How to do machine leg press to build your hips

What is this exercise

The leg press is a popular strength training exercise for pumping the legs, which is performed in a special machine, horizontal or vertical (inclined). In the first, a person sits upright, as if on a chair, and pushes the platform parallel to the floor, in the second, he lies on a bench at an angle of 45 ° and presses his legs up.

Both machines are great for building your lower body, and the slight difference in muscle activation can be eliminated.D. Silva, E. Marczwski, B. M. Arias. Analysis of Muscle Activation During Different Leg Press Exercises at Submaximum Effort Levels / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Researchby changing the position of the legs.

Why Leg Press Is Good

This exercise has several advantages that make it quite popular:

• Pumps quads well. The leg press is great. 1. I. Martin-Fuentes, J. M. Oliva-Lozano, J. M. Muyor. Evaluation of the Lower Limb Muscles' Electromyographic Activity during the Leg Press Exercise and Its Variants: A Systematic Review / International journal of environmental research and public health
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  2. I. Martín ‑ Fuentes, J. M. Oliva-Lozano, J.M. Muyor. Influence of Feet Position and Execution Velocity on Muscle Activation and Kinematic Parameters During the Inclined Leg Press Exercise / Sports Health the outer and especially the inner head of the quadriceps. When working with heavy weights, you can activate these muscles at 195-200% of the maximum voluntary contraction - much betterN. Stien, A. H. Saeterbakken, V. Andersen. Electromyographic Comparison of Five Lower-Limb Muscles between Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises among Trained Men / Journal of sports science and medicinethan during leg extension on the machine.
• Loads other muscles in the lower body. Leg press is also good for activating I. Martín ‑ Fuentes, J. M. Oliva-Lozano, J.M. Muyor. Influence of Feet Position and Execution Velocity on Muscle Activation and Kinematic Parameters During the Inclined Leg Press Exercise / Sports Health rectus femoris, especially in women, and D. Silva, E. Marczwski, B. M. Arias. Analysis of Muscle Activation During Different Leg Press Exercises at Submaximum Effort Levels / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research buttocks and calves, and at the top of the range pumpsN. Stien, A. H. Saeterbakken, V. Andersen. Electromyographic Comparison of Five Lower-Limb Muscles between Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises among Trained Men / Journal of sports science and medicine muscles on the back of the thigh.
• Can't hurt the lower back. Unlike squats with a barbell, in the leg press, the back is pressed against the chair and does not experience any stress. Therefore, the exercise can be useful for people with lower back pain.
• Doesn't require a long learning curve. The leg press is simple and safe - no balance, back position, or core stabilization required. Beginners can perform this movement without mastering the technique and without risk of injury.
• Allows you to shift the load on the desired muscles. You can change the position of your legs on the platform and move in a limited range to pump specifically the quadriceps or focus on the gluteal muscles.

Due to its simplicity and the ability to work with large weights, the leg press in the simulator is often preferred to squats with a barbell on the back. This choice is not entirely justified, although it all depends on your goals and limitations.

Who Doesn't Use Leg Press

Back squats are superior to leg presses in many ways, including:

• Muscle and strength growth. After barbell squats, testosterone and growth hormone levels, which are beneficial for hypertrophy, increaseA.A. Shaner, J. L. Vingren, D. L. Hatfield. The Acute Hormonal Response to Free Weight and Machine Weight Resistance Exercise / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research significantly more than after a leg press with a similar load. Also grow fasterK. Wirth, H. Hartmann, A. Sander. The Impact of Back Squat and Leg ‑ Press Exercises on Maximal Strength and Speed ​​‑ Strength Parameters / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research power indicators.
• Reducing the risk of injury. When you squat, you strengthenL. Rogers, T. Sherman. Leg Press Versus Squat / Strength and Conditioning Journal core muscles that protect the lower back from injury during any movement - both in the gym and in everyday life. In the leg press, the core works much less.
• Increased results in different sports. While squatting, you fully extend at the hip joints, while in the leg press, you remain in a bent position. This may be why the first exercise improvesK. Wirth, H. Hartmann, A. Sander. The Impact of Back Squat and Leg ‑ Press Exercises on Maximal Strength and Speed ​​‑ Strength Parameters / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research results in jumping, while the latter only increases the strength and size of the muscles.

