Leg Press

How to perform the Leg Press

1. Sit in the machine with your back flat against the pad and your feet on the platform roughly shoulder-width apart, with the toes slightly turned out.
2. Release the safety stops and extend the legs to the start position, leaving a small bend in the knees rather than fully locking out.
3. Lower the platform by bending the knees and hips together; keep the lower back pressed against the pad throughout.
4. Descend until the knees are at roughly a 90-degree angle, or until just before the pelvis would tuck up off the pad — never let the lower back round under load.
5. Press the platform back up through the mid-foot and heel, focusing the drive through the quads; do not let the knees collapse inward.
6. Stop short of full knee lockout each rep to keep tension on the quads and protect the knee joint at the top.

Suggested working range: 8–15 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Letting the lower back round and the pelvis tuck off the pad at the bottom of the rep ("butt wink").
• •Locking the knees out hard at the top, snapping the joint into hyperextension.
• •Placing the feet too low on the platform so the knees collapse forward and the heels lift on the descent.
• •Loading more plates than the form supports and bouncing the platform off the bottom.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.