Cable Hip Abduction

During movement and exercise, our muscles and joints coordinate to perform the different movement patterns required.

In most cases, the hip abductors act as stabilizer muscles. They help with forward motion and stabilize our body position as we stand or move. If they didn’t work, we wouldn’t be able to function properly.

With this, hip abduction exercises should form an important part of your training routine. To help you work them correctly, we’ve looked at the cable hip abduction exercise in detail below.

How To Do

  1. Set up a cable machine so the anchor point is at the bottom position with an ankle strap attached.
  2. Stand side-on with a hip-width stance. Your closest leg should be next to the attachment.
  3. Securely fasten the strap around the ankle that’s furthest away from the pulley. Stand tall with your chest up and head facing forward.
  4. Inhale and engage your core. Bring your working leg slightly into the machine past your supporting leg. Your closest arm should be gripping the machine for support while the other is on your hip.
  5. Exhale and bring your leg straight out to the side away from your body. Pause briefly at the top position when you feel your hip abductor working.
  6. Inhale and bring it back to the starting position under control.
  7. After the stated number of repetitions, turn around and switch legs.

Tips From Expert

  • Ensure that the working leg is the one that’s furthest away from the machine. The closest leg will form a stable base to work from.
  • Grasp the pulley machine to keep balance. Ensure you maintain control throughout the movement.
  • Bring the working leg straight out to the side. Imagine you need to draw an arc straight outwards. It should not go forward or to the back of your body.
  • Check that the ankle strap is securely fastened before beginning the exercise. This reduces the likelihood of it coming off and causing injury.
  • Keep your head up and your chest facing forward throughout. This ensures targeting muscle activation.

Optimal Sets and Reps

The programming table below shows the idea set and reps for each training style. Use it to program the cable hip abduction exercise to learn how to get wider hips.

Training Type Sets Reps
Strength Training 3–5 4–6
Hypertrophy 3–4 8–10
Endurance Training 3–4 12+
Power Training 3–5 1–3 (Explosive)
Optimal Sets & Reps of Cable Hip Abduction

How to Put in Your Workout Split

The cable hip abduction movement is an isolation exercise that primarily works the hip abductors. The quadriceps, glutes, and iliopsoas play secondary roles.

The hip abductors are heavily involved in most compound and functional movements. Isolating them with cable hip abductions has several useful benefits. These include better hip stability, improved function movement patterns, and reduced injury risk.

Consider these options to get the most out of them:

  • Bodybuilding Leg Workout — Add them as part of a leg workout following your compound movements. Program them after exercises such as squats and leg presses for targeted isolation. They work well as part of a 3-day workout split.
  • Powerlifting Accessory Workout — After training your main powerlifting movements, add them to your accessory workout at the end. Program them after your squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
  • General Fitness Routine — Program them into your general fitness routine any way you like. Ensure you hit the minimum volume stated and allow enough rest.

For each of the options above, use the correct intensity ranges according to your training style. These should be based on your one repetition max or 1RM. This is the maximum amount of weight you can lift with good form for one repetition.

  • Strength And Power — 80%–100% of your 1RM, 2–3 minutes of rest between each set.
  • Hypertrophy — 60%–80% of your 1RM, 60–90 seconds of rest between each set.
  • Endurance — 40%–60% of your 1RM, 60–90 seconds of rest between each set.

Perform a minimum of 10 working sets per week for muscular hypertrophy. Allow at least 48-72 hours of rest between sessions.

Primary Muscle Groups

Hip Abductors

Muscles located between your lower back and perineum. Consists of three muscle groups.

Hip Abductors

The primary hip abductor muscles include the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and tensor fasciae latae. The piriformis and sartorius are considered secondary hip abductors.

The hip abductors move the legs away from the midline of the body. When the legs are fixed to the ground, the hip abductors function to stabilize the torso. A good example would be when standing on one leg.

During the cable hip abduction, they function to bring the leg away from the midline against resistance. As this happens, the opposite hip flexor functions to keep a stable position for the non-working leg.

In a similar exercise that used side stepping, the hip abductors showed an activation rate of 45.2%. This was specifically in the tensor fasciae latae.

Secondary Muscle Groups

Gluteus

Large, superficial muscles located at your buttocks just below your lower back area.

Quadriceps

Muscles located at the front portion of your upper legs, below your pelvis and above your knees. Consists of four parts.

Iliopsoas

Muscles starting at your back, moving through your pelvis connecting just below your groin.

Quadriceps

The quadriceps are at the front of the upper legs. They are divided into four muscle groups — the vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris.

The quadriceps performs knee extension. This means that the angle between the lower leg and upper leg gets bigger. For example, a kicking action uses knee extension.

Alongside this, they perform hip flexion. This is where the hips come back, decreasing the angle between the pelvis and thighs.

During hip abduction, the quadriceps mainly act to stabilize the knee position as the hip abductors perform the primary movement pattern.

Gluteus

The gluteus consists of three main muscle groups at the back of the upper legs. The main one is the gluteus maximus. For the cable hip abduction exercise, we are classifying the gluteus minimus and medius in the primary hip abductors section.

The gluteus maximum extends the hips, driving them forward. This increases the angle between the thighs and pelvis.

It works alongside the other hip abductors to bring the leg out to the side. In the same study as above, the gluteus maximus showed a muscle activation rate of 8.9%.

Iliopsoas

The iliopsoas is a large muscle group located on the inner hip. The main smaller muscle groups include the iliacus and psoas major muscle groups.

