigh Workouts using some of these 21 moves!
Inner Thigh Workouts – Strengthen Those Adductors
Below are a few different inner thigh workouts you can do to strengthen your adductors and even improve your mobility.
A few of them also include glute activation exercises because it is important to balance adductor work with glute activation work so that you don’t end up causing an imbalance and contributing to knee, hip or low back pain. Working your glutes, abduction muscles and adductors can create balance around your hip joint so it is important that you don’t ONLY strengthen your adductors.
Abs, Adductors and Glutes!
The Glute And Inner Thigh Workout
Quick Stretch and Activation Series
Abs, Adductors and Glutes! Workout
This is a great workout to work your core using Sliders! It will toast your abs, glutes and adductors!
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
Back/Chest
Shoulders/Forearms
WORKOUT
Set a timer for 25 minutes and complete as many rounds of the following circuit as you can! Record and try to beat it next time.
CIRCUIT:
8-12 reps per side Slider Skater Lunges
10-15 reps Slider Plank Jacks
8-12 reps Slider Kneeling Adduction
10-15 reps Slider Glute Bridge and Curl
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
Back/Chest
Shoulders/Forearms
NOTES: This is a great workout using sliders. If you don’t have sliders, glyders or valslides, use towels or even paper plates!
Quick Stretch and Activation Series
This is a great workout to stretch out tight adductors while strengthening them and your glutes!
WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Quads
Groin (see the video for an adductor foam rolling move!)
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
WORKOUT
Set a timer for 30 second intervals. Complete 1 round of the first circuit of stretches and then 2-3 rounds of the second activation circuit.
CIRCUIT #1:
30 seconds Prayer Squat
30 seconds Side to Side Lunge
30 seconds Frog Stretch
30 seconds each side Pigeon Pose
30 seconds each side Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch
30 seconds each side Seated Hamstring, Glute and Spinal Twist Complex
CIRCUIT #2:
30 seconds each side Warrior II
30 seconds Boat to Bridge Squeeze
30 seconds each side Side Plank with Adductor Lift
30 seconds Lower Ab Criss Cross
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Quads
Groin (see the video for an adductor foam rolling move!)
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
NOTES: This is a great extended warm up before a lower body workout and a great recovery day program. If you are doing this as a warm up, probably only do one round of the activation.
When you travel it can be hard to keep up with your workout routine.
You may simply be busy, or relaxing or without access to your usual workout equipment. But that doesn’t have to mean you fall off your workout routine.
While you can take time off on vacation, it can be useful to have some Bodyweight Travel Exercises and quick Travel Workouts on hand, especially if you travel often. These moves and exercises can be something quick you do in your off time, even if all you have access to is the space in your hotel room.
Try these 10 Bodyweight Travel Exercises and Quick Travel Workout.
Planks are always a popular exercise. And with good reason. They are a great core exercise!
The problem is…it has become a competition to hold a plank the longest. When how long you can hold a plank isn’t near as important as your ability to properly engage and contract the muscles of your core intensely.
It is a much better test of core strength to challenge yourself to engage the muscles of your core so intensely that you create “shakeage” within seconds of starting the plank rather than compensating just to hold longer. If you can engage your muscles so intensely that they are shaking, you will be able to use your core and recruit the muscles of your core more efficiently during other movements.
Developing proper core strength and learning how to properly engage the muscles of your core is why you should truly be including planks in your workout routine. You want to use them to strengthen your mind-body connection!
Below are some tips to help you get the most out of the Basic Plank as well as a few basic variations and a great core burn out workout.
With the holiday season fast approaching, there is no time like the present to get your fitness routine in line.
You may be getting busier. There may be parties and temptations and excuses to slack on your healthy eating and workout routine.
You may even think to yourself, “I’ll just enjoy and get back to things in the New Year.”
But that only makes things harder. It only puts you behind once January hits.
It only provides you with excuses to not succeed in the future.
And it most definitely doesn’t help you create healthy habits that will last and get you through other rough, temptation-filled, busy times of year.
Instead of putting your health off to the New Year this year, why not start creating healthy habits and putting in place a program that will help you stay healthy and on-track through the holiday season?!
Below are 10 Tips To Help You Stay On-Track This Holiday Season and 2 Quick Bodyweight Workouts you can do anywhere when you are short on time or don’t feel like going to the gym.
When people think “cardio,” they usually think of running. Or they think of hopping on a treadmill or some other cardio machine.
But you don’t have to run to get in a great cardio workout. Actually the 20 Bodyweight Cardio Exercises below may be even better cardio workouts than running, especially chronic, steady-state cardio like long distance running.
And none of them require any equipment (ok a TOWEL but hopefully you have some sort of towel or blanket at home!). They can all be done at home in your living room even.
So if you aren’t a runner and you are looking for a cardio workout you can do at home, check out the 20 Bodyweight Cardio Moves below and scroll to the end for some KILLER Interval Workouts!
Battling Ropes are popping up at gyms everywhere now. However, many people have never used one or even seen one before.
