You most likely already know this, however the leg press machine is so standard that you simply virtually want a reservation to snag just a few units on it once you hit the health club for leg day. It is a go-to for health club newbies and seasoned health club goers alike, and for good purpose: The leg press machine provides some critical advantages.
The leg press “is a robust compound lower-body train that targets your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and extra,” says Thanu Jey, D.C., C.S.C.S., clinic director at Yorkville Sports activities Medication Clinic. “It helps construct power within the motion of extending your knees and hips,” he provides.
With two kinds of leg presses obtainable at many gyms (and a number of methods to make use of them), although, you may not be utilizing these items of apparatus to their fullest potential. Here is what you want to know to alter that.
The Two Sorts of Leg Press Machines
Most bigger gyms have two totally different leg press machines: an incline leg press machine that you’re going to discover with the free weights (resembling barbells and dumbbells) and a horizontal cable leg press machine that you’re going to discover with the cable weight machines.
The Incline Leg Press
With the incline leg press machine, you sit in a low, reclined seat together with your toes pressed up towards a raised platform. You may add weight plates to the platform to regulate the resistance and make it tougher to push the platform up and away from you. In an incline leg press, you push towards gravity, which mimics useful, machine-free actions you utilize in the actual world, says Adeeb Khalfe, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founding father of Motion Evolution in Dallas.
A significant professional of the incline leg press is that it lets you add heaps of weight, making it an important software for extra superior exercisers, says Khalfe. Nonetheless, as a result of your physique is positioned under the burden, the incline leg press places extra load in your backbone, rising your threat for damage in the event you do not use the machine correctly. (To not point out, loading and unloading plates from the machine generally is a trouble.)
The Horizontal Cable Leg Press
With the horizontal cable leg press, you sit together with your toes pressed towards a platform on the similar peak as your torso. This sort of leg press usually includes a cable-rigged weight stack that you should utilize to simply choose your required weight with out getting up out of your seat.
Because you’re working towards the resistance you have chosen on the machine’s pulley system (and never gravity), the horizontal leg press has much less useful profit than the incline, in response to Khalfe. Nonetheless, this kind of leg press machine is much less intimidating for rookies, and likewise lets you make changes to your weight — though your choices are extra restricted — extra rapidly than the incline machine, he says.
Easy methods to Use the Leg Press Machine
To make use of both kind of leg press machine, choose a weight you’ll be able to safely elevate in your desired variety of reps. (You may all the time begin mild and enhance the burden if it is too simple.) Sit together with your again and head flat towards the seat and your toes positioned shoulders-width aside in the course of the platform, says Jey. Preserve your toes impartial — which means your toes are straight above your heels.
Preserving your core tight, glutes rooted within the seat, and your again straight towards the seat, press by your toes (evenly by your toes and heels, says Jey), to push the leg press platform away from you and straighten by your knees. When your legs are totally prolonged — however not locked out — pause. Then, slowly and with management, bend on the knees to return the platform to its beginning place. Do not rush by the movement, and hold your toes firmly planted on the platform all through.
The Advantages of the Leg Press Machine
“The leg press is a good machine for growing the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and even calf muscle groups,” says Khalfe. Due to the machine’s managed motion sample, it is typically protected for rookies who’re new to (or intimidated by) free-weight workout routines, he says. And since you do not want a spotter, it is also an important choice for solo leg days; simply be sure to use the security bars on the incline leg press to maintain the burden from sliding down on you in the event you overestimate how a lot you’ll be able to elevate or your foot slips.
Plus, for the reason that leg press isolates the decrease physique, it is also an important choice for individuals with again or shoulder accidents who need to strengthen their legs. It’s also possible to do reps with only one leg to work on single-leg power with out having to fret about steadiness, provides Khalfe. (And also you get all these different advantages of lifting weights.)
The Downsides of the Leg Press Machine
Though the leg press machine helps you construct leg power, the motion would not fairly translate to real-world actions in the way in which that squats or lunges do, says Jey. The incline press is barely extra useful than the horizontal press as a result of it requires you to work towards gravity like standing workout routines do — however you most likely will not ever want to truly push towards a heavy weight together with your toes whereas sitting down IRL.
To not point out, standing strikes resembling squats and lunges additionally have interaction your core far more than the leg press, since they require you to steadiness, says Khalfe. (And core power is vital for sooo many causes.) So, the leg press machine undoubtedly has a spot in your exercise routine — so long as it isn’t the one lower-body transfer in your arsenal.
Frequent Leg Press Machine Errors
While you do hop onto the leg press machine, be careful for a few method errors that may mess together with your outcomes and put you in danger for damage.
- Lifting your butt up off the seat: Although it’s possible you’ll be tempted to elevate your butt off the seat when pushing a heavy weight, do not do it. This will increase the pressure the motion places in your knees, says Khalfe.
- Utilizing your arms to assist push by your legs: One other widespread cheat individuals flip to when the burden will get heavy: utilizing their arms on their thighs to assist push their legs. Whereas this is not essentially harmful, it in the end undermines your leg power progress by taking the stress off of your leg muscle groups, explains Khalfe.
- Locking your knees out on the prime of the rep: “One of many greatest errors I see is individuals loading up the leg press with weight after which locking out their knees on the finish of their reps,” says Khalfe. This shifts the strain off of your quads and onto your precise knee joint (eek!), which units you up for ache and damage.
- Arching your again up off the seat: Tough as it could be to maintain your again fully flat towards the seat all through your reps, arching your again on the leg press machine will increase the pressure in your decrease again, says Khalfe.
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Easy methods to Get Extra Out of the Leg Press Machine
One of many leg press machine’s main perks is that adjusting your foot placement (aka stance width and foot peak) can change up which muscle groups the transfer emphasizes. Whereas that impartial, shoulders-width stance targets your glutes and leg muscle groups fairly evenly, a wider sumo stance (with toes pointed barely out) fires up your inside higher thighs and quads, whereas a slender stance lights up your outer quads extra, says Khalfe.
And the way excessive you place your toes on the platform additionally shifts the main focus: A excessive foot place will increase the emphasis in your hamstrings and glutes, whereas a decrease foot place targets your quads, provides Khalfe. (Here is extra on methods to activate glute muscle groups you suppose are snoozing.)
Machine-Free Alternate options to the Leg Press
After all, if you wish to reap the strength-building advantages of the leg press with out the machine, you’ll be able to undoubtedly achieve this.
Along with firing up your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, different nice leg day strikes resembling squats, lunges, and calf raises additionally show you how to develop core power, steadiness, and stability, says Khalfe. These actions are additionally extra useful and higher put together your physique for each day duties, resembling climbing stairs.