A leg press machine simulates a squat movement without putting strain on your back. Because the leg press machine is stable, you can lift more weight on a leg press than in a traditional squat, allowing you to build more muscle. Leg press machines have a seat and a weighted sled that you either push into the air at an incline or horizontally. The resistance comes from plates loaded directly on the sled or a system of pulleys attached to a weight stack.
Benefits
The leg press works many lower body muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles. The deeper you squat—the closer the sled comes to your bottom—the more you engage your glutes. Turning your toes out also engages your hip adductors in your inner thighs and your gluteus medius and minimus on the sides of your buttocks. Strengthening these muscles supports a variety of everyday functional activities like climbing stairs or standing up out of a chair. It also supports activities that use your butt and thigh muscles including running and cycling.
Process
To build bulk in your leg muscles, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you work those muscles to “failure”—when muscles are too fatigued to complete another repetition. Use the leg press twice to three times a week for the first six to eight weeks, lifting a weight that you to reach muscle failure between the eighth and twelfth repetition. Do two to five sets of these, increasing the weight by five to 10 percent every week. In the next six-to-eight-week cycle, build maximum strength by doing three to eight sets with a weight that you can only lift three to five times.
Considerations
To give your body the materials that it needs to build muscle, make sure that you are eating the proper foods. Sports nutrition expert Nancy Clark recommends eating no more than 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight to build muscle. Fruits and vegetables provide the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to build new tissue. Water is also important for recovery and building mass. Finally, when you sleep is when your body builds new muscle mass, so get an adequate night’s sleep.
Misconceptions
Lifting weights doesn’t necessarily build extra muscle. If you use a weight that you can lift for more than twenty consecutive repetitions, you will improve your muscles’ endurance without building extra bulk. Also, more is not necessarily better. If you don’t give your body enough recovery time—at least one day between workouts—you will break down your muscles faster than your body can build them, sabotaging your efforts to bulk up.
Warning
Use proper leg press form to avoid injuries. Place your feet high on the platform so that your knees never extend past your toes, sparing them from strain. Make sure that you go through a full range of motion, lowering the sled until your knees are at a 90 degree angle or lower. Never let your knees “lock out” at the top of the movement.
References
- ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer; American College of Sports Medicine; 2006
- Sports Nutrition Guidebook; Nancy Clark; 2008
- Bodybuilding; Squat vs. Leg Press
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