Leg Press Machine Buying Guide: Tips With Illustrations (2024)

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1. If you are a beginner you can benefit more from squats than leg presses, as squats help build up lower body strength and condition the back, knees, and core, at the same time.
2. If you are an intermediate lifter, powerlifter or a professional athlete, you can go for a leg press machine.

• Leg presses are great at developing lower body hypertrophy, without putting too much strain on the lower back.
• You can also use them to supplement compound movements by incorporating them as supersets.
• Also, if you are recuperating from back injuries, you can use leg presses to safely build your way up to heavier lifts.

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A leg press works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.The main emphasis is on the quads.However, you can modify your foot position and width to target other muscle groups like the calves and the abductors.

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• The only worthy alternative to a leg press is a squat. Squats hit all the muscles targeted by a leg press and also keep the back and core engaged. If you are looking to hit multiple muscle groups, then you should go for compound exercises like squats and weighted lunges.
• If you find it difficult to do squats, you can try weighted walking lunges, hip thrusts, dumbbell or barbell step-ups, and Bulgarian split squats.
• If you want to target specific muscles then you can use isolation exercises like hip thrusts, to target glutes and step-ups/ Bulgarian squats to target quads.

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• The correct foot placement for a leg press would be, feet in the middle of the platform, shoulder-width apart.
• Your back should be straight and aligned with the support. While pressing, your back and hips should stay firmly on the seat.
• If you feel pain in the lower back or knees, try aligning the recline of the seat and foot width.
• Although this is the correct position for a leg press, you can change your feet placement and width to target specific muscles better.

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• A squat is a major compound exercise, whereas a leg press is an isolation exercise, mostly targeting the quads.
• Both the exercises hit the quads, hamstrings, and glutes but the squats also engage your back and core.Each exercise comes with its own set of pros and cons.

• There are a variety of different squats which can help hit the quads from different angles. However, they can be susceptible to causing back and knee injuries if not performed properly.
• On the other hand, a leg press keeps your back supported, hence minimizing risk. Since they have a shorter range of motion, more emphasis can be put on the quads.

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You can use leg presses with a variety of feet positions and widths that hit different muscles.

1. The regular position is to place the feet in the middle of the platform, shoulder-width apart. This position hits the quads, hams, and glutes.
2. If you place your feet higher on the platform with the same width, you can target your glutes and hamstrings more than your quads.
3. Keeping the feet at the same width and lower on the platform, helps emphasize quads and the calves.
4. If you place your feet in the middle of the platform, 1.5x shoulder-width apart, you can target your abductors (inner thighs) much better.

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You can get the benefits of a leg press at home with or without any gym equipment.

1. You can start with basic squats, broad jumps, and lunges. With time you should progress on to jump squats, wall sits, and hip thrusts. If you have a pair of dumbbells, you can add weight to any of these exercises to make them more challenging.
2. You can also try the Bulgarian split squat, weighted step-ups, and goblet squats.
3. If you have resistance bands available, you can try resistance band leg presses and side-lying leg presses as well.

• All of these exercises essentially hit all the same muscle groups as a leg press (quads, hams, and glutes) and you can perform them at home with minimal or no equipment.

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1. If you are suffering from bad knees or a lower back injury, you should prefer a leg press over squats.
2. If you are a powerlifter or strongman, you can use leg presses if you want to increase your workout volume without putting too much strain on your spine and central nervous system.
3. You can also use leg presses as a superset to supplement your squats.
4. If you are a CrossFit athlete or sportsman, you can use leg presses when you are focusing on your lower body volume.

It is worth mentioning if you have weak knees, you should use the stairmaster as your cardio machine of choice to help iron out muscle imbalances in your legs.