Leg Press??????????

[artoni]

Hi again,

I am writing this time because I have heard that leg press' are useless. I do them at least once a week (I usually work legs twice a week). I do squats both times.
I mean I am up to 12 plates (all together) and it took a long time to get there.
Am I wasting time with leg press' ?

[Boss Man]

Squats are good, but I think Leg Press can have its place too, so if you want to add both into a Leg day, I don't see a problem with that.

[artoni]

Awsome.

I do like them and I do feel that they are helping me but I just needed a opinion of someone with more knowledge.

Thank you

[swanso5]

not totally useless but not really handy either...you only use probably 30% (a guess) of the same muscles a squat or deadlift would use so from a muscle building, fat burning or genral conditioning point of view, they're pretty ordinary and don't do them

[Boss Man]

Not to sound controversial, but I would think though that would depend on whether the Leg Press he used had a foot rest you push away from you, or a Sled type, where you slide up and down the mechanism.

Plus some Leg Press machines the Sled type, have the person at an upward angle, and others have the persons body in a downward angle, with the Head near the floor, so there's different empahsis there too.

So such factors might determine the level of muscle fibre recruitment someone might get.

Though as I said, I think a Leg Press can have its place in a workout, I agree with you to a point, that it's not the best thing. I just cannot commit, to an estimated muscle fibre recruitment figure of 30%, like you did, owing to the differing factors involved, from Leg Press to Leg Press.

[swanso5]

the 30% is just a guess but there is no need for stabilisers such as glutes, erectors, lats, shoulders and abs to work meaning you could work the whole body basically with a free wt squat or do simply the quads on the leg press so efficiency wise it's terrible...the propblem lies with most trainer's wanting, or thinking they need to work every muscle every session in an isolation type setting which unless your on drugs or have been lifting for 20 years, won't allow for a decent wt to be used anyway resulting in a lot of lifting and not much progress...also machines can make the muscles outgrow the tensons causing serious injuries when the tendons are required to support the muscles but aren't strong enough

[Boss Man]

Fair comment, which I can to some extent agree with.

[artoni]

Thats alot of info I didnt know.
Would maybe 1 a week be good to do them?

For legs this is what I do (Twice a week):

Back Squatt - 4x10 ( I start with 50 lb on each side and add 5lb every time I start a new set)

Leg Extensions - 4x10 (Add 10 lb every new set I start)

Leg Curls - 4x10

Lunges - 3x12 (dumbbell)

Leg Press (Once a week)


desire is to have nice, muscular legs, actually I want them to be huge. What would I need to change in case?

Cheers,

[swanso5]

squats, curls and lunges are basically all you need and do them literally as heavy as you can...a better choice would be stiff legged deadlifts for hams and glute ham raises are even better if you can do them

[geniece33]

Thanks for tip because i too had thought about putting in th e leg press i want more sculpt eg legs but not bigger leaner and i heard that janet jackson had bee doing 30 degree angle leg presses but someone had told me that this is bad for your knees
i think i will stick tothe leg extensions and and sumo squats i would llike to add i that seated leg raise are excellent for toning thigs especially the upper part of the thigh

basically you sit with your back to the wall and contract your abs in and lift the each leg individually i do usally 3 set of 10 reps on these

[swanso5]

leg ext are worse for yuor knees than leg presses and both are ordinary in genral

[geniece33]

no offense but evyerone body and joints are different and i would have to say that i disagree with you about year ago i was having alot of knee pain but i started making i sure i balcnced leg traing meaning i did not just train the quads no just the hams i had been overtaing the hams and also i had twisted knee in step class one day ... so i started doign this routine a therapist gave on the leg extension machine by turnign by feet inward just slighty helped build that mucle back close t o the patela or knee cap and have been free form knee pain every since in fact a physical threapist even suggested it because they use the leg extension to help people rehabilitate their knees

so i would have to say the leg extension or not useless it depends on what you are using them for and how you are using them
mos tof the itme i get kneew pain when i do the angle sled leg press the on where your is toward the floor i fine o nthe that or just horitzontal

[swanso5]

it does have it's place in the initial stages of a rehab program but for strength building it's useless