Standing Cable Adduction
Pulling the leg across the body against cable resistance — isolates the inner thigh.
Also called: cable hip adduction, cable adduction, hip adduction, cable/band hip adduction, standing cable/band hip adduction, band hip adduction, standing cable hip adduction
Illustrations: Exercise data by RepDB (repdb.co)
Setup
Attach the ankle cuff to the low pulley and to the working leg. Stand sideways to the machine so the cable pulls the leg away from your body.
How to do the Standing Cable Adduction
- Pull the working leg across your body, past the standing leg.
- Squeeze the inner thigh at the end of the movement.
- Return to the starting position with control, resisting the cable's pull.
- Keep your torso upright throughout — avoid leaning to help the pull.
Standing Cable Adduction muscles worked
The Standing Cable Adduction works the adductors.
Common Standing Cable Adduction mistakes
- Leaning the torso to add momentum.
- Rushing the return instead of resisting the cable.
- Rotating the hips instead of moving the leg alone.
Scale it
Easier: Lighter weight, smaller range of motion.
Harder: Pause briefly at full contraction each rep.
Pairs well with
Copenhagen Plank
A side plank with the top leg supported on a bench — the standard for building groin (adductor) strength and injury resilience.
Lateral Lunge
A sideways lunge that strengthens the legs and hips in the frontal plane — movement running never trains but injury-resilience depends on.
Machine Hip Adduction
Squeezing the legs together on a hip adduction machine — isolates the inner thighs.
Side-Lying Hip Adduction
Lifting the bottom leg while lying on your side - isolates the inner-thigh adductors that stabilise the pelvis in running.