Among fans of fitness and a healthy lifestyle, it is widely believed that the leg press in the simulator is suitable for women who want to pump up the muscles of the buttocks in the first place.
This is the best exercise with which you can achieve an elastic buttocks without undue stress. For example, squats with a barbell give a load not only to the buttocks, but also to the lower back and calf muscles.
The simulator is a more gentle way to develop the muscles of the legs, as it supports the back, relieves unnecessary stress on the spine, and helps to properly distribute weight (no need to keep balance).
Proper preparation for the leg press for women
No special preparation is required for the leg press, but a leg warm-up is necessary. Exercises on the simulator can be the final stage of the workout as a whole.
Leg warm-up as preparation for work in the simulator
In order to stretch the muscles of the legs, physical exercises are suitable: rolls, squats, jumps, running, lunges. The leg press can be an additional exercise in the complex of strengthening and tightening the muscles of the legs and buttocks.
Step-by-step technique for performing a bench press on a simulator
To effectively and safely perform the leg press in the simulator, you must follow some rules. The technique for women is no different from the technique for men.
However, it must be taken into account that leg press exercises affect the muscles of the legs in general, so if you need to pump only the buttocks, you should follow a special technique for performing exercises.
The bench press technique on the simulator is performed as follows:
- It is necessary to take a position on the simulator: lie down, tightly pressing your back, buttocks and head, and grasp the special handles on the sides.
- Set your feet on the platform in the starting position: feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
- Gently raise the platform with your feet, while the knees should be slightly bent.
- Slowly lower the platform and return to the starting position.
- Repeat the movements as many times as needed.
When performing the exercise, it is necessary to keep the body motionless and tightly pressed against the back of the simulator. The buttocks should also not rise while lifting the platform.
The platform must be raised and lowered with the muscles of the thighs and buttocks, without affecting the feet. To do this, the heels must be firmly on the platform during the exercise. If it is impossible not to tear off the heels, place the feet slightly higher on the platform.
How to improve the effectiveness of classes
The most important thing in the development of technique is the feeling of how the muscles work.. If there is a feeling of pleasant tension in the back of the thighs and buttocks, then the exercise is performed correctly, the necessary muscles are pumping.
If there is no feeling that the necessary muscles are working, you should either change the position of the legs (move lower or higher on the platform, place the feet closer, etc.), or increase the load both in weight and in the number of repetitions and approaches.
Vitamins and diet are essential to keep in shape Among the ways to increase the effectiveness of the bench press on the simulator are:
- changing the angle of the platform (if the simulator provides such a function);
- holding the platform with straightened legs for 3-5 seconds;
- diet and proper nutrition - unfortunately, without this it will be very difficult to achieve the desired result.
The effectiveness of classes depends on the desired result and general physical fitness.
Someone needs to get back in shape, tighten their muscles after a break in training, and someone needs to adjust their figure. That is why someone will feel the effect of the leg press almost immediately, and someone will have to work.
Weight and reps for beginners
To achieve a visual effect, that is, an increase and rounding of the buttocks, for women, the optimal number of leg presses in the simulator will be 12-15 times with a weight of 100 kg or more. But this does not mean that from the first workout you should immediately take on heavy loads.
To begin with, you should do the exercise with a small weight, but with a large number of repetitions. For example, 40 kg for 25 repetitions. However, then you can gradually increase the load in weight, but reduce in repetitions, setting as your goal 100 kg for 15 repetitions.
Important to remember! Before the first exercise on the simulator, you need to start by raising and lowering an empty platform without weight to understand the technique. Then you can calculate your working weight and gradually increase the load.
The first load on the legs should be minimal - with an empty platform Increasing the load is an important component of the effectiveness of the exercise, because without effort, the muscles simply will not begin to grow and will remain at the same level for a long time, even if the workouts are often performed with many approaches.
Load on muscle groups
The leg press on the simulator is aimed primarily at the following muscle groups:
- quadriceps;
- biceps;
- buttocks.
For most women, the leg press is an effective way to tighten the muscles of the buttocks, to make the ass more elastic. Inflated and strong legs are of less interest to girls than slender legs with a toned booty.
However, the leg press machine, in addition to the buttocks, develops quadriceps and hamstrings, since all muscles work in combination. The main thing is to correctly distribute the load for the desired result.
Quadriceps
The quadriceps or quadriceps femoris are strong thigh muscles that help flex and extend the knee joints. For many athletes, the development of this muscle is one of the main goals of training, since it is it that keeps the human body in a straight position, allows you to jump and run.
In order to pump up the quadriceps with the leg press, you need to place your feet close together at the bottom of the platform and try not to bend or extend your knees completely.
Biceps
The biceps, or biceps femoris, is the back surface of the thighs that allows you to maintain the body in a static position. The biceps of the thighs are inextricably linked with the muscles of the buttocks, so the load on the biceps is partially transferred to the buttocks.
Tightened slender legs and moderately pumped up biceps always attract attention On the leg press machine, you can develop this muscle group by placing your legs side by side at the top of the platform or with your toes apart shoulder-width apart.
Buttocks
The buttocks include three muscles - large, medium and small - and help work the quadriceps and hamstrings. On the simulator, they are developed along with the biceps, i.e. feet are set at the top of the platform.
Restrictions for injury, illness or pain
In case of injuries and diseases of the legs, joints, spine, it is necessary to limit the exercise. First of all, this concerns the weight load - a lot of weight must be excluded, and the load should be increased gradually.
You also need to remember about the execution technique: in no case do not fully unbend your knees and do not tear off your heels from the platform, and your lower back from the back.
Carefully! If there is a feeling of pain in the back or knees during training, it is necessary to stop the exercise and report the problems to the trainer.
Judging by the technique, the leg press in the simulator for women is a simple exercise even for beginners to correct the figure and tighten the muscles of the legs. However, there are some coaching guidelines to keep in mind regarding breathing, safety, and completion of the workout.
How to breathe correctly
When you press your legs in the simulator, you should breathe properly. For both men and women, the basic rule applies here: when bending the legs and lowering the platform, inhale is taken, while straightening the legs, exhale.
Proper breathing is important when working with any of the simulators. During the exercise, you must clearly monitor your breathing. It should not go astray: breath holding and its frequency (short pauses between inhalation and exit) are unacceptable. Improper breathing can lead to shortness of breath and ineffective exercise.
What safety rules to remember
First of all, you need to take care of the knee joints. To do this, when pressing the legs, you must always keep your knees slightly bent, do not straighten them completely and try not to bend below 45 degrees, especially during the first workouts.
Also, the exercise should be performed with smooth movements, without sharply straightening or bending the knees. Otherwise, the main load will fall on the joints, which can subsequently cause pain, deformation and injury to the knee joint.
In addition, it is necessary to practice in sports shoes, which will help to avoid slipping of the feet on the platform and ease the load on the joints.
How to end a workout the right way
After working on the simulator, you need to relax your leg muscles with simple exercises. It is better to break the training itself into several approaches, that is, give the muscles a break several times, restore breathing, and also change the position of the feet to distribute the load on different muscle groups.
At the end of the workout, you can alternately press one leg, which will help increase the load.. You can also complete the exercise by increasing the speed of raising and lowering the platform.
Stretching at the end of your workout
This refers to several exercises to stretch and relax the muscles of the legs, return them to their previous position.
The leg press is an effective exercise, subject to the rules of technique and safety. Of course, in order to achieve the maximum desired result, it is necessary to consult with the trainer and conduct the first workouts under his supervision.
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