Top 8 Benefits of the Leg Press: Strengthen Your Lower Body

So you’ve been working out at the gym, putting in the work, but wondering – what’s the secret to defining lower body muscles? While there are many different leg exercises, let’s talk about one that’s a staple in every gym: the leg press. How exactly do they work?

Using a standard leg press machine, you’re in a seated position with your feet resting on a platform. Then, you push the weights away from your body. Apart from focusing on quads, hams, and glutes, what are the benefits of the leg press?

Now, leg presses aren’t just about building muscle. They can bring numerous benefits to your workout routine. Before diving into the leg press benefits, let’s cover why strength training is a must for all ages.

Did you know athletes or bodybuilders aren’t the only ones who need strength training? Everyone does. Studies show strength training is beneficial for all ages because it improves overall health by building muscle mass and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity [3]. So, in what ways can leg presses help you reach your fitness goals? Keep reading to find out! 

History and Evolution of the Leg Press

Leg presses date back to the 1900s. Barbells were placed on the floor, and weightlifters lied on their backs to perform makeshift leg presses. Simple resistance devices and machines were also used to replicate the pressing motion.

Specialized leg press machines were developed in the mid-twentieth century. Fast-forward to the present, new designs and technology have made it possible for different types of leg press machines. These are versatile and have numerous benefits and features depending on your fitness goals.

The Top 8 Leg Press Benefits

1. Enhances Lower Body Development

Leg presses target and isolate your lower body muscles effectively. Specifically targeting your quads, hams, glutes, and calves, this exercise offers comprehensive lower body strength and development. Consequently, due to its major focus on specific muscles, it is a useful instrument for developing your leg muscles  [5].

2. Beginner-Friendly

Unlike more complex movements such as squats, the leg press is easy to master and fine-tune. Due to the simplicity of motion and support, leg presses are an excellent choice for new gym-goers who want to build confidence and leg muscles without a steep learning curve.

3. Low Balance Requirements

Research found leg presses are especially effective if you have limited stabilization ability [6]. The leg press exercise is more convenient than the squat exercise because your body is anchored to the machine and you don’t have to adjust your balance and coordination. Therefore, if you require rehabilitation, or if you wish to ensure your stabilizing muscles are not under stress, this is ideal.

4. Versatile and Adjustable

Whether you’re doing light reps to build endurance or heavy sets for strength gains, leg presses can help you. Their versatility and adaptability make them a highly effective exercise to add to any workout routine. Work with different resistances, adjust your seat and footplate, or alter where you're placing your feet to work on specific muscles.

5. Strengthens Compound Movements

Incorporating leg presses into your routine can significantly enhance performance in other compound exercises such as squats and deadlifts. By building strength in major lower body muscles, this exercise helps you lift heavier and perform routines better. The increased muscle mass and solid foundation you gain translate into improved stability, power, and endurance in other lifts.

6. Safe for Heavy Loads

Leg presses are particularly useful for loading up heavy weights, which is key to strength gains and moving past plateaus. This machine enables you to exercise in a stable, controlled way with a reduced risk of injury, as opposed to using free weights in exercises such as squats.  The back support and guided motion help distribute the load evenly to all parts of the body, thus putting less pressure on the lower back and joints. This enables you to move heavy weights safely, hence encouraging continuous training for more muscle growth and strength-building.

7. Aesthetic Benefits

Want more muscular, shapely glutes and legs? A leg press machine can give you that. Since the lower body muscles are mainly involved, particularly the gluteal maximus, this enables specific muscle growth and toning. Leg presses should be included in your workout routine on a regular basis to achieve the well-defined and sculpted appearance you aim for.

8. Widely Accessible

Leg presses are easily accessible since they’re common in most gyms. Also, there are several options for home gyms so you can do this effective exercise regardless of your environment. Investing in a leg press machine for home use can give you long-term benefits, plus you get to enjoy this powerful exercise whenever you want.