So, if your goal is to build muscle faster, improve athletic performance, and protect your back from injury, sit back squats.

If you want to unload your back after an injury or hard training, you plan to pump it to the fullest. quads or not quite familiar with back squatting techniques, the machine leg press will be great choice.

How to do leg press correctly

Sit on a simulator chair, place your feet in the middle of the platform shoulder-width apart. Turn the socks slightly outward. Press your back and hips against the chair and remove the restraints, freeing the platform.

If you are doing leg press on a horizontal machine, simply put the desired weight on the blocks, sit in the chair and grab the handles to press your body more tightly against the seat.

Bend your knees to a right angle. Make sure your pelvis and lower back do not come off the machine seat. If this happens, move your feet a little lower.

Overcome the resistance of the platform, straighten your knees almost to full extension, but do not block them at the extreme point.

If you have an imbalance in the development of your thigh muscles, you can try the one-leg press. In this case, the stronger limb will not take the load away from the weaker one and both will receive an equal load.

What mistakes to avoid when doing leg press

To maximize your benefits and avoid injury, avoid the following mistakes:

• Choosing the wrong range. The quads are most stressed when the knees are bent at a 90-100 ° angle. Moving at the top of the range, you focus on the back of the thigh, which is not entirely justified, since there are much more effective exercises for pumping it.
• Incorrect knee position. Make sure that they look forward or slightly to the sides, do not bring them together.
• Separation of the lower back or pelvis from the chair. By rounding or arching your back, you put unnecessary stress on the lower back.
• Locking knees at the top. By fully straightening your legs at the joint, you take the strain off the muscles and run the risk of reducing progress.

How to shift the load on the muscles by changing the position of the legs

According to researchI. Martín ‑ Fuentes, J. M. Oliva-Lozano, J.M. Muyor. Influence of Feet Position and Execution Velocity on Muscle Activation and Kinematic Parameters During the Inclined Leg Press Exercise / Sports Health, the width of the feet (hip-width or 1.5 times wider) and the degree of outward rotation of the socks (0 ° and 45 °) does not affect muscle activation in the leg press. But the height of placing the feet on the platform canD. Silva, E. Marczwski, B. M. Arias. Analysis of Muscle Activation During Different Leg Press Exercises at Submaximum Effort Levels / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Researchplay a role.

If you want to load the buttocks more, move your legs closer to the top edge of the platform so that in the starting position they are not in line with the pelvis, but slightly above it.

This will increase the range of your hip joints, so your glutes will have to work hard to extend your legs. But keep in mind that this only works when using heavy weights at 80% of your 1RM. With a light load (about 40%), the position of the legs does not really matter.

To better pump the rectus femoris and calf muscles, place your legs just below the middle of the platform so that your feet are flush with your pelvis.

But at the same time, remember that it is at the lowest point of the exercise that the load on the quadriceps is maximum. Therefore, if stiff calves do not allow you to bend your knees at right angles, you should move your feet higher.

How to add leg press to your program

If you can't or can't do back squats, use the leg press as an alternative to building your legs. Do it 1–2 times a week for 6–12 reps at 75–80% of your 1RM.

Just be sure to add exercises on the back of the thigh to the program, for example, curling the legs in the simulator, Nordic crunches or lifting the pelvis with a barbell.

If you're doing squats, you can add the leg press to hit the quads at the end of your workout, or use it on days when your back is already overloaded, such as after a heavy deadlift. Just be careful with working weights: the nervous system, tired of the base, may not be able to cope with the loads, and you will get injured.

Iya Zorina