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Ergo-Log

03.10.2016

This way of doing the leg press is best for the quads, and this way for the glutes

The best exercise for your leg muscles is squats. Make no mistake about it. But never mind, squats are not always the best exercise for your spine. For those who find squats difficult or are better off not doing them, the study that Brazilian sports scientists published in 2008 in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research is definitely worth looking at.

Study
The researchers got 14 female students to do leg presses in three different ways, using 80 percent of the weight with which they were capable of completing just one rep. They attached electrodes to the students' leg muscles, so they could see how hard the muscles were working.

The different ways of doing the leg press that the researchers compared are shown below.


This way of doing the leg press is best for the quads, and this way for the glutes This way of doing the leg press is best for the quads, and this way for the glutes This way of doing the leg press is best for the quads, and this way for the glutes

Horizontal leg press, feet placed low [LPL]

Horizontal leg press, feet placed high [LPH]

Inclined leg press, 45 degree angle [LP45]


Results
The leg press where you sit horizontally and place your feet low [LPL] was the best exercise for the quadriceps muscles rectus femoris and vastus lateralis.

For the gluteus maximus, the leg press where you sit horizontally and place your feet high [LPH] turned out to be the most effective. One disadvantage to this variation is that the calf muscle gastrocnemius does not receive much of a stimulus.

Well, whether that's really a disadvantage... If you want to train your calves, you won't do leg presses. There are other exercises for the gastrocnemius.

RF = rectus femoris; VL = vastus lateralis; BF = biceps femoris; GAS = gastrocnemius; GM = gluteus maximus.


This way of doing the leg press is best for the quads, and this way for the glutes



Source:
J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Jul;22(4):1059-65.

More:
This way of doing the leg press protects your knees against injury 27.09.2016
Training your legs on the leg-press? Squats are better... 23.06.2016
Why squats with 100 kg are heavier than leg presses with 200 kg 01.01.2011

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