…continued – Legs
You’ll usually find some sort of leg press machine in just about every gym. There are many different types with the most common being a 45 degree leg press.
The primary muscles involved are the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Secondary muscles used – like squats, just about every muscle in the body is used during leg presses however, not close to the extent that squats stress these muscles.
On a leg press machine, you load the weights on the sled portion (the sled is the part you push with your legs).
Execution
While sitting in the leg press place your feet on the sled platform about shoulder width with your toes pointed forward. Release the stops and lower the weight slowly. To make this movement effective you must go very deep. Lower the weight as far as you can. Drive the weight up with explosive force.
Max-OT Tip:
Maximum depth is very important when doing leg presses. Don’t load the leg press up with so much weight that you can only do half reps. This is common in gyms across the world. Typically a leg press can be loaded with an impressive amount of weight and half reps can be done by even the weakest pair of legs. For maximum muscle fiber stimulation a full range of motion must be used.
Max-OT is all about maximum overload, but not at the expense of the range of movement.
At the top of the movement do not lock out your knees.
Keep your knees slightly bent at the top of the movement. This is important for constant tension on the muscles as well as a safeguard to prevent hyper-extending the knees during heavy overload.
