Leg PressMuscles Worked
The leg press works your quads above all, with the glutes and hamstrings helping as your hips open and your calves steadying your feet on the platform. Because the machine supports your back, you can push heavy loads with less strain on your spine than in a squat.
PrimaryQuads
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Push
How to do it
- Sit in the leg press with your back and hips flat against the pad, and place your feet shoulder width apart in the middle of the platform.
- Press the platform up slightly, release the safety handles and hold the side grips.
- Bend your knees and lower the platform slowly toward your chest, keeping your knees in line with your toes.
- Stop just before your lower back starts to lift or round off the seat.
- Push through your whole foot to press the platform back up, stopping just short of locking your knees.
- Re-engage the safety handles before you take your feet off the platform.
Form tips
- Keep your hips and lower back pressed into the seat, and shorten the range if they peel off at the bottom.
- Place your feet lower on the platform for more quad focus and higher for more glutes and hamstrings.
- Push your knees out in line with your feet as you press, rather than letting them cave inward.
Why it made the list
No. 2 of 13
Best Quad Exercises
Allows heavy loading with reduced spinal stress. Machine-guided, beginner-friendly. Lets you focus purely on quads.
More quad exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Leg Press sets in KasMaker and watch your quads, calves, glutes, and hamstrings fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