Types of Leg Press Machines and Their Benefits

There are several types of leg press machines, each designed to cater to your needs and preferences. Here’s a quick overview of the most popular ones:

• Traditional / 45-Degree Leg Press: The most common type of leg press machine; positions you at a 45-degree angle, providing a balanced approach to targeting both the quads and hamstrings.
• Horizontal / Seated Leg Press: Places you in a seated position with your back supported against a pad; particularly beneficial for those with lower back issues as it reduces spinal compression.
• Leg Press / Hack Squat Combo: Allows you to perform both leg presses and hack squats, offering comprehensive lower-body exercises with a single piece of equipment. Want to find out how leg presses stack up against hack squats? Check out our article: Leg Press vs Hack Squat: Which Machine is Better?
  
• Vertical Leg Press: Less common but highly effective; lying flat on your back, you press weights directly upward. This emphasizes quad engagement and provides a unique challenge due to its vertical orientation.
  

Now that you’ve learned about the most popular types of leg presses, are you wondering about the rest? For a more in-depth look at leg press machine styles, check out our detailed article on the 8 Types of Leg Press Machines!

How to Use the Leg Press Effectively

Maximize the benefits of the leg press by ensuring proper form, setup, and execution. 

Leg Press Setup and Execution Tips

• Begin Your Routine with the Leg Press: Start your workout routine with compound exercises like leg presses. They can enhance performance due to reduced early fatigue [4]. 
• Adjust the Machine: Set up a comfortable starting position by adjusting the seat and footplate. Ensure your knees are at a right angle when your feet are placed on the footplate [1].
• Start with Light Weights: If you're new to leg presses, start with lighter weights to get used to the movement pattern and ensure proper form.
• Controlled Movements: Perform each rep with controlled movements, avoiding bouncing or jerking motions.

Leg Press Foot Placement and Variations

• Standard Stance: Placing your feet shoulder-width apart targets the quads evenly.
• High Stance: Placing your feet higher on the footplate shifts the emphasis to the hams and glutes.
• Low Stance: Placing your feet lower on the footplate increases quadriceps activation.
• Wide Stance: A wider stance targets the inner thigh muscles, adding variety to your workout.
  

For more tips, read our guide on Leg Press Foot Placement Variations. 

Demonstrating Proper Form to Maximize Benefits

• Back Support: Keep your back flat against the seat pad throughout the movement to prevent strain on your spine.
• Knee Alignment: Ensure your knees track over your toes during the press to protect your joints.
• Full Range of Motion: Lower the weight until your knees are at a 90-degree angle, then press back up without locking out your knees.

Advanced Training Techniques for Leg Press

If you’re looking to take your leg press exercises to the next level, our next section has you covered. Incorporate the following advanced techniques and take on a more challenging workout routine with more benefits!

Unilateral Movements

Using single leg presses can address muscle imbalances and enhance stability and coordination. This requires greater control and engages the core muscles for balance. A study comparing unilateral vs. bilateral leg presses found that the former significantly improves lower body strength, linear sprinting, and athletic performance better than bilateral leg presses. [5]

Resistance Band Enhancements

Adding resistance bands to leg press exercises increases tension at peak contraction points, stimulating muscle growth and strength. The bands add resistance that gets more challenging as you extend your legs, promoting greater muscle activation and growth throughout the full range of motion [2].

Incorporating Wall Sits and Other Alternative Exercises

Wall sits are excellent complementary exercises to leg presses. They engage the same muscle groups and build endurance. To perform this, stand with your back against a wall and slide down into a sitting position. Hold this position for as long as possible. Research also shows that incorporating wall sits and other isometric exercises such as planks, static lunges, etc. can enhance muscle endurance and strength.

FAQs: Optimizing Leg Press Workouts

Should You Do Squats and Leg Press on the Same Day?

