Does the hip abduction machine grow your glutes?

It trains the side of the glutes and can help them grow, but the biggest glute muscle (glute maximus) gets more work from hip thrusts, squats and lunges. Use it alongside them.

Should I lean forward on the hip abduction machine?

You can. Leaning forward is a popular way to feel it more in the upper glutes. Sitting up or leaning back works the same muscles.

Abduction or adduction machine for glutes?

Abduction, pushing your legs apart, is the one for the glutes. Adduction, squeezing your legs together, trains the inner thighs.

Hip Abduction Machine: Muscles Worked and Form

Q: What muscles does the hip abduction machine work?

The glutes, mainly the glute medius and minimus on the side of your hips.

Hip abduction machine: muscles worked and how to use it

The hip abduction machine trains your glutes, mainly the glute medius and minimus on the side of your hips, the muscles that move your legs out to the side and keep your pelvis level when you walk, run or stand on one leg.

You sit with pads against the outside of your knees and push your legs apart. It is one of the simplest machines in the gym, and one of the most popular for glute training. It works best as an addition to the big glute lifts (hip thrusts, squats, lunges), not a replacement.

At a glance

Main muscles: Glutes
Movement: Hip abduction
Equipment: Machine
Type: Isolation (one joint)

Front

Back

How to use the hip abduction machine

Set the starting width so your legs are together, or nearly so, with the pads against the outside of your knees.
Sit with your back against the pad, feet on the foot rests, and hold the handles.
Push your knees out to the sides as far as you can, under control.
Pause for a moment at the widest point.
Let your legs come back together slowly, without letting the weight stack touch down between reps.

Cues that help

"Knees out, slowly": the movement is small, so make every centimetre count.
"Pause wide": a second at the end of the range.
"Don’t let it slam": the return is half of the rep.
"Try a forward lean": leaning your chest forward over your hips shifts more of the work to the upper glutes.

Common mistakes

Bouncing the legs open and closed fast. The weight swings and your muscles do little.
Too much weight to reach your full width.
Lifting your hips off the seat or rocking your torso to move the weight.
Using it instead of the big lifts. It helps the glutes grow, but it can’t carry a glute programme alone.

Sitting up or leaning forward?

Sitting upright trains the side of the hips with your hips bent at about 90 degrees. Leaning forward bends your hips further, which many lifters feel more in the upper part of the glutes. Leaning back against the pad is the most stable. All three train the same muscles, so try them and keep the one you feel most, or do a set of each.

Sets, reps and weight

For muscle: 2 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps.
Rest about 1 minute between sets.
It fits at the end of a leg or glute session, after the heavy lifts.
Add weight once you can do all your reps with a full range and a pause.

Variations and alternatives

Cable hip abduction: standing, one leg at a time, with an ankle strap.
Banded side walks or clamshells: with a resistance band, for home or a warm-up.
Hip thrust and glute bridge: the main glute builders.
Bulgarian split squat: the glute medius works hard to keep you balanced on one leg.

Tracking your hip abductions

PushBeyond logs the weight and reps of each set and charts the history of the exercise. Its muscle map counts the hip abduction machine for your glutes.