Leg Press

Pink Boy

I would be very cautious about over-doing it on the leg press. It can be a useful adjunct to your overall strength development, providing overload when required, but it really won't do your knees or back any favours (I work in a Physiotherapy clinic, & have seen more back injuries originate from the leg press than any other piece of equipment). The problem is, you can build really strong legs, but without the stability that the bigger freeweight lifts provide. It is like have a 500hp engine sitting in a chassis built for 90!! Something has to give & it usually is your back & stability on the bike.

I would recommend that while you are doing the leg press, focus on single legs, & do a few sessions light to ensure that you can get your kneecap to track properly. Do some standing single leg squats where you drive your knee over your second & third toes while keeping your hips stable. Maybe venture over to some box step ups. All the time getting the tracking right. Throw in some Romanian Deadlifts or Olympic Deadlifts as good core strength & hip strength exercises.

Long term you will get more benefit from taking a season out, not concerning yourself with how much you should be leg pressing compared to others & getting your knees right enough to handle a squat. I reckon someone who can squat 150kg & RDL 100kg is a lot stronger overall on the bike than someone who can leg press 500kg!

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Jamie Scott
Strength Coach
Sports Nutritionist
Christchurch, NZ

Meek One

I do the others too.
I usually start with a deadlift and go up to usually 160-200kgs. Then single leg legpresses with 0kg (Just sled weight), 40kg, 80kg, 120kg, 160kg, 200kg and recently did a single at 260kg. I also tend to keep my feet high up on the platform so at no point is my knee ahead of my foot.
It's time to start shedding a few kgs of bodyweight anyway and work on getting the legs to FIRE quickly, but I am happy with my progress since this is just the result of several months of training having had a bad knee injury several years ago and been able to do nothing in the weight room until last summer. Next winter I plan to get crazy strong!!! But for now just FAST
10's here I come....

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-Meek
"Some people train to look pretty. I just train so I can be the strongest man there is. And then again, I'm already pretty." -Magnus Samuelsson

Meek One

Oh, forgot to add that I did try to cautiously do some squats the other day. Did a 60kg warm up, then 80 then 100. Stopped at 100 since I hadn't done them since '98 or something. Felt really light though felt like I would have been good for quite a bit more. Next morning my knees were super loud and cracking again like they were about 9 months ago! Probably won't try again until fall.

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-Meek
"Some people train to look pretty. I just train so I can be the strongest man there is. And then again, I'm already pretty." -Magnus Samuelsson

velomanct

Good analogy!

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"friendship, family, religion. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business!" -Mr. Burns
The faster you go, the fewer passing cars

Felt_Rider

Not only do squats strengthen stability muscles (core strength) there is more range of motion in doing free bar squats as opposed to leg press.

I have used leg press thoughout my lifting career, but squats are my mainstay and fortunately I originated out of a hardcore powerlifting gym where if you didn't do a legal squat (point on the hip dips below the knee joint) you would be ridiculed. Thank goodness for those guys for teaching me the proper way to squat. My legs became fully developed even down to the medalis where a lot of guys have a weakness because the use a limited range of motion by doing quarter squats or only use the leg press.

Leg press can still be an essential machine to incorporate into a program, but squats are the king - IMO.

It's just getting harder to do free bar squats at my age.

Billsworld

Have you tried the saftey squat bar??.....Geeze thats the same gym I went to. After a hard set there was always the peanut gallery to say something like, the 3rd one was high. I use the LP to warmup for squats now. Thing about Lp weight numbers is that you can adjust the seat and put your feet high on the platform to get lots of plates on. Not sure how much help that is to any kind of performance. Yippee I did 1200 for 10 one time.. MEEK if your talking 10s for the 200 I am very impressed!!

Felt_Rider

Safety Bar Squat?? Is that the same as Smith Machine Squats?

I use the LP in the same manner. I use it to warm up and sometimes as a finisher for the destruction of the quadriceps.

Within the last 6 months I started doing a few sets of one legged press on the LP and it is amazing what a difference that can make on strength.

Right at the new year I tore muscle fascia doing squats so I am in rehab/rebuilding at the moment with squats.