And while Battling Ropes are an easy-to-learn piece of equipment great for exercisers of all levels, there is still some form required and key movements to learn to get the most out of your Battling Ropes workout.
Battling Ropes can be used to work your entire body and improve your cardiovascular conditioning. You can use the ropes to build an aerobic base, improve your lactic threshold or even increase your power.
And while you improve your cardiovascular conditioning, you can also develop functional full body strength doing the Battling Ropes Exercises.
There are two basic movements we do in our Battling Ropes Training – Waves and Pulls. In this post, we’ve focused on only Wave exercises.
Including the Battling Ropes Wave Exercises in your workouts is important because they not only help you develop greater power, but they also help you become stronger so that you can maintain that power and intensity for a longer period of time.
These Battling Ropes Exercises are a great way to get in a full body workout. And if you get your own Battling Rope, you can do these exercises anywhere you can find something to wrap your rope around!
Learn how to use the Battling Rope today with these 22 Exercises and 5 Battling Ropes Workouts.
Battling Ropes Exercises – The 22 Moves
Below are all the 22 Moves demonstrated in the video.
The first 8 moves are what we consider the Essential Movements. Master these moves before moving on. With just these first eight you can get in a great workout.
Moves 9-12 are great unilateral moves. Each of these moves forces you to work one side at a time, which allows you to correct imbalances because your dominate arm can’t take over.
Moves 13-22 are great full-body movements that require more coordination and incorporate a few of the Essential Movements. These are more advanced moves that are sure to get your heart rate up!
13. Switch Stance Stage Coach
14. Alternating Arms with Side Shuffle
15. Stage Coach with Reverse Lunge
16. Alternating Arms with Side to Side Lunge
17. Alternating Waves with Get-Up Lunge
18. Sidewinders with Forwards and Backwards Walk
19. Rainbow With Lunge
20. Rope Russian Twists
21. One Arm Plank Waves
22. Jumping Jacks
The 5 Battling Ropes Workouts:
These 5 Workouts are a great way to use the 22 Battling Ropes Moves above to improve your conditioning and even strengthen your entire body.
Workout #1:
Battling Ropes Interval Workout
Perform 3-6 rounds of each exercise. Rest for 1-2:30 minutes between rounds (1 minute advanced, 2:30 beginner). Rest 2-3 minutes between circuits.
CIRCUIT #1:
1 minute Stage Coach
CIRCUIT #2:
1 minute Alternating Arm Waves
CIRCUIT #3:
1 minute Sidewinders
CIRCUIT #4:
1 minute Rainbows
Workout #2:
Battling Ropes Tabata Workout
Complete 8 rounds of each exercise, working for 20 seconds then resting for 10. After completing 8 rounds of the exercise, rest for up to 2 minutes then move on to the next exercise.
Exercise #1:
20 seconds Alternating Arms with Side Shuffle
10 seconds Rest
Exercise #2:
20 seconds Rainbows with Lunge
10 seconds Rest
Exercise #3:
20 seconds Alternating Waves with Get Up Lunge
10 seconds Rest
Exercise #4:
20 seconds Sidewinders with Forward, Backward Walk
10 seconds Rest
Exercise #5:
20 seconds Alternating Waves with Side to Side Lunge
10 seconds Rest
Workout #3:
Battling Ropes Upper Body Workout
Set a timer for 15 minutes for each circuit. Complete as many rounds of each circuit in that 15 minutes as you can. After 15 minutes is up, rest 2-3 minutes and move on to the next circuit. Record how many rounds you complete and try to beat it next time!
Circuit #1:
10 reps Push Ups
20 reps Snakes
10 reps per side Rope Russian Twists
Circuit #2:
10 reps Pull Ups/Inverted Rows
20 reps Outward Circles
15 reps per side Plank with Single Arm Waves
Workout #4:
Battling Ropes 30/15 Workout
Set a timer for 30 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest. Go from one exercise to the next, resting 15 seconds between moves. Once a round of the circuit is complete, rest 1 minute. Beginners may need to rest longer between rounds. Complete 6-8 rounds.
Work for 20 seconds on each side then rest for 20 seconds before repeating. Complete 5 rounds of each exercise. Rest up to 2 minutes before moving on to the next exercise.
Exercise #1:
20 seconds Unilateral Waves Right Hand
20 seconds Unilateral Waves Left Hand
20 seconds Rest
Exercise #2:
20 seconds Unilateral Outward Circles Right Hand
20 seconds Unilateral Outward Circles Left Hand
20 seconds Rest
Exercise #3:
20 seconds Unilateral Cross Body Waves Right Hand
20 seconds Unilateral Cross Body Waves Left Hand
20 seconds Rest
Exercise #4:
20 seconds Rope Hook Right Hand
20 seconds Rope Hook Left Hand
20 seconds Rest
Using these 22 Battling Ropes Exercises and 5 Workouts, you can get in a great functional strength and cardio workout no matter your fitness level.
What’s your favorite Battling Ropes Wave Exercise?
