There’s numerous love and hate that surrounds the leg press.
Some assume it’s not very useful since you’re sitting in your butt and urgent, which resembles nothing accomplished outdoors the fitness center. Different lifters swear by it because it permits them to raise heavy weights and construct muscle with out the compressive load of the barbell on their again.
Most of us although, fall someplace in the course of this debate. Nevertheless, when accomplished proper, the leg press can construct some critical muscle and power. With the fastened vary of movement and the soundness of sitting down, you may transfer some critical weight. As a result of you may go heavy, errors might be made.
Though the leg press just isn’t a technical train, errors can creep in, resulting in accidents and a lack of beneficial properties. Right here we’ll dive into the best way to do the leg press, what’s wanted for good kind, and 4 widespread leg press errors and the best way to repair them.
How you can Carry out the Leg Press
Relying in your physique sort, the leg press will look totally different for various lifters. Earlier than beginning, alter the machine to offer most security and luxury in your physique.
- Sit on a leg press machine and place your ft on the platform in your most well-liked place.
- Decrease the security bars and press till your legs are totally prolonged however with a mushy knee bend.
- Decrease the platform till your knees are at a 90-degree angle.
- Push the platform again to the beginning place.
- Reset and repeat.
What’s Wanted For Good Type
The great thing about the leg press is that even in case you have hip mobility shortfalls or decrease again ache, you are able to do it. Listed here are a number of basic items wanted for good leg press kind.
- Take the time to arrange. As a result of all of us include totally different limb lengths, take the time to regulate the seat and carry out a number of reps with the empty platform to see if you may get a 90-degree angle along with your knees with out compensation.
- Preserve your ft flat on the platform all through the set.
- There isn’t a must go wild with foot width as shoulder-width aside works for many lifters.
- All the time hold your decrease again and glutes glued to the seat.
- Preserve management of the load on the eccentric and be explosive on the concentric contraction.
4 Frequent Leg Press Errors
Errors are usually not unhealthy. It’s the first means we study to do it proper; as soon as you recognize higher, you do higher. Listed here are 4 widespread leg press errors moreover ego and an excessive amount of weight as a result of you recognize about these two, proper?
Lay Off the 1RM
Going heavy and discovering your 1 RM max on the leg press is just one thing you need to often do. Principally, you need to leg press so as to add muscle to your quads, and one of the simplest ways to do that is to regulate all elements of the rep, together with the eccentric. The load is simply too heavy when you can’t management the eccentric contraction.
Repair it: Concentrate on pressure and management and rather less on the load on the platform.
Preserve It Glued
The one a part of your physique you need to transfer and really feel is your knees and glutes. That’s it. In case your ft are usually not glued to the platform or your decrease again, and hips are usually not glued to the seat, then you’re doing it fallacious.
Repair It: Take note of your setup. Your ft ought to be shoulder-width aside in the course of the platform, and your knees ought to get to a 90-angle with out butting into your torso. If that is taking place, change the seat angle to 1 the place all of your physique elements keep glued to the platform and pad.
Don’t Quick Your self
Your knees should get to 90 levels to learn from the leg press most. It would really feel good for the ego to half-rep a large weight, however it’s going to do nothing in your beneficial properties, and your knees might find yourself hating you.
Repair it: Rather less ego and weight on the platform is required right here. Use a weight you may management at a 90-degree knee angle.
It’s A Quad Train
This may increasingly ruffle some Instagram influencer feathers, however the leg press is primarily a quad train with a little bit hip extension thrown in. Putting your ft larger on the platform to focus on the glutes and hamstring extra is, IMO a waste of time when there are means higher workouts to focus on them than the leg press.
Repair it: No repair for this per se. Use higher workouts to focus on your hamstring and glutes, like hip thrusts, RDL, and hamstring curl variations.
