How to do the leg press machine with step by step how to instructions, also what are the muscles worked and the benefits of performing this exercise?
Leg Press Machine Benefits
The leg press is a good effective compound exercise for building up and strengthening your legs, including your thighs, hamstrings, calves and also your glutes. The leg press is a high energy requirement exercise making it a good resistance exercise for reducing body fat.
It’s a great exercise for beginners. Your legs are capable of lifting far more than your arms. In order to train your legs effectively you’re going to need a great deal more weight than you would use for you upper body and the leg press is a fantastic exercise for lifting heavy weights relatively safely.
Use caution and never lift more weight than you can comfortably handle. Warm up with a lighter weight first and always use good technique.
Leg Press Machine
The exercise has a very similar leg motion and technique to squatting, for solely training your legs some people argue the leg press is a superior exercise. It is always best to try different exercises for yourself to determine which one works best for you. I have found that Squatting is more effective for targeting your Thigh(quad) muscles, while I find the Leg Press exercise to be more effective for targeting your Glutes, however it depends on the technique and foot placement.
Leg Press Machine Muscles worked Quadriceps (Thighs) Glutes (Buttocks) Hamstrings Calves.
Leg Press Machine Variations: Press machines can range from horizontal pin machines to angled machines that require weighted plates. There is even a vertical leg press machine.
How to do Leg Press with Machine
- Sit with your back flat on the back rest, don’t curl your back and keep your head back in order to keep your spine straight.
- Place your feet flat on the rest plate, feet placed just wider than shoulder width, keep your foot placement high so that when you lower the foot plate your knees don’t go past your toes, this will keep the pressure off your knees.
- Push the plate and extend your legs, straighten your legs but keep your knees slightly bent.
- Slowly lower the plate until your legs are bent at about 90 degrees,hold for a brief moment and then return to the start position, remember not to lock your knees.
Foot placement variations Narrow foot placement (feet less than should width apart) will train the outside of the thighs, while a wider foot placement will target the central and inner thigh area.
