Say your quads, hamstrings, and glutes are capable of handling 500 pounds in the squat, but (because of weakness, tightness, or overuse), your adductors can only handle 400. So, if your adductors aren’t functioning optimally, you’re going to have a hard time squatting to depth - either because you won’t be able to keep your knees from pulling in, or because inner knee pain just gets too intense.
Problems in the Squat Caused by Weak Adductors If you’re concerned about performance, you’ll want to keep reading. If you’re training primarily for aesthetics, you might get away with some extra volume work on the hip adduction machine. Imbalanced muscle groups, overuse, and even poor sitting posture can all contribute to tight, inhibited adductors, and that’s a problem, whether you’re a bodybuilder or powerlifter. But your adductors rarely get as much direct work as your hamstrings, glutes, and quads, and as you strengthen those muscle groups, the adductors might struggle to keep up. That means your adductors still need to be strong and flexible, even if you’re keeping your knees out.
Few lifts actually require this type of movement - you almost always want to keep your knees in line with your toes, keeping a balance between abduction and adduction. The adductors are actually a group of muscles that run from your pelvis to your knee and help you move your knees in, closer to the center of your body. Your glutes in particular work to abduct your hips, but they can’t function properly without strong supporting adductors. Do You Know Squat About Your Adductors?Īdductors are an important muscle group for stabilization in the squat, but they often get overlooked in favor of the more obvious quads, hamstrings, and glutes. And those same exercises can help add a whole bunch of weight to your squat, which can help take you out of DYEL territory real quick. Good news: there are other, more effective exercises you can use to target your adductors and improve your inner quad. There aren’t a whole lot of exercises that develop the inner quad, other than the infamous yes/no machine, and unless you’re already jacked AF, you might not want to be seen using that particular device right around Valentine’s Day. But really great quads require more than just a big squat, because training your legs exclusively with that movement will lead to imbalances in the hamstrings, vastus medialis (teardrop) and inner quad sweep.
Clever Heading about Quad Sweepīashing bodybuilders for having small legs is old news: by now, most everybody knows that if you don’t squat, you don’t really even lift. If you’re struggling with quad development, knee pain, or squat depth, then read on. This third installment tackles the easily-forgotten adductors, the muscles that make your inner quads pop and help you keep your knees in a good position on the squat.
#Quad sweep development series
So far, this series has covered some special exercises for your abs, glutes, and rear delts. The BB for PL series describes how you can incorporate bodybuilding exercises into your powerlifting training for big benefits in strength and aesthetics.
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