Leg Press (Quads) – Exercise Guide
Muscles worked: Quads
Equipment needed: Leg Press Machine
Instructions
1. Sit on a leg press machine and place your feet in the center of the platform in front of you with a shoulder-width foot stance.
2. Press the platform all the way up until your legs are fully extended by flexing at your knees and lower the safety bars with your hands.
3. Make sure you don’t lock your knees while performing the leg presses as it can put unnecessary tension on your knees.
4. Take a deep breath and lower the platform by bending your knees until your upper and lower legs form a 90-degree angle.
5. While breathing out, reverse the motion by pushing through the heels of your feet and using your quadriceps to return to the starting position.
6. Pause and contract your quads for a couple of seconds at the top of the movement.
7. Repeat for the recommended repetitions.
Variations/How To
Focusing on the Inner and Outer Thighs
You can target your inner thighs by placing your feet in a wider than shoulder-width position, and your outer thighs by having a narrower than shoulder-width feet placement.
Targeting the Quads and Hamstrings
While the neutral shoulder width feet placement targets the overall legs, you can focus on your quads by placing your feet on the lower end of the platform. Similarly, placing your feet on the upper end of the platform will focus on your hamstrings.
Single Leg Leg Press
You can focus on a single leg by performing the leg press on one leg before switching to the other. The unilateral variation can help you achieve symmetry, conditioning and a better pump.
