Exercise Guide

Hip Abduction Machine

The seated machine that pushes the knees apart against a stack. Direct work for the glute medius, which stabilises every step and squat you take.

BeginnerStrengthPushIsolation
Form
Hip Abduction Machine - Start position
Start
Hip Abduction Machine - Mid position
Mid
Hip Abduction Machine - End position
End

Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Details

Primary Muscle

Glutes

Equipment

Machine

Difficulty

Beginner

Category

Strength

Force

Push

Mechanic

Isolation

Secondary Muscles

Core
How to Perform
  1. 1

    Sit back in the machine with the pads against the outside of your knees.

  2. 2

    Set the starting width so your knees begin close together.

  3. 3

    Drive your knees apart against the resistance and pause at the end of the range.

  4. 4

    Let the pads come back together slowly.

Tips
  • Leaning your torso forward biases the upper glute; sitting upright keeps it on the glute medius.
  • Control the return. Letting the stack slam back is where most of the set gets wasted.
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Hip Abduction Machine — How To, Form & Muscles Worked | ripped.club