TrainersEye · Quad, Thigh & Groin Health
Quad, Thigh & Groin · 30 Sessions

Thirty sessions.
Twelve minutes each.
A thigh that holds.

Five phases, 180 different movements, no repeats — from isometric squeezes to sprint and kicking mechanics. Written for adductor-related groin pain, quadriceps strain, dead leg, quad tendon pain and hip flexor overload.

Before you start

See a doctor first — do not start — with groin pain plus a lump, bulge or pain radiating into the testicle; testicular pain or swelling; fever with a hot, swollen hip or thigh; a thigh that swells rapidly and turns tight and hard after a blow; inability to bear weight after a fall; numbness or new bladder or bowel changes; night pain with weight loss; or in a growing athlete, a sudden pop at the hip or groin with no ability to walk.

Groin pain is five problems, not one. Adductor-related (pain and tenderness along the inner thigh tendon, sore on the squeeze test) is by far the most common and is what Phase 2 is built for. Iliopsoas-, pubic-, inguinal- and hip-related pain each need a different emphasis — pubic-bone pain needs a slower build, and a bulge or a cough impulse needs assessment before any of this.

The squeeze test is your number. Ball between the knees at 45°, five seconds on. It is retested at sessions 6, 12, 24 and 30 — it is the most useful single measure a groin has.

A dead leg is not a strain. After a direct blow: keep the knee bent in the first two days, and no deep massage or heat — that is how bone forms inside a bruised thigh.

The pain rule: up to 5/10 during, back to your normal by the next morning, no worse week to week.

Kit: a chair, a wall, a step, a book, a towel, a ball or pillow and a loaded backpack or two water jugs.

Phase 1Settle and activate

ASettle the thigh. Wake the groin. Nothing forced.Six drills that load the quadriceps, the adductors and the hip flexors with isometrics only — no stretching, no speed. BSlide out. Squeeze in. Learn the range.Adductor range and the 45° squeeze — the position the groin is tested in, and the one it is trained in. COpen the front. Load the inside. Nothing sharp.Hip flexor range at the front, the first adduction lifts, and the shallow split-squat hold. DThree quarters. Not all the way. Yet.Partial-range loading for the quad and the first supported Copenhagen — the groin drill that changes outcomes. ESit wide. Stand tall. Hold steady.The first lateral squatting, the adductor bridge and the wall sit that starts loading the quad properly. FSix sessions in. Test the squeeze. Then build it.Phase 1 check-in: the squeeze test, the first adduction reps and the quad through a fuller range.

Phase 2Adductors and groin

GThe Copenhagen. Forty-one per cent.Phase 2 opens on the drill that cut groin problems by around 41% in a full season — built up properly, one lever at a time. HWide stance. Long lever. Real load.Wide-stance strength for the groin and the long-lever Copenhagen — the hardest adductor drill there is. IRock back. Reach across. Own the inside.Adductor range under load, the long-lever Copenhagen in reps, and the lateral stepping the groin meets in sport. JSlide. Curtsy. Pull it back in.Sliding lunges and crossing patterns — the positions where the adductor works longest. KSqueeze hard. Hold long. Carry heavy.Maximal isometric squeezing, wide-stance loading and the carry that makes the whole pelvis work. LTwelve in. Squeeze harder than week one.Phase 2 check-in: the squeeze retested, the Copenhagen counted and the depth measured.

Phase 3Quadriceps strength

MThe body's biggest brake.Phase 3 opens on the quadriceps — loaded slow, through range, and with the reverse Nordic introduced. NHeels up. Knees forward. Quads on.The positions that load the quadriceps hardest — heels elevated, torso upright, one leg behind. OThree seconds. Every rep. No bouncing.Tempo and pauses — the two ways to make the quad work harder without touching the load. PDeep. Narrow. All quadriceps.The deepest, most quad-dominant positions in the programme, and the isometric that calms a sore quad tendon. QPulse. Lower. Extend.Partial-range burn, loaded lowering and direct knee extension — the quad from every angle. REighteen in. Count the squats. Compare the sides.Phase 3 check-in: squat volume, the reverse Nordic break point and the single-leg test.

Phase 4Length and load

SLong muscle. Heavy load. Both at once.Phase 4 opens on the rectus femoris at length — strong in the position a sprint and a kick put it in. TReach overhead. March under load. Front squat heavy.Hip flexors loaded, quads loaded from the front, and the groin held in the mix. USit lowest. Lean furthest. Hold longest.The deepest and most demanding quad and groin positions in the programme. VDrive the knee. Resist the return. Both directions.Hip flexion trained as strength, not as a stretch — and the heaviest quad lowering of the programme. WWide and deep. Long and loaded. Both sides equal.The groin and the quad loaded together at full range — where the two meet in every stride. XTwenty-four in. Deep, loaded and level.Phase 4 check-in: the heaviest squat, the loaded quad negative and the squeeze retested.

Phase 5Speed and return

YFast hips. Soft landings. Clean mechanics.Phase 5 opens on running mechanics and jumping — power built on the strength of the first four phases. ZAccelerate. Stop dead. Nothing tears.The first and last strides of every sprint — where quadriceps and groins are injured. AAThe kick. Built up. Not guessed at.Kicking is the classic quadriceps mechanism — so it is rehearsed in stages, slowly, before it happens at speed. ABCut. Cross. Hold the groin.Change of direction — the highest loads the adductors ever meet, trained under control. ACFull speed. Full depth. Still strong.The hardest session: speed on top of everything built, with the heavy work still in place. ADThirty sessions. Both legs. Within ten per cent.Graduation: the squeeze, the quad break point, the single-leg squat and the hop — side by side, written down.