Once you begin your health journey, you often set objectives for your self like construct some biceps, blast your chest… however what about your legs?
Your legs are roughly 1/2 of your physique and you’ll’t actually look freakish with simply large shoulders should you’re strolling round on a pair of twigs. That’s why if you would like a easy strategy to construct some highly effective legs, you must think about the seated leg press.
On this weblog submit, I’m going to attempt to make you a believer on this frequent train. Be sure you learn all the best way to the top since you’re about to find some killer advantages of this train, the first and secondary muscle tissue labored, really useful machines to your dwelling fitness center, and much more.
What’s the Seated Leg Press Good For?
The leg press is great at constructing a few of the most necessary muscle tissue in your legs together with your glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings. These muscle tissue are liable for primary decrease physique actions like operating, squatting, and leaping. Plus a well-developed decrease physique balances out a cumbersome higher physique on guys, and places somewhat extra junk within the trunk on girls.
One other factor the leg press is sweet for is permitting you to construct decrease physique muscle tissue with out having to depend on barbell squats. I do know this may irritate all the fellows that preach that squats are the “king of workouts”, however squats require a sure degree of technical experience simply to do them safely. Most individuals don’t care about being good at barbell squats simply to allow them to develop their leg muscle tissue. They only need to “do the factor” that can assist them construct leg muscle tissue with the smallest danger of damage.
On the subject of the leg press, there’s no studying curve. You actually load weights onto the machine, sit down, unlock the burden, and begin urgent.
Seated Leg Press Muscular tissues Labored
Your quadriceps are the first muscle tissue labored by this train, adopted by your hamstrings. Moreover, your calves and glutes are wanted as stabilizers throughout the motion and they also obtain secondary stimulation.
The quadriceps femoris is a muscle group on the entrance of your thigh and contains the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and the rectus femoris. This huge muscle group is liable for extending the knee and aids in operating, squatting, and leaping.
Your hamstrings are situated proper under your butt on the again of your legs and flex of your knee. Additionally they assist in the identical bodily actions that require assist out of your quadriceps.
Regardless of the seated leg press being a quite simple motion, it does job of working these necessary decrease physique muscle tissue.
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8 Seated Leg Press Train Advantages
I’ve already shared just a few explanation why the leg press is a stable train for leg improvement, however I’m going to proceed making an attempt to brainwash you. Listed below are 8 actual seated leg press advantages that you just in all probability didn’t know.
1. They’re a Killer Heat-Up on Leg Days
The seated leg press can work your quads, glutes, calves, and toes. So, utilizing this machine as a warm-up will get you prepared for different necessary decrease physique actions like lunges and squats. The completely different variations on the leg press additionally enable you to warm-up completely different muscle tissue to arrange you to your working units.
2. They Can Assist You Break By way of Plateaus
The seated leg press can even assist break plateaus in your different actions. Sooner or later, you’ll most certainly plateau together with your squat development, however the seated leg press will assist you to stretch your muscle tissue and work your joints for depth, serving to you get previous your squat plateaus.
Additionally, experimenting with the variations of the seated leg press may be capable of assist together with your explosivity, rep ranges, and momentum with different workouts.
3. They Construct Superior Quad Power
The ability that you must elevate the leg press machine principally comes out of your quads. The seated leg press truly engages your quads throughout each part: the push-off and lifting part, the management part, and even when bringing the burden again down.
Through the management part and weight return, your quadriceps act as secondary stabilizers, which implies the quads are nonetheless engaged. Sturdy quadriceps are necessary as a result of they contribute to your means to carry up your physique weight, sit down, and arise. Plus, outlined quads look rattling good.
4. They Additionally Strengthen the Glutes & Construct Sturdy Hamstrings
Your glutes are the principle group of muscle tissue situated in your butt, and the leg press is a decrease physique train which makes use of these muscle tissue as stabilizers.
Once you do the leg press accurately, the motion will totally interact your glutes throughout each the extension/elevate part and the management/ holding part. Doing excessive reps with low weight will assist with endurance, whereas doing just some reps with a really excessive quantity of weight will add a ton of muscle mass and make your glutes bulkier.
Sturdy glutes are well-defined glutes, and which means your butt will look very nice and tight. (I’m speaking to you girls) Plus, they will help you carry out quite a lot of decrease physique workouts, and powerful glutes turn out to be useful for on a regular basis issues like strolling up the steps.
Doing leg presses regularly can even assist with creating the form and energy of your hamstrings as a result of they’re engaged via a lot of the motion as effectively. Sturdy hamstrings are important for getting that push-off energy that you just want whenever you run, stroll up stairs, skate, and bounce.
5. They Construct Nicely-Rounded Legs
The seated leg press is a lower-body, compound train as a result of the train engages a couple of main muscle group at a time. Seated leg presses assist to train just about each main muscle and muscle group in your legs without delay.
