How To Foam Roll Inner Thighs
The Complete Breakdown Of Rolling Out Your Adductors
When learning how to foam roll your inner thighs, it’s important to understand the makeup of the muscles in that area and why you are rolling them.
After learning how to roll your inner thigh, you might realize it’s quite sensitive in certain areas. I’ve had clients let out little screams and yelps when they hit a certain area that I will discuss a bit later.
It’s totally normal! As you work on rolling out a certain area, it will be become easier, less painful, and can help improve range of motion.
In this article, you will learn:
Compared to other muscles you will foam roll, using the roller on your inner thigh can be a tricky set up.
I’ve had clients joke that they feel like they are straddling the floor. Nothing wrong with that!
Here’s the setup for a proper inner thigh foam roll:
- Start with your body in plank position and the foam roll to the right of your body.
- Bring your right knee up to form a 90 degree angle and place the foam roller directly next to the knee.
- It should be resting on a meaty part of your leg right next to your knee and now you can start sliding your hips to the right so the foam roller starts going up your inner leg.
- Go up as far as you can into your hip and then go back the other direction towards your knee.
When performing the movement with full range of motion, 5 - 10 reps is adequate, or about 30 - 60 seconds.
If you find a spot that is more tender than others, feel free to spend a few extra seconds to break up that tissue that is causing discomfort.
As I mentioned in the introduction, there’s a certain area that you might really feel it, and that’s next to the knee when you start the movement (picture below)
It might get you yelling “Why did I read this article from VBA Fitness!”
You’re welcome!
The main muscle that most people associate the inner thigh with is called the adductor.
There are a few different muscles that make up the adductor and they include the:
-
- Adductor brevis
- Adductor longus
- Gracilis
- Adductor magnus
Now that you know the inner thigh is called the adductor, let’s break down why it’s important.
Compared to other leg muscles that people train because they want them to look better, you rarely hear someone say “I want better adductors”
Someone might say they want to lose fat in their inner thighs but I’ve never heard someone say they want bigger adductors.
But that doesn’t mean they are useless!
In fact, the opposite is true, they are extremely important.
The adductor muscle is a stability muscle that is going to be engaged during most lower body movements you do such as squats, lunging, running, jumping, etc. If you don’t foam roll your inner thighs and your adductors become too tight, your movement pattern will be affected and you could risk injury.
Pair your inner thigh foam roll with strength exercises such as lateral lunges. Learn all about lateral lunges and the best variations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Loosening your inner thighs involves foam rolling the affected areas for 30 - 60 seconds per side. You also should be adding in specific stretches for your groin area, and working on strengthening them through exercise.
If you want to learn the best stretches and exercises for tight inner thighs, check out the article in the next question below.
Yes you absolutely can. The groin is also known as the adductor and foam rolling that area can loosen up tight muscles and relieve pain and muscle imbalances.
No, you can not use a foam roller to roll away cellulite. Foam rolling is mean to help break up muscle tissue to improve range of motion and loosen up muscles. There is nothing wrong with cellulite but focusing on getting leaner through a calorie deficit is the best way to help with that.
I mentioned earlier that no one says they want “big inner thigh muscles”. What most people do want is to build muscle there and lose fat, which will help you lose cellulite and give a toned looking inner thigh area.
How To Foam Roll Your Inner Thighs Recap
When rolling your adductors, please remember to go full range of motion.
From the knee area all the way to the hip will target all your inner thigh muscles. I see too many people only going a few inches back and forth. Something is better than nothing, but you are definitely missing out if you don’t roll out the whole muscle!
If you experience any pain performing this movement, make sure to speak your doctor about steps to heal the affected area.
I hope you enjoyed the article!