Leg press
Muscles worked : Quadriceps, glutes · Hamstrings
How to do it
- Sit on the machine, back and head firmly against the pad.
- Place your feet flat on the plate, hip-width apart.
- Release the safety catches and lower by bending the knees to close to a 90° angle.
- Push through the feet to full leg extension, without fully locking the knees.
Common mistakes
- Fully locking the knees at the top of the push, shifting the load onto the joint.
- Lower back lifting off the pad on the way down.
- Lowering too deep, knees passing well beyond the chest.
Where you should feel it
The work should be felt at the front of the thighs and the glutes, with no tension in the lower back: the pad supports the whole torso. Discomfort in the lower back signals a range too deep for the hip mobility of the day.
Range of motion
Lower to a knee angle close to 90°, or less if the lower back lifts off before that: the machine lets you fix this limit precisely from one session to the next.
Tempo and breathing
Two to three seconds to lower, one to push. Inhale going down, exhale pushing.
What works, precisely
The quadriceps extend the knee, the gluteus maximus extends the hip — the same movers as a squat, but the machine’s back pad removes all the core and stabilizing work the squat asks of the torso.
Movement mechanics
Double extension of the hip and knee in the sagittal plane, on a guided path: unlike the squat, the torso stays fixed and only the load moves.
Benefits
- Lets the legs be loaded heavily without taxing the core or balance, useful alongside or as a temporary substitute for the squat.
- The guided path reduces the risk of technique error compared with a loaded free movement.
- Makes fine adjustments to the load easy, step by step.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Reduce the load, or limit the descent to a 70-80° bend.
- Harder : Increase the load, or slow the descent down to four seconds.
- Move on when : When three sets of ten go by without the lower back lifting off the pad.
Precautions
Never fully lock the knees at the top of the push, and never let the lower back lift off the pad: those are the machine’s two safety points.