Generally, your physique likes to construct muscle tissue collectively as a unit. So whenever you construct a number of decrease physique muscle tissue utilizing one train, your physique rewards you with quicker muscle positive factors.
Along with your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, the leg press machine can be nice to your calves. They act as secondary stabilizers throughout the motion. However, if you wish to actively construct extra muscle in your calves, the leg press can double as a calf elevate machine just by locking the platform to its prime place and urgent up with the balls of your toes.
6. There are A lot of Variations with Quick Development
Once you’re doing a seated leg press, you may simply change issues up. For instance, urgent via the balls of your toes prompts your quads. Then, should you swap up your emphasis and press via your heels you may activate extra of your glutes.
You may also regulate your toes – slim, large, and flared out – and alter the width of your stance – low, mid, and excessive. All of those completely different variations are you able to enable you to activate particular muscle tissue greater than others. Simply try the Seated Leg Press Variations additional right down to get some concepts.
The seated leg press additionally lets you obtain progressive overload very simply. With a weight stack, you may simply change the location of the pin in simply seconds. The machines with plates do take somewhat longer to vary, however that break lets you get enough relaxation between units.
Alongside the identical strains, the simple weight adjustment makes seated leg presses nice for pyramid units (weight development) and drop units (reducing the burden from excessive to low).
7. They Enhance Your Operating Velocity and Vertical Leap
Leg presses may even enable you to bounce greater and run quicker as a result of they strengthen the facility and endurance of your legs. Once you embody seated leg presses in your common exercise routine, you’ll ultimately discover that you’ve got extra explosive energy, and be capable of carry out longer bodily exercise.
Over time, the leg press machine will present your physique with a way more steady base. And, should you play sports activities like volleyball or basketball, you may even see will increase in your vertical. Tim Grover, Dwayne Wade’s low season energy coach, says that the only leg press is a crucial a part of the basketball star’s coaching periods due to the way it improves his bounce.
As for velocity, your legs must create sufficient power to maneuver your physique ahead. The extra power they create, the additional and quicker you’ll run. Heavy leg presses can enhance your velocity as a result of your decrease physique will adapt to create a major quantity of power.
8. Its newbie pleasant
One other nice seated leg press profit is its noob-friendly nature. The motion is straightforward, and freshmen can simply preserve their kind. All you do is load the weights, sit nonetheless, unlock the weights, and begin urgent.
How To Do The Seated Leg Press Train
The leg press machine may look intimidating the primary time you test it out, nevertheless it’s simpler to make use of than you may suppose. Right here’s the right way to safely function this factor so you can begin remodeling your legs.
- Begin by including a 25 or 35 lb plate to every aspect of the machine. You may all the time improve or lower the burden relying on how tough it feels throughout your first reps.
- Have a seat within the machine and place your toes on the footplate about shoulder-width aside.
- Press your toes into the footplate and totally lengthen your legs so you may unlock the security latch together with your arms.
- Slowly bend your knees and let the footplate transfer nearer to your physique.
- When your knees make a 90-degree angle or much less, straighten your legs once more by participating your quads and hamstrings and urgent towards the footplate.
- This can be a single rep.
Seated Leg Press Exercise Instance
Right here’s a quite simple exercise utilizing the leg press that may construct your quads and hamstrings over time. It begins with just a few warm-up units after which jumps into the work units.
Heat-Up Units
Think about the burden you intend to make use of to your work units and calculate your warm-up units as a share of that weight. Right here’s a share template you should use to your warm-ups.
- 60% of labor set weight x 12 reps
- 80% of labor set weight x 6 reps
- 95% of labor set weight x 2 reps
Relaxation for 60 seconds after warm-up units 1 and a couple of and relaxation for two minutes after warm-up set 3.
Work Units
For max simplicity, use the identical quantity of weight to carry out 3 units of 10 to 12 reps. Relaxation 2-3 minutes between units.
In case your work set weight is 100 lbs, your leg press exercise would look one thing like this.
- 100 lbs x 12 reps
- 100 lbs x 11 reps
- 100 lbs x 10 reps
On this instance, let’s fake you couldn’t carry out all of the reps in units 1 and a couple of, however that’s OK. So long as you full sufficient reps in your goal rep vary, then you must improve the burden by 5 lbs for the following session.
6 Seated Leg Press Variations
Although the leg press looks as if a easy machine with just one strategy to do it, that’s not true! With just a few minor foot changes, you may truly emphasize completely different leg muscle tissue. Listed below are 6 variations you must think about when utilizing the leg press.
Toes Shoulder-Width Aside
That is the fundamental setup for the leg press. Place your toes shoulder-width aside in the midst of the footplate. This variation will give essentially the most balanced muscle stimulation.
