If you are suddenly asked to name the parts of the leg that you consider important for the proper functioning of the musculoskeletal system, what will you remember first of all? shins? Caviar? Hips? Toes? Ankles?

But what about the inner thighs? When was the last time you did exercises for this particular muscle group?
Quite often, when training legs, we set ourselves the goal of “removing the sides” or “pulling up from behind” and perform exercises solely to strengthen these muscles. However, we lose sight of the fact that all muscles must be in harmony, that is, develop in the same way. This is important not only for achieving good results in training, but also elementary for health. Muscles are a close-knit “team”, each member of which takes on a certain load. And if one of the members (muscles) turns out to be weaker, this will lead to an imbalance, and, consequently, an overstrain of neighboring muscles, a violation of posture, gait.
According to statistics, the inner thighs are the most problematic area on the body. This is not surprising – it is not so easy to tighten this part of the body. Many exercises that target the anterior and posterior thighs leave the inner thigh largely unaffected. Due to the underdevelopment of the muscles and insufficient stretching of the inner surface of the thighs, training for the rest of the muscles is less effective, the mobility of the hips is not developed enough, a large load falls on the knee joints, which together leads to sprains and injuries.
Whatever sport you do (Pilates, Yoga, race walking, running, weightlifting, playing sports) you should focus on strengthening the inner thighs.

5 good reasons why you should train your inner thighs:

1. Better coordination

The inner thigh is an important component of the leg that helps maintain stability when standing and walking. As we age, we tend to gait wider, which allows us to better balance when moving our legs. But such a wide gait weakens the inner thighs, making us less stable. Thus, strengthening the inner thighs allows us to feel more confident when standing (the center of the body is in the middle), walking and other similar activities (running, skiing).

2. Healthy foot rotation mechanism

So, as already mentioned above, the muscles of the inner thigh support neighboring muscles when walking, that is, moving back and forth. They are also responsible for the movement of the legs to the side, which is so important for fans of horseback riding, tennis, basketball. Without a trained inner thigh, leg movements to the side can cause sprains and ligament injuries.

3. Knees without pain

The joint work of the inner and outer surfaces of the thigh is responsible for stabilizing the leg and painless movement in the knee joint. The knee joint is capable of only two movements: flexion and extension, but due to the mobility of the hips, the leg is able to turn in all directions. Without the help of strong muscles of the inner thigh, such leg movements would not be possible or would necessarily result in a knee injury.

4. Better ankle mobility

Are your ankles always a little stiff, your calves are too tight, and do you experience pain in your heels? The cause of all these ailments lies at the other end of the leg – your inner thighs are more than responsible for what happens to the foot. The muscles of the inner thigh determine how you stand: rolling in or out of the foot. By exercising the inner thighs, you can achieve balance when standing and walking, thereby relieving foot and ankle pain. Your ankle joints will become more mobile, and this, in turn, will help prevent sprains, strains, tears and injuries of the Achilles tendon and other problems related to insufficient mobility of the foot and knee.

5. Great support for the center of the body

The inner thighs do not belong to the group of muscles that form the center of the body (abs, obliques, lower back, buttocks), but are directly related to it. The inner thighs support the center of the body, which allows you to maintain a correct even posture and avoid spinal injuries. This is especially important when lifting weights, doing squats, bending over, etc.

However, simply understanding the need to strengthen the inner thigh is not enough. Training this muscle group requires daily activity – not only performing special exercises on the inner thigh, but also the correct body position when walking, sitting and doing household chores.