2023-12-13 16:15:27
We no longer present the leg press, an ultra-popular machine present in all weight rooms.
It is above all a simple machine whose technique is within everyone’s reach, however, it can be quite intimidating at first, especially when you see experienced practitioners loading all the weights of the gym onto it…
Don’t panic, we’ll tell you the mistakes to avoid to get maximum benefits and avoid injuries from this movement.
What muscle does the leg press do?
As you might expect, the thigh press very logically muscles…the pectorals thighs, mainly the quadriceps (the hamstrings will not be a big contributor to the movement).
Know that there are several types of leg press (some machines are much better than others), but the advice we are going to give you is aimed at everyone, without distinction.
What does the movement look like?
Really, it’s not rocket science, you sit on the machine, position your feet and push, roughly speaking…
But the devil is in the details and we will see the subtleties in the “errors” section:
- Take a seat with your back and head comfortably resting once morest the padded support, then place your feet on the footrest, regarding hip-width apart, making sure your heels are flat. Your buttocks are also well placed and will remain so throughout the duration of the exercise,
- Unlock the load (usually using a joystick), go as low as possible without rounding your lower backyour knees should touch your chest,
- Contract your quadriceps, glutes and abs hard and push the platform back with your heels (the latter remain flat) and your forefoot, do not put your hands on your knees,
- Do not completely lock your knees at the end of the execution (unless you know what you are doing) to avoid images that you do not like to see and maintain a certain tension,
- Repeat and proceed, controlling your load and tempo and maintaining a good range of motion.
Now let’s move on to what interests us most, the mistakes that will make this exercise a waste of time.
The 3 big mistakes
Maybe the advanced exercisers at your gym told you to stay away from that machine because it’s crap!
It’s not a bad exercise, far from it, the problem is that many practitioners suffering from ego lifting massacre it…
You obviously have this image in your head of the guy who has loaded all the weights in the gym plus his girlfriend onto the machine and is doing 1/4 repetitions… don’t be that guy, especially since it takes a while crazy to put together (and you don’t have a girlfriend).
Which brings us to the first point, range of motion.
1/ Low range of movement
On the leg press, on each repetition you must find yourself in an intense stretching position, when your knees and hips are flexed as much as possible.
It is this stretch that will induce a significant developmental stimulus, and this is generally not compatible with putting 10 20 kg discs on each side (unless your name is Ronnie Coleman).
What is a good amplitude?
Knees that touch the chest at the end of the movement and a lower back that never rounds.
If you can’t do this:
- lower the load,
- reduce the seat angle of your machine,
- spread your feet apart on the platform.
This last tip brings us to the position of the feet on the movement…
2/ You position your feet incorrectly
The positioning of your feet on the leg press platform will influence the activation of your leg muscles.
All you need to remember is:
- the higher your feet are placed, the more tension you will have on your posterior chain (ischios and glutes),
- the lower they are placed, the more you will feel your quadriceps working.
Then it’s up to you to carry out your little experiment, start by placing your feet wide on the surface, then tighter and see what you prefer.
What is certain is that if you load the machine properly and go deep enough, you will feel all the muscles in your legs working anyway.
Don’t worry too much, just choose the foot placement that you prefer and with which you are most comfortable/efficient.
The little extra: wear weight training shoes to elevate the heel a little and thus allow the knees to move further forward by overcoming some limitations in ankle range of motion.
3/ You go there cold
We don’t want to see that!
To start, do a little cardio (rowing or cycling) and/or dynamic stretching (duck walking is a great example) to irrigate, open the hips and soften the ankles.
Then, carry out some pre-fatigue exercises (hip abduction or Nordic curl for example) to get the blood circulating and start to tease the muscles of the hips, quadriceps and hamstrings.
So when you start your work sets, you will engage more muscles directly.
Finally, once on the thigh machine, start by 3 warm-up sets increasing gradually the load (light, moderate then heavy load) to work the muscles up to your working weight.
Example of an effective leg press session
The leg press should not be a “pepouze machine” that you do when you are too lazy to do a squat!
You have to give it a try and here is an example of inverted pyramid programming which will definitely convince you that you can get good results with this machine.
The inverted pyramid is simply putting your hardest set of work first, then decreasing the weight by increasing the number of repetitions.
- 3 sets warm-up sets: high reps low weight, moderate reps moderate weight, low reps heavy weight,
- Series #1: 6 repetitions at 9/10 RPE (basically, you’re in serious trouble) with one repetition of muscular failure,
- Series #2: 8 repetitions with 5% less load than the previous one,
- Series #3: 10 repetitions with 5% less load than the previous one,
- Set #4: 12+ repetitions with 5% less load than the previous one.
This is a format that guarantees that you are roasted, that you have sent a good intensity while maintaining a good technique and without ego lifting!
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