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Leg Press

Leg Press trains 5 of the 18 muscle groups Full Coverage tracks: Quads 100%, Glutes 45%, Adductors (inner thigh) 30%, Hamstrings 10%, Calves 10%.

Backbone movement Level: Beginner Machines Push Easy on the lower backEasy on the kneesNo load on the spineEasy on the shoulders

Leg Press - Start position
Start position
Leg Press - Finish position
Finish position

How to do it

  1. Sit in the machine with your back and hips flat against the pad.
  2. Place your feet shoulder-width in the middle of the platform. Release the safety handles.
  3. Lower the platform until your knees reach about 90 degrees.
  4. Press back up without locking your knees out hard at the top.
  5. Never let your lower back round off the pad - that is what shortening the range is for.

Muscles it trains

Percent of one session's target for that muscle. Anything at 100% finishes that muscle on its own.

Light Main

How it compares

Compared with the Barbell Squat, it loads Lower back / erectors 30 points lower, Abs 15 points lower, Adductors (inner thigh) 15 points lower. It needs Machines where the other uses Barbell. Compared with the Leg Extension, it loads Glutes 45 points higher, Adductors (inner thigh) 30 points higher, Quads 10 points higher.

Other ways to train this

Other exercises for the Quads

Related guides

Exercise illustrations and data by RepDB (repdb.co), used under licence.

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