6 Best Abductor Exercises for Women

Try these hip abductor exercises today! (Image via unsplash/Bruce Mars)
Try these hip abductor exercises today. (Image via Unsplash/Bruce Mars)

One of the most important muscle groups to exercise in your body is the abductor group. This group of muscles helps keep your hips and pelvis stable, which can help prevent injuries to these areas. The abductor muscles also help you maintain good posture when walking, running, or lifting heavy objects. Abductor exercises can be as simple as standing up straight or walking down the stairs with good posture. But if you want an extra challenge (and better results), try adding these six moves to your workout routine:


Best Abductor Exercises for Women

The abductor muscles are responsible for improving mobility and posture, as well as reducing hip pain. They are also important for hip strength and overall core stability. Therefore, abductor exercises are necessary to improve the stability of the hips. Many athletes have weak abductors due to repetitive injuries that cause them to compensate by using other muscles instead of the abductors.

1. Scissor Kicks

Scissors are an excellent exercise for beginners as they provide significant benefits yet are relatively easy to do. They work out all the abductors, which means they can help improve the strength of the hips and prevent injury from overuse or weakness in these muscles. These exercises target multiple areas simultaneously (i.e., both legs), allowing you to get more done during each workout. So they are more efficient than single-muscle exercises like leg raises or side bridges.

Here's how you should do it:

  • You'll need a mat or carpeted surface.
  • Lie on your back with your arms by your sides and knees straight.
  • Lift your feet off the floor and bring them up.
  • Then, start a fluttering motion wherein you'll want to perform fast-paced kicks alternately, mimicking that of a pair of scissors.

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2. Lateral Leg Raises

You'll need a bench or step approximately 12–15 inches high to do this exercise; however, you can also do it on the floor.

Here's how you should do it:

  • Lie down on the bench, keeping your knee bent and your left leg extended in front of you.
  • Lift your left leg up to about hip height, then lower it back down slowly.
  • Repeat 10 times with this leg and switch sides after completing all reps, performing 10 more repetitions on each side.

This exercise targets the abductor muscles in both legs and the posterior chain (hamstrings). This can help prevent injury by strengthening these muscles and increasing mobility in your hips when running or squatting down to pick something up from the ground.

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3. Lying Abs and Hip Abductors

The lying hip abductor is a good hip and lower back exercise. It helps strengthen your glutes and lower back, the two important muscles that are often neglected in women. When done properly, this exercise can also be helpful in rehabilitating injuries in those areas. It can be done on the floor or even on a bench.

Here's how you should do it:

  • Lie on your side and raise one knee, while keeping your other leg flat.
  • Bring the raised knee over to the other side and pull until you feel a stretch.
  • Hold this position for 30 seconds or more.
  • In addition to strengthening your core, it's also important to maintain good posture while doing this exercise—you want to keep your abs engaged at all times so they don't act as an anchor pulling down on your spine instead of supporting it like they're supposed to!
  • When doing this exercise, make sure not only that you're keeping your legs straight but also that there's no space between them; keep them touching each other throughout the entire movement so there isn't any unnecessary pressure being put on either of them.

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4. Squatting Hip Abduction

The squatting hip abduction works on your glutes, hips, and outer thighs. As it is a dynamic exercise, it improves stability and enhances balance. Therefore, it acts as a prevention against injuries.

Here's how you should do it:

  • To do the squatting hip abduction, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed forward or slightly outward.
  • Squat down until the thighs are parallel to the floor and knees are tracking over toes (or as far forward as is comfortable). The weight should be distributed evenly between the heels, balls of feet, and forefeet while sitting back into a deep squat position.
  • Next, move your feet out wide and lift one leg out next to your waist. Repeat for 10 reps per leg.

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5. Lying Adduction

Lying adduction is a great way to tone your abductors. Lie down on your side, with your legs bent and in line with your torso. Bring one knee up towards the chest, hold for a few seconds, then repeat with the other leg.

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6. Side Plank with Leg Lift

This exercise strengthens the core while gently working the obliques. It also increases stability and coordination of movement.

Here's how you should do it:

  • Lie on your side with both legs together and arms extended by your sides.
  • Lift your hips off the floor, keeping your feet together and abs tight to support the weight of your body as you raise it into a plank position (on top of your forearm).
  • Straighten one leg at a time, lifting each leg 6 inches off the floor before lowering again (about 3 inches) to maintain balance.
  • Alternate between sides for 20 reps total; that's 10 lifts per side!

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Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you learn more about the abductor muscles and what they do. You can use these exercises to help strengthen your core, hips, and thighs all at once. We recommend doing them at least three times per week for maximum benefits!

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