When people ask me what to replace a leg exercise like squats with a barbell, I always recommend the leg press in a machine. In my opinion, this is the second most effective exercise for training the leg muscles. It can be done instead of squats if you have any injuries or other limitations. It can also be done along with squats if you are serious about muscle growth and you have enough time to do a heavy workout for your lower body. In order to understand the exercises, you need to look not for their similarities, but for their differences. So, how is the leg press different from traditional squats?
How is the Leg Press different from Squats?
I will describe, in my opinion, the most basic differences that are especially relevant in bodybuilding and which will be useful to you when creating your training program. So:
The body is fixed on the back of the simulator, and only the legs move. Those. no need to lift your own weight along with the apparatus. This makes it easier to perform in terms of the force required. This is why those who bench leg press use much larger training weights than those who squat with a barbell.
In the bench press, you do not need to control your balance and engage stabilizer muscles. This can also be an advantage, for example in those situations when you are very tired from previous strength work and want to “finish off” your legs without the risk of losing your balance.
In the bench press, you can change the amplitude and vector of movement more widely due to the fact that you are not limited by the need to lift your body along with the apparatus, as in squats. This means that you can place your feet closer or further both from each other and relative to the top and bottom. Thus, you change the amplitude and vector of movement. When squatting, your ability to do this is significantly limited by the need to control your balance.
Bench leg presses are safer for your back and lower back than squats because you lie on a special backrest and only move the platform with your legs. In other words, the leg press machine takes some of the stress off the rest of your body.
In the leg press machine, you can change the emphasis on loading different parts of your legs using different foot placements and different amplitudes.
How to Place Your Feet on a Leg Press Platform?
There are a huge number of options for positioning your legs here. Moreover, almost each of the options can be combined with other options to give the desired emphasis. Here's what you need to understand:
FEET HIGH. The hip joint works less and the knee joint works more. Therefore, the glutes work less, and the quadriceps (front surface of the thigh) work more. They are used when they want the buttocks not to increase significantly in size.
FEET LOW. With this position, the hip joint works more, almost the same as the knee joint, so the gluteus maximus muscle is involved in active work. But be careful, because if your legs are positioned too low (feet under the buttocks), breaking tension in the knee joint can occur - carefully select the weight and listen to your sensations.
FEET CLOSE. The closer the feet are, the more the front and outer thighs (quadriceps) work. And the less the inner thigh (adductor muscles) and gluteal muscles work. Male bodybuilders often use it to emphasize quadriceps training.
FEET ARE FAR. The further the feet are, the more the gluteal muscles and adductor muscles of the thighs (those inside, starting from the groin) are involved in the work. This is usually used by fitness bikinis and other girls who are interested in developing beautiful gluteal muscles and not in developing quadriceps.
SOCKS INSIDE. With this setup, there is even more emphasis on developing the outer surface of your thigh. These are the so-called “Golifes” on the sides of your thighs.
SOCKS OUT. Accordingly, the inner surface of the thigh is more involved.
What Muscles Does the Leg Press Train?
This exercise is basic because it works several joints (knee, hip, ankle) and uses all the largest muscles in your lower body:
QUADRICEPS(Anterior Thigh) - This is what extends your leg relative to the knee
BICEPS THIGH(Posterior Thigh) - This is what bends your leg at the knee. In the leg press, the hamstrings do not work as actively as, for example, in the deadlift. Its function in this exercise is stabilizing.
GLUTEUS MUSCLE- this is the muscle that extends your legs relative to the pelvis (hip joint). By the way, this is why the joint is called the Hip-femoral joint. the hip moves relative to the pelvis.
Technique for Performing Lying Leg Press.
The exercise works the quadriceps and gluteus maximus muscles the most. That is why I give the technique with an emphasis on these places.
Lie down on the bench. Find a comfortable position for yourself. Your torso and buttocks should fit snugly against the back of the machine. There should be no free space between your tailbone and the back of the machine because this will create a risk of injury.
Place your feet in a comfortable, comfortable position. First, Denis Borisov recommends that you choose the right position on an “empty” simulator (without load). Try starting from the middle position. The legs are not at the top and not at the bottom, but in the middle with an average position relative to each other.
Push the platform up to the starting position. Please note that it is unnecessary to fully extend the leg at the knee joint. This will put stress on your bones and joints, which you don't want. Always work "within the amplitude" for the safety of your joints.
Inhale slowly and lower the platform down at the same time. Lower until your lower back begins to lift away from the back of the platform on which you are lying. Take a micro-pause.
Let the air out and at the same time press the platform up, without pushing. Everything should be smooth and calm. At the top point (knees not fully straightened), additionally tighten your quadriceps with mental effort. After this, repeat the movement again.
You may find it more comfortable if you place your hands on the front of your thighs. On the one hand, it helps to focus on the work of your muscles. On the other hand, in this way you can help yourself squeeze out the weight if you run out of strength.
Place in the Training Program.
The leg press in the simulator is one of the basic exercises for training legs. I recommend always starting with complex exercises and ending with simple ones. The Leg Press is a complex (multi-joint) exercise. So put it at the beginning of your workout.
You can do leg presses after barbell squats if you do both exercises in the same workout. Or you can do the leg press as the first exercise if you don't have barbell squats in your training program.
I recommend doing more reps on the leg press than on the barbell squat. Why? Because what is important for a muscle is not the number of repetitions, but the time spent under load. The range of motion in the leg press is generally shorter than in the squat. Therefore, more repetitions can be completed in the same amount of time.
REPS = 8-12
APPROACHES = 4
The numbers are very approximate. Kai Greene does a lot more reps per set. And he has more approaches. I indicated the starting numbers for the start. In the future, you will select the load depending on your goals and fitness.