Based on your training goals and recovery capacity, it can be highly beneficial to combine both squats and leg presses within the same training. In doing so, it's possible to enhance the hypertrophy and strength of your lower body muscles. While the squat exercise involves compound movements that work on different muscle groups at the same time, leg presses work on your legs only.

Want to get the most out of your workout? Here are some tips you should follow. Squats should be done first since they're beneficial when performed with much energy, followed by leg presses which will exhaust the energy in your muscles [6]. Avoid overtraining by listening to your body and recovering between sets.

Are Leg Presses Better Than Squats?

Each has its advantages and can be used for different goals. Squats will make you stronger, aid in balance and coordination, and get you stronger functionally. On the other hand, leg-presses can isolate the quads, and at the same time will put less stress on your back.

Depending on your fitness goals and if you have no physical constraints that may stop you from playing around both exercises, incorporating the squat exercise and leg presses in one workout routine can give you a more well-rounded training.

Want to know how leg presses measure up to other lower-body exercises like leg extensions? We pitted these two against each other! Find out how it all went down in our article Leg Press vs Leg Extension.

How Many Reps Should You Do on a Leg Press?

The number of reps you should perform on a leg press depends on your specific goals:

• For Strength: Aim for 4-6 reps with heavier weights; stimulates maximum strength gains by engaging fast-twitch muscle fibers.
• For Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth): Target 8-12 reps with moderate weights; promotes muscle growth by balancing muscle tension and metabolic stress.
• For Endurance: Opt for 15-20 reps with lighter weights. Higher reps enhance muscular endurance and cardiovascular conditioning.

Benefit of the Leg Press: Conclusion

Leg presses are a valuable addition to any strength training routine due to their numerous benefits to beginners and pros alike. They concentrate on lower body muscles, which means you develop overall strength and development. They’re best for beginners who want to get stronger because they’re user-friendly, versatile and adjustable. Whether you’re aiming to enhance your muscle mass, improve stability, or safely lift heavy weights, leg press machines have your back.

Remember, consistency is key. Make leg presses a regular part of your leg day, building up on heavier weights and intensity as you go and experience transformation and overall fitness! Don't hesitate to experiment with shifting foot placements, rep ranges, and advanced techniques to keep your workouts fresh and challenging.

For the best leg presses that suit your needs, check out our recommendations. Happy pressing!

Refrences

1. Escamilla, R. F., Fleisig, G. S., Zheng, N., Lander, J. E., Barrentine, S. W., Andrews, J. R., Bergemann, B. W., & Moorman, C. T. (2001). Effects of technique variations on knee biomechanics during the squat and leg press. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(9), 1552–1566. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200109000-00020
2. Iversen, V. M., Mork, P. J., Vasseljen, O., Bergquist, R., & Fimland, M. S. (2017). Multiple-joint exercises using elastic resistance bands vs. conventional resistance-training equipment: A cross-over study. EJSS/European Journal of Sport Science, 17(8), 973–982. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2017.1337229
3. How can strength training build healthier bodies as we age? (2022a, June 30). National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/how-can-strength-training-build-healthier-bodies-we-age

4. Manipulating exercise order affects muscular performance. . . : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. (n.d.). LWW. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/abstract/1996/02000/Manipulating_Exercise_Order_Affects_Muscular.4.aspx
5. Martín-Fuentes, I., Oliva-Lozano, J. M., & Muyor, J. M. (2020). Evaluation of the Lower Limb Muscles’ Electromyographic Activity during the Leg Press Exercise and Its Variants: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental  Research and Public Health/International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4626. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134626

6. Rossi, F. E., Schoenfeld, B. J., Ocetnik, S., Young, J., Vigotsky, A., Contreras, B., Krieger, J. W., Miller, M. G., & Cholewa, J. (2018). Strength, body composition, and functional outcomes in the squat versus leg press exercises. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness/˜the œJournal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(3). https://doi.org/10.23736/s0022-4707.16.06698-6