Machine Horizontal Leg Press

What you'll gain

• Loads the legs heavily with no spinal compression and no balance demand.

• The seated position makes it easy to teach and easy to supervise.

• Foot placement gives a simple lever for shifting work between quads and glutes.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set the seat so your knees start bent to about 90 degrees.

2. 2

   Sit with your back and hips flat against the pad.

3. 3

   Place your feet on the plate at shoulder width and grip the handles.

4. 4

   Release the safeties and straighten your legs almost fully to move the seat away from the fixed plate.

5. 5

   Bend the knees and let the seat travel toward the fixed plate under control.

6. 6

   Press back out just short of lockout and repeat.

Common Mistakes

• Locking the knees at the top, which passes the load from the quads to the joint.

• Letting the hips curl off the seat at depth, which rounds the lower back.

• Pushing the knees inward on the drive, which loads the joint instead of the quadriceps.

• Cutting the range short so more plates fit, which trains a fraction of the movement.

About This Exercise

The horizontal leg press seats you against a reclined back pad with your feet on a fixed plate. You release the safeties, let the knees bend to about 90 degrees, then extend both legs to move the seat carriage away without snapping the knees straight. The quadriceps do most of the work, with glutes and hamstrings extending the hips and the calves and trunk supporting. Foot position changes the split: driving through the heels with the feet higher pulls in more glute, driving through the balls of the feet biases the quads. In a catalog this is the leg press users actually meet in most clubs, and it reads more clearly than a 45 degree sled. It fits machine equipment filters, beginner lower body templates, and substitution content for anyone avoiding a bar across the back.

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