Bulging, powerful legs are critical to any winning physique. Just ask Jay Cutler, whose mammoth quads turned him into an Olympia legend and the subject of one of the most iconic bodybuilding photos ever.
But quads alone aren’t enough. As bodybuilder Hunter Labrada explains in his latest Tuesday Tips video, you can’t ignore your adductors. Check it out:
[Related: The Best Bodybuilding Leg Workouts for Your Experience Level]
Hunter Labrada on the Importance of Building Your Adductors
As Labrada explains, ignoring the adductors — the group of muscles on the inside of your thighs — causes a gap in your thighs that will make your legs look smaller overall.
“In bodybuilding, the more negative space you eliminate — negative space meaning gaps in your physique — whenever you’re posing, the bigger you’re going to look,” Labrada says. “Think about Ronnie Coleman’s legs […] He’d have his legs staggered wide, but his adductors would literally be touching down to his knees, almost.”
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Embrace the Pump With Hunter Labrada and Brett Wilkin’s Biceps and Triceps Workout]
Labrada stresses that well-built adductors give legs a complete look that complements the quads and calves. For bodybuilders, in particular, this helps add much-needed volume when posing from the side and the back.
How to Train Your Adductors
While Labrada says that the main compound leg exercises — like squats, lunges, and deadlifts — will hit your adductors, they won’t concentrate on them enough. To grow them, you’ll want to isolate them with an adductor machine.
You’ll find this machine in most gyms, and Labrada explains that it’s a pretty simple move to pull off. First, keep a straight spine on the machine and grab the handles. Then, with your legs in a neutral position, drive the pads toward each other with the inside of your knees. Your feet shouldn’t come into play at all.
Labrada also emphasizes that while the adductor machine isn’t typically seen as a powerful bodybuilding movement, you should use it with the same intensity you use on the squats or leg extensions.
“If you’ve seen us train legs […] this is just like any other exercise,” Labrada says. “We are grunting them out and going to failure and forcing a rep or two. And [we’re] landing in that eight to 12 rep range.”
More Tips From Hunter Labrada
Hunter Labrada provides weekly workout tips on his YouTube channel and Instagram page. Here’s more of his advice:
- Bodybuilder Hunter Labrada Talks About His Favorite Triceps Exercise
- Hunter Labrada Discusses Training Frequency, Carb Selection, and How to Become a Bodybuilder
- Hunter Labrada Discusses How Many Sets He Does Per Exercise, His Least-Favorite Pose, and More
Featured Image: Hunter Labrada on YouTube