The iliopsoas muscle performs hip flexion. This is the act of bringing the knees closer to the chest, for example when bending forward. Like the hip abductors, the iliopsoas are crucial for stability and leg movement.

Equipment

Narrow Cable Pulley Towers

Narrow Cable Pulley Towers

This versatile cable machine is suitable for a wide range of exercises. It provides constant resistance. Ensure the cable points are firmly clipped in.

Ankle Cuff

This provides a great way for you to work your glutes and hamstrings when attached to a cable machine. Ensure that it's secured in place.

Alternatives

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the different equipment.

Side to Side Leg Swing

Hip Circles

Side Plank with Leg Lift

Fire Hydrant

Outer Thigh Raise

Who Should Do?

Powerlifters

Training as a powerlifter involves lifting heavy weights using the three main powerlifting exercises. These are the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift. The hip abductors and glutes are heavily involved in the squat and the deadlift.

During both movements, the hip abductors help to control forward motion and stabilize the trunk to maintain an upright posture. In the deadlift, the glutes extend the hips to drive them forward when bringing the barbell up. In the squat, the glutes control the descent and help drive you out of the bottom position.

Isolating these vital muscles with the cable hip abduction can help to strengthen them and improve movement efficiency.

Recreational Gymgoers

Recreational gymgoers look to develop their physique and fitness through resistance exercise. They often start with a small training base, looking to build their fitness and function as they train. Alongside this, they often spend extended periods sitting at work or home after work besides training.

Therefore, beginners often have weak glute muscles with include the hip abductors. Over time, this makes them harder to activate during movement and activity. 

Performing hip abductions throughout the beginner training phase helps to provide a solid base. This can prevent weak hip abductors and improve activation during activity.

Bodybuilders

The main goal of bodybuilders is to develop a good physique. The best way to do this is via compound exercises to promote better training volume. 

Common compound exercises as bodybuilders include deadlifts and squats. As explained above, the hip abductors and glutes play leading roles in these movements. Perform the cable hip abduction as an accessory exercise after your compound lifts.

Who Should Not Do?

Older Populations With Hip Replacements

Resistance training is well known to improve function and strength in old age. When done correctly, this can improve mobility and quality of life. However, the key to resistance training for older populations is to perform suitable exercises that don’t increase injury risk.

For older populations with hip replacements, the targeted hip abductor work may be too much. In this case, bodyweight hip abduction may be a better option. They can provide a suitable stimulus at a smaller relative intensity. 

Those With Chronic Hip Issues

Chronic hip issues such as hip fractures and osteoarthritis tend to cause symptoms that reduce mobility and quality of life. Symptoms include pain and reduced hip range of motion. Because of this, larger hip movement patterns may make these existing hip symptoms worse.

The cable hip abduction requires a large range of motion and constant hip activation for correct performance. This means it may not be suitable for those with chronic hip issues. In this case, bodyweight hip abductions or gentle non-weight-bearing exercises may be the better option.

Benefits Of The Cable Hip Abduction

Improved Functional Movement Patterns

When you walk or stand on one foot, your abductor muscles stabilize your pelvis. When you run, get up, or play sports, your abductor muscles help to coordinate movement and improve function. Performing resistance training using functional movement patterns can therefore help to improve daily functional performance.

Having strong hip abductor muscles helps to improve these functional fitness movements by improving hip strength and stability. The hip abductors have been shown to have an important role in function, especially when recovering mobility.

Prevent Knee Injuries

The knee joint connects the bones of the upper and lower legs. It’s heavily used in most forms of exercise which involve movement. Having good hip strength and muscle function is vital for efficient movement patterns which include those involving the knee.

With a complex structure, the knee joint is also one of the most commonly injured. In a study looking at male college students, the prevalence of knee injuries was approximately 23.2%.

The hip abductors help to keep the correct leg alignment during exercise and movement. This prevents them from moving out of the optimal position, reducing the potential stress. With this, having strong hip abductors can help to prevent knee injuries by keeping the correct alignment.

Better Posture

Posture refers to the position of the body in space. This is determined by factors such as movement efficiency, balance, coordination, and muscle strength. Our core musculature plays a leading role in postural maintenance. 

Everything we do requires posture to some extent. When we sit or stand, small postural muscles keep an upright position. When we move around and perform activities, our postural muscles work to maintain the correct limb movements.

Most people think the core is made up of just the abdominals. However, it also includes muscles that stabilize your torso such as the hip abductors. This makes them a key muscle group involved in posture.

Strengthening the hip abductors with the cable hip abduction machine helps to stabilize the hips. With key roles in core function and mobility, this can help to improve posture when done frequently. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the cable hip abduction work many muscles?

Yes. It works the hip abductors, quadriceps, gluteus, and iliopsoas.

How to do abductors on cable machine?

Set the anchor point at the bottom and stand to the side. Bring the ankle strap around your ankle that’s furthest away from the machine and stand up with your chest up. Exhale and abduct your leg to the side.

What muscles do cable abductions target?

The cable hip abduction works the hip abductors as the primary movers. The quadriceps, gluteus, and iliopsoas perform secondary roles during the movement.

How many reps of cable hip abduction should I do?

The ideal repetitions to perform for the cable hip abduction depend on your training goals. Follow the programming table above, using the ideal set and rep ranges. Ensure you perform each rep in the stated ranges using the proper form.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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