Broad Stance
For this variation, place your toes in the midst of the footplate somewhat wider than shoulder-width. This setup emphasizes your inside thigh muscle tissue.
Slim Stance
For the slim stance variation, place your toes in the midst of the footplate narrower than shoulder-width. This setup emphasizes your outer thigh muscle tissue.
Toes Up Excessive
With a shoulder-width stance, place your toes close to the highest of the footplate. This can place extra emphasis in your hamstrings and glutes.
Toes Down Low
With a shoulder-width stance, place your toes close to the underside of the footplate. This can place extra emphasis in your quadriceps.
Single Leg-Leg Press
Take one leg off the footplate and minimize the resistance weight in half. You could possibly deal with extra weight, however strive with much less weight first.
Performing the only leg leg press has an a variety of benefits together with higher vary of movement, improved useful energy, and with the ability to develop your decrease physique simply as successfully with no need as a lot weight loaded.
Seated Leg Press Machine FAQs
Ought to I Leg Press On a regular basis?
You don’t must, however some specialists declare that performing the leg press on a regular basis is an efficient strategy to push via lingering plateaus and rework your legs quicker. One technique is to load very gentle weight onto the machine and do as much as 100 unbroken reps earlier than racking the burden. It is best to all the time know your limits beforehand and use secure practices when trying one thing like this nevertheless.
Is There a Leg Press Development to Comply with?
To start with, it’s a good suggestion to select a manageable quantity of weight and carry out straight units in the identical rep vary for 10-12 reps. Consult with this Seated Leg Press Exercise Instance.
Ultimately, you’ll need to cycle your rep ranges and quantity with a view to see higher muscle positive factors over the long run. For instance, right here’s a 6-week cycle that adjustments rep ranges and units.
- Week 1: 3 x 5-8 reps (90% of weight)
- Week 2: 3 x 10-12 reps (80% of weight)
- Week 3: 3 x 15-20 reps (70% of weight)
- Week 4: 4 x 5-8 reps (90% of weight)
- Week 5: 4 x 10-12 reps (80% of weight)
- Week 6: 4 x 15-20 reps (70% of weight)
Think about a weight you may already do utilizing 3 x 5-8 reps, after which use 90% for the primary week. Lower the burden each week whilst you improve the reps and/or variety of units.
On week 7 take a deload by dropping the burden by 40% or so. On week 8, restart the cycle, however improve the burden by 5 lbs.
Is Heavy Leg Press a Good Thought?
For those who’re asking this query, then I’m assuming you’re a newbie so the reply is not any. Newcomers shouldn’t carry out extraordinarily heavy-loaded leg presses as a result of it’s simply not obligatory to construct well-developed legs.
After you’ve been urgent for just a few months and also you perceive your limitations, positive, proceed including extra weight and see the place your journey takes you. However all of the Instagram and YouTube movies displaying guys loading up the leg press with ungodly quantities of weight after which bending their legs hardly in any respect is downright moronic.
Does the Leg Press Have Weight Loss Advantages?
The leg press doesn’t instantly profit weight reduction. Not directly, including extra muscle mass to your physique requires extra metabolic maintenance and might very barely elevate your resting metabolism. It’s not loads although.
In case your important objective is weight reduction, you’re higher off making a caloric deficit together with your eating regimen and including some supplementary cardio into your each day routine to burn energy. Throwing within the leg press isn’t going to make that a lot of a distinction.
What’s seated leg press good for?
As we’ve defined on this article, the seated leg press is a good lower-body train for constructing measurement and energy, plus burning fats. We narrowed down these 8 seated leg press advantages for you:
- They’re a killer warm-up on leg days
- They will help you break via plateaus
- They construct superior quad energy
- Additionally they strengthen the glutes & construct sturdy hamstrings
- They construct well-rounded legs
- There are many variations with quick development
- They enhance your operating velocity and vertical bounce
- Its noob pleasant
Do seated leg presses make legs greater?
Sure, you will get greater legs by doing seated leg presses. This resistance train is nice for the decrease physique as a result of it targets your quadriceps, hamstring, calves, and glutes without delay.
Wrapping up the Seated Leg Press
As you may inform, there are a number of advantages for the seated leg press machine that make them an superior train for constructing killer legs. Not solely will they construct your quads, glutes, and hamstrings, however they’re going to create well-defined legs total that may improve your operating velocity and enhance your vertical.
However you may’t rework your physique with simply the seated leg press machine. You want a complete coaching and eating regimen plan to maneuver the needle. That’s why I counsel you try my highest really useful muscle constructing routine known as The Kinobody Greek God Program so you may take all of the guesswork out of constructing a lean and muscular physique and begin wanting higher immediately.
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