For inner thigh exercises, pick a movement that matches your setup: a side-lying leg raise at home, a seated adductor machine or standing cable adduction at the gym, or a carefully progressed Copenhagen adduction exercise for sport. Squats and lateral lunges involve the adductors too, but they are compound leg exercises rather than direct hip adduction.
Start with one option you can control and keep your usual lower-body training. These exercises can strengthen the muscles on the inside of the thigh; they cannot make fat disappear from that specific area.
Which inner thigh exercise fits your goal?
| Your setup | Try this | How it trains the inner thigh | Useful first check |
|---|---|---|---|
| At home, no equipment | Side-lying bottom-leg raise | Direct hip adduction as the bottom leg lifts toward the midline. | Can you lift without rolling the pelvis or swinging? |
| Gym with a machine | Seated adductor machine | Direct adduction against an adjustable load. | Can you move through a comfortable range without bouncing? |
| Gym or home with a secure anchor | Standing cable or band adduction | Direct adduction while you control balance with support. | Can the working leg cross inward without your trunk leaning? |
| Sport and advanced bodyweight work | Short-lever Copenhagen adduction | High-demand adductor work in a side-plank position. | Can you keep the pelvis level without groin pain? |
A full squat or lateral lunge can stay in your leg routine. Choose a direct adduction option when the reason for adding an exercise is specifically to train hip adduction, rather than assuming every wide-stance or balance move does the same job.
How to do the direct options
Side-lying bottom-leg raise
Lie on your side with the bottom leg long and the top knee bent, placing the top foot on the floor in front of you for support. Lift the bottom leg a comfortable distance, pause briefly, and lower it without letting your trunk roll backward.
This is a simple way to feel the adductors working without a bench or machine. A small controlled movement is more useful than a larger swing.
Seated adductor machine
Adjust the pads to a comfortable starting position, sit with your back supported, and bring the legs together under control. Let them return only as far as you can manage without a sharp stretch or bounce.
The machine makes load changes easy to record, but there is no need to force its widest setting. The photo below shows the seated setup.
Standing cable or band adduction
Attach the cable cuff or band at ankle height to a secure anchor, stand side-on, and hold a stable support. Move the working leg inward across the body as far as you can without leaning, then return slowly.
Use a resistance you can control on both sides. If the band anchor shifts, stop and set it up securely before continuing.
Short-lever Copenhagen adduction
For the short-lever version, support the top knee on a stable bench or with a partner while the forearm supports your upper body. Lift the pelvis into a side plank, then bring the lower leg toward the supported leg only while you can keep the pelvis level.
Support at the ankle creates a longer lever and a harder version. The short version is not a required stepping stone for everyone; if you cannot control it comfortably, use another direct adduction exercise and ask a qualified coach or clinician for a suitable progression.
Where do squats and lateral lunges fit?
These are useful compound lower-body exercises, with adductors contributing alongside other muscles. In a small 10-week trial of 17 men, full squat training produced greater adductor and gluteus maximus muscle-volume gains than half squat training, while knee-extensor volume gains were similar.
That result does not prove that everyone must squat deeply or that a wide stance isolates the inner thigh. Use a squat depth and lunge range you can control; the photo below illustrates a lateral lunge position, not a prescribed joint angle.
Build a small adductor menu, not a seven-exercise marathon
The table below keeps the original exercise options together so you can choose by equipment and difficulty. The ranges are editorial starting examples, not a protocol shown to prevent injuries or a requirement to do every row.
| Exercise | Type | Illustrative starting work | Progress only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side-lying bottom-leg raise | Direct adduction, home | One or two controlled sets per side | Pelvis stays still and the range feels comfortable. |
| Seated adductor machine | Direct adduction, gym | One or two manageable sets | You can repeat the movement without bouncing. |
| Cable or band adduction | Direct adduction, standing | One or two controlled sets per side | Balance and trunk position stay steady. |
| Short-lever Copenhagen | Direct adduction, demanding | A brief, controlled exposure with support | Side-plank position stays level without groin pain. |
| Long-lever Copenhagen | Direct adduction, more demanding | Only after an individually suitable progression | You can control the longer lever with qualified guidance if needed. |
| Squat through a comfortable depth | Compound lower-body work | Keep it within your established leg training | Technique and recovery remain consistent. |
| Lateral lunge | Compound sideways movement | Try a short, supported range first | You can move and return without losing balance. |
For a simple example, keep your existing leg sessions and add one direct adduction movement on a day when you are not already sore. Repeat the same option on another suitable day only if the first session felt manageable; the right frequency and progression depend on your training and recovery.
Gradual exposure matters most with demanding Copenhagen variations. Stop for sharp groin pain, and seek individual assessment for persistent pain or a suspected strain rather than treating this general exercise menu as rehabilitation.
Does Copenhagen adduction prevent groin injuries?
A 2019 cluster-randomized trial assigned 35 semiprofessional Norwegian male football teams to an adductor-strengthening program or usual training. Average weekly groin-problem prevalence during the season was 13.5% in the intervention teams and 21.3% in controls.
The program included a preseason build and in-season maintenance, and the outcome was self-reported groin problems in that football setting. It does not establish that any version of a Copenhagen hold prevents injury in recreational gym users or treats current groin pain.
A separate randomized football study found greater eccentric hip-adduction strength when Copenhagen work was added to the FIFA 11+ warm-up. Strength improvement is a different outcome from fewer injuries.
A 2025 meta-analysis on Copenhagen exercise and injury outcomes was retracted in April 2026. Its pooled injury and strength estimates should not be used to settle the question.
Can inner thigh exercises remove inner thigh fat?
No specific adductor exercise has been shown to choose where your body loses fat. In a small 12-week trial of 11 young adults, extreme high-repetition training of one leg did not produce a significant fat-mass reduction in that leg compared with the untrained leg.
That one unusual leg-press protocol cannot rule out every possible exercise design, but it gives no support for a local-fat-loss promise. Train the adductors for strength or movement goals, and treat body-composition questions separately from which inner-thigh exercise you choose.
Takeaway
For a direct inner thigh exercise, start with a side-lying raise, adductor machine or supported cable movement that you can control. Keep squats and lateral lunges for broader lower-body training, and reserve Copenhagen progressions for a level you can perform without groin pain.
Get the next evidence check.
Five practical fitness stories worth your time, every Friday.
One email a week. No product pitches. Unsubscribe in one click.
References
- Harøy J, et al. Adductor Strengthening Programme in male football players. 2019 cluster-randomized trial.
- Harøy J, et al. Copenhagen exercise added to FIFA 11+ and eccentric adduction strength. 2017 randomized trial.
- Kubo K, et al. Squat depth and lower-limb muscle volume. 2019 trial.
- Ramírez-Campillo R, et al. Regional fat changes after unilateral leg training. 2013 trial.
- Retraction record: 2026 notice for the 2025 Copenhagen meta-analysis.
Health note: This is general fitness information, not diagnosis or rehabilitation advice. If you have a groin injury, ongoing pain or a medical condition, ask a qualified clinician or physical therapist how to adapt training.
