AdductorsMachineBeginner

How to Do Seated Hip Adduction

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Oct 1, 2026

Seated hip adduction is a machine exercise for the inner thighs. Sit with your back on the pad and the pads inside your knees, start with your legs apart, squeeze your knees together, then let them open slowly. It trains the adductor longus, brevis and magnus. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 10-15
Median 10-rep weight 14565 lbkg men 9042.5 lbkg women
Muscles Adductor longus, brevis and magnus
Setup Hips over the pivots, pads inside the knees
Seated Hip Adduction start and squeeze positions
  1. 1Start. Legs open to a light stretch in your inner thighs, the pads on the inside of your knees and your back on the pad.
  2. 2Squeeze. Bring your knees together until the pads meet, pause for a second, then let your legs open slowly.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to use the hip adduction machine

  1. Set the start lever so your legs open to a light stretch in your inner thighs, and pick the weight with the pin.
  2. Sit all the way back so your hips sit over the pivots, the points the leg arms swing around. Put your feet on the foot bars and the pads on the inside of your knees.
  3. Sit upright with your back on the pad and hold the handles.
  4. Squeeze your knees together until the pads meet or almost meet. Pause for a second.
  5. Let your legs open over 2 to 3 seconds back to the stretch, stopping just before the plates touch.
Setup

How wide to start, and how to sit

Start widthA light stretchOpen the lever until you feel a stretch in your inner thighs, not a pull in the groin.
Too narrowShort repsStarting with your knees close cuts off the wide part of the rep, where the adductors push hardest.
SeatHips over the pivotsThe leg arms swing around your hip joints, not your knees. Sit all the way back.
LeanUpright, back on the padLeaning forward bends your hips further, and adduction force drops as the hips bend.

Start width sets how much of the strong part of the rep you get. The adductors push harder with the legs apart: side-lying adduction force was higher at 10 and 20 degrees of hip abduction than with the legs together (Welsh 2020), and on a device built like the gym machine, force peaked near the widest point of the rep at every hip angle tested (Marušič 2025). The same study found the seated position costs some force. With the hips bent 90 degrees, peak force was about 18% lower than with the hips straight, while adductor longus activity did not change (Marušič 2025). Sitting upright is fine. Leaning forward bends your hips past 90 degrees, which no study has tested.

Anatomy

What the adductors do, and why squats matter too

The machine trains hip adduction, pulling the thighs together. That is the main job of the adductor longus, adductor brevis and gracilis, but not of the biggest adductor. Most of the adductor magnus is built to extend the hip: in 15 young adults, its size and leverage gave it more than twice the capacity for hip extension as for adduction (Takahashi 2025). In a modelling study of eight exercises, deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, squats and step-ups put the top-tier forces on the rear adductor magnus, and the long-lever Copenhagen exercise ranked top tier for every adductor (Collings 2026). The machine was not tested.

Growth studies point the same way. Ten weeks of full squats grew the adductors 6.2%, against 2.7% for half squats (Kubo 2019), and nine weeks of back squats grew the adductors more than hip thrusts did (Plotkin 2023). We found no training study that measured adductor growth from the adduction machine itself.

What to do

Use the machine for direct work on the adductor longus and brevis, and keep a deep squat, lunge or deadlift in your week for the adductor magnus.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you use on the hip adduction machine?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 145 lb (65 kg) for 10 reps on the seated hip adduction, and the median woman 90 lb (42.5 kg).

Men, typical 145 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
105 to 190 lb
Top 10% lift
260 lb or more
Starting out
under 105 lb
Women, typical 90 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
70 to 130 lb
Top 10% lift
170 lb or more
Starting out
under 70 lb
Men, typical 65 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
47.5 to 87.5 kg
Top 10% lift
117.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 47.5 kg
Women, typical 42.5 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
32.5 to 60 kg
Top 10% lift
77.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 32.5 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th135 / 105 lb90 / 70 lb
Median190 / 145 lb125 / 90 lb
75th255 / 190 lb175 / 130 lb
90th345 / 260 lb230 / 170 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 8,295 men and 4,640 women who log the seated hip adduction on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th62.5 / 47.5 kg42.5 / 32.5 kg
Median87.5 / 65 kg55 / 42.5 kg
75th115 / 87.5 kg77.5 / 60 kg
90th155 / 117.5 kg102.5 / 77.5 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 8,295 men and 4,640 women who log the seated hip adduction on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
About a third of the lifters behind these numbers are women, roughly twice their share across all lifts in the app. Men log much more than women here, a wider gap than on the hip abduction machine. Stack numbers do not compare between brands: lever length and where the pads sit change how heavy each plate feels. Your start width changes the number too. Compare yourself to your own log on the same machine and start setting.
Anatomy

