Gracilis

Gracilis

Pictured above is the gracilis muscle. It runs from your pubic bone to just below your knee on the inside of your leg. It primarily works as a stabilizer for the leg on the hip joint and pulls the leg inward. When this muscle is overly tight (and this is true for many of us), you will have trouble comfortably opening your legs really wide. This leads to compromised leg positioning for some functional movements such as the deep squat.

The muscles are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others. You can access individual muscle detail for all the other muscles in the body with our Coach membership.

Individual hip, lower back & thigh muscles you might be interested in: (any inactive links will be live soon)

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Click here to see the hip flexor muscles as a group.

Muscle that crosses the hip/lower back joint and crosses the hip/thigh joint (attaches to the spine and the femur)

  1. Psoas


Muscles that attach to the hip and the thigh bone (femur)

  1. Iliacus
  2. Rectus Femoris
  3. Tensor Fasciae Latae
  4. Sartorius
  5. Gracilis
  6. Adductor Magnus
  7. Adductor Longus
  8. Adductor Brevis
  9. Pectineus
  10. Gluteus Maximus
  11. Gluteus Medius
  12. Gluteus Minimus
  13. Piriformis
  14. Superior Gemellus
  15. Obturator Internus
  16. Inferior Gemellus
  17. Obturator Externus
  18. Quadratus Femoris
  19. Biceps Femoris
  20. Semitendonosis
  21. Semimembranosis


Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Adductor Magnus

Adductor Magnus

Pictured above is the adductor magnus. This huge muscle on the inside of your thigh pulls your knee inward toward your hip. This muscle is too tight if your knees bow inward when you squat or during the landing of a jump. In addition, this strong muscle can act as a pseudo hamstring muscle that pulls your leg back and inward as it contracts. So a healthy adductor magnus helps LOTS of hip & thigh functions. 

The leg on the left has all the muscles that cross the inside front of your thigh in addition to the adductor longus. All of the muscles in the left leg are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others. You can access individual muscle detail for the quads and all the other muscles in the body with our Coach membership.
Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Click here to see the adductors as a group.

Individual muscles you might be interested in:

Muscles that attach to the thigh bone from either the spine or hip bone above (attached anywhere on the femur)

  1. Psoas
  2. Iliacus
  3. Rectus Femoris
  4. Tensor Fasciae Latae
  5. Sartorius
  6. Gracilis
  7. Adductor Magnus
  8. Adductor Longus
  9. Adductor Brevis
  10. Pectineus
  11. Gluteus Maximus
  12. Gluteus Medius
  13. Gluteus Minimus
  14. Piriformis
  15. Superior Gemellus
  16. Obturator Internus
  17. Inferior Gemellus
  18. Quadratus Femoris
  19. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  20. Semitendonosis
  21. Semimembranosis

Muscles that attach to the hip and the thigh bone (femur)

  1. Iliacus
  2. Rectus Femoris
  3. Tensor Fasciae Latae
  4. Sartorius
  5. Gracilis
  6. Adductor Magnus
  7. Adductor Longus
  8. Adductor Brevis
  9. Pectineus
  10. Gluteus Maximus
  11. Gluteus Medius
  12. Gluteus Minimus
  13. Piriformis
  14. Superior Gemellus
  15. Obturator Internus
  16. Inferior Gemellus
  17. Quadratus Femoris
  18. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  19. Semitendonosis
  20. Semimembranosis

Muscles that attach to the thigh bone (femur) and the knee cap (patella)

  1. Rectus Femoris
  2. Vastus Medialis Oblique
  3. Vastus Lateralis Oblique
  4. Vastus Intermedius

Muscles that cross or attach to the thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

  1. Sartorius
  2. Gracilis
  3. Semitendonosis
  4. Semimembranosis
  5. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  6. Biceps Femoris - Short Head
  7. Gastrocnemius
  8. Popliteus
  9. Plantaris

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Adductor Longus

Adductor Longus

Pictured above is the adductor longus.

The leg on the left has all the muscles that cross the inside front of your thigh in addition to the adductor longus. All of the muscles in the left leg are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others. You can access individual muscle detail for the quads and all the other muscles in the body with our Coach membership.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Click here to see the adductors as a group.

Individual muscles you might be interested in:

Muscles that attach to the thigh bone from either the spine or hip bone above (attached anywhere on the femur)

  1. Psoas
  2. Iliacus
  3. Rectus Femoris
  4. Tensor Fasciae Latae
  5. Sartorius
  6. Gracilis
  7. Adductor Magnus
  8. Adductor Longus
  9. Adductor Brevis
  10. Pectineus
  11. Gluteus Maximus
  12. Gluteus Medius
  13. Gluteus Minimus
  14. Piriformis
  15. Superior Gemellus
  16. Obturator Internus
  17. Inferior Gemellus
  18. Quadratus Femoris
  19. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  20. Semitendonosis
  21. Semimembranosis

Muscles that attach to the hip and the thigh bone (femur)

  1. Iliacus
  2. Rectus Femoris
  3. Tensor Fasciae Latae
  4. Sartorius
  5. Gracilis
  6. Adductor Magnus
  7. Adductor Longus
  8. Adductor Brevis
  9. Pectineus
  10. Gluteus Maximus
  11. Gluteus Medius
  12. Gluteus Minimus
  13. Piriformis
  14. Superior Gemellus
  15. Obturator Internus
  16. Inferior Gemellus
  17. Quadratus Femoris
  18. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  19. Semitendonosis
  20. Semimembranosis

Muscles that attach to the thigh bone (femur) and the knee cap (patella)

  1. Rectus Femoris
  2. Vastus Medialis Oblique
  3. Vastus Lateralis Oblique
  4. Vastus Intermedius

Muscles that cross or attach to the thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

  1. Sartorius
  2. Gracilis
  3. Semitendonosis
  4. Semimembranosis
  5. Biceps Femoris - Long Head
  6. Biceps Femoris - Short Head
  7. Gastrocnemius
  8. Popliteus
  9. Plantaris

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!