Why Training the Adductor Longus Can Help Prevent Groin Pulls and Reduce Hip Pain
Training the adductor longus is one of the most overlooked yet effective ways to protect your body from injury. Most people think about squats, deadlifts, or bench press when it comes to strength training. While those movements are important, smaller muscles like the adductors often get ignored—until they start causing problems. One of the most common issues for adults who train and recreational athletes is the dreaded groin pull, along with nagging hip or low back pain.
At OC in Bend, we’ve seen firsthand how training the adductor longus can make a big difference for both pain prevention and overall performance.
Why the Adductor Longus Matters
The adductor longus is one of the key muscles in your inner thigh. Its job is to bring your leg toward the midline of your body (adduction) and assist in stabilizing the hip during athletic movements. Think about sprinting, changing direction, or even squatting—your adductors are working hard, even if you don’t realize it.
When this muscle is weak or neglected, it can lead to:
- Increased risk of groin strains
- Added stress on the low back
- Limited hip stability, especially in sports that involve cutting or lateral movement
That’s why training the adductor longus is so valuable—not only does it support hip stability, but it also helps reduce the workload on other areas of the body.
Common Injuries Linked to Weak Adductors
The most obvious injury is the dreaded groin pull—something that sidelines both weekend warriors and professional athletes. But weakness in the adductor longus can also show up as nagging hip pain, or even discomfort in the lower back. That’s because your body is a chain. If one link is weak, the surrounding joints and muscles take on extra work.
At our gym, we’ve worked with adults who had chronic groin tightness or recurring strains. By consistently training the adductor longus with smart, progressive exercises, many have seen noticeable improvements in both pain reduction and injury prevention.
How We Train the Adductor Longus
At OC, we don’t just focus on the big lifts—we make sure the smaller, stabilizing muscles get the work they need. Some of our favorite ways to strengthen the adductor longus include:
Banded Adductor Variations
These simple yet powerful drills use a band to provide resistance as you move the leg in and out. One of our go-to options is the banded “groiner”—a controlled movement that builds both strength and mobility through the hip.
Copenhagen Planks
This exercise has gained attention in sports performance circles for good reason. By elevating one leg on a bench or box while holding a side plank, you directly load the adductors in a way that’s hard to replicate. Copenhagen planks not only build strength but also challenge core stability at the same time.
4 way hip machine
This is one of the many speciality machines we have at the gym that can help prevent injuries. This machine allows a person to train with tempo, full range, partial range and do isometric holds to strengthen the adductor longus.
Integrated Training
We don’t isolate the adductors and forget about the rest. Instead, we include them as part of a full program that blends lower-body strength, core training, and conditioning. This ensures that improvements in the adductors carry over to squats, deadlifts, and athletic movements.
The Benefits We’ve Seen
When members consistently add adductor longus training into their routine, we’ve seen:
- Fewer recurring groin pulls
- Improved hip stability during strength training
- Reduction in low back and hip pain
- Better movement quality in sports like soccer, hockey, and basketball
This isn’t just theory—it’s what we’ve seen in our own community here in Bend. Small muscles matter, and when you train them consistently, the payoff is real.
Want to Train Smarter, Not Just Harder?
At OC, our programming is designed to keep you strong, happy, and healthy for the long haul. That means we don’t just hammer the big lifts—we pay attention to the details that keep you injury-free and moving well. If you’ve struggled with hip discomfort, groin pulls, or nagging low back pain, training the adductor longus with our coaches could be the missing piece.
Curious how this approach can help you? Book a free intro session today and see what training at OC can do for your health and performance:
👉 Click here to book your free intro
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