Muscles worked

Adductor longus, brevis and magnusPull the thigh in, helped by the gracilis. Most of the adductor magnus is better placed to extend the hip than to adduct it (Takahashi 2025).
Primary
PectineusA small muscle at the front of the groin that helps pull the thigh in and forward.
Secondary
CoreHolds your pelvis still on the seat.
Stabilizer
Compare

Adduction machine vs deep squat vs Copenhagen plank

Adduction machineDeep squatCopenhagen plank
Adductors hit hardestLongus, brevisRear adductor magnusAll of them
Loaded withWeight stackBarbellBodyweight
Progress byMoving the pinAdding platesLonger lever, more reps
Best forDirect inner-thigh workAdductor size, with quads and glutesGroin injury prevention
Verdict

Use the machine for direct adductor work and deep squats for adductor magnus size. If you sprint or change direction in your sport, add the Copenhagen plank: a program built on it cut the risk of groin problems by 41% in 652 semi-professional footballers (Harøy 2019).

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3-4Sets
10-15Reps
1-2Reps left

Stop each set 1 to 2 reps short of failure. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a range where you can still start every rep from the full stretch.

Add reps first. When every set reaches 15, move the pin down one plate and go back to 10. Keep the start setting the same, or the new number means nothing. Train it 1 to 2 times a week, after your squats or lunges.

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Seated hip adduction variations

Standing cable hip adductionOne leg at a time with an ankle cuff on a low pulley, hips straight.
Copenhagen PlankA side plank with your top leg on a bench. The hardest adductor exercise here.
Sumo SquatA wide-stance squat with the toes turned out.
Cossack SquatA deep side-to-side lunge that stretches the adductors of the straight leg.
Sumo DeadliftA wide-stance deadlift. Top-tier forces on the adductor magnus (Collings 2026).
Ball squeezeLie on your back with a ball between your knees and squeeze. Easy to do at home.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What does hip adduction do?

It pulls your thighs toward each other. The machine trains the adductor longus, brevis and the front of the adductor magnus against a weight stack. The same muscles steady your pelvis when you walk, run and change direction.

How wide should hip adduction be?

Wide enough to feel a light stretch in your inner thighs at the start, without a pull in the groin. The adductors push harder with the legs apart (Welsh 2020), so a narrow start cuts off the strongest part of the rep.

Is hip adduction good for men?

Yes. Men and women have the same adductors, and strong adductors help in squats, sprinting and changing direction. Most Gravitus lifters who log this machine are men.

Does hip adduction work pelvic floor?

Not in a way that trains it. In 20 healthy women, squeezing the thighs together during a pelvic floor contraction did not make that contraction stronger or last longer (Amorim 2017). Train the pelvic floor directly.

Is the hip adduction machine better than squats for adductors?

Not for size. The largest adductor, the magnus, is mostly a hip extensor (Takahashi 2025), and full squats grew the adductors 6.2% in 10 weeks (Kubo 2019). The machine adds direct work for the adductor longus and brevis. Use both.

How to do hip adduction without machine?

Use a Copenhagen plank, a ball squeeze between your knees, side-lying adduction or a standing cable adduction. The Copenhagen plank is the hardest, and a program built on it cut groin problems in footballers (Harøy 2019).

How much weight should I use on the hip adduction machine?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 145 lb (65 kg) for men and 90 lb (42.5 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 190 lb (87.5 kg) and 130 lb (60 kg) or more.

Gravitus See where your seated hip adduction ranks

Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, seated hip adduction included.

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References
  1. Welsh et al. 2020. Int J Sports Phys Ther 15(1):22-33.
  2. Marušič et al. 2025. PLoS One 20(11):e0336699.
  3. Takahashi et al. 2025. J Appl Physiol 138(4):1088-1099.
  4. Collings et al. 2026. Med Sci Sports Exerc 58(8):1751-1763.
  5. Kubo et al. 2019. Eur J Appl Physiol 119(9):1933-1942.
  6. Plotkin et al. 2023. Front Physiol 14:1279170.
  7. Harøy et al. 2019. Br J Sports Med 53(3):150-157.
  8. Amorim et al. 2017. PLoS One 12(5):e0177575.
  9. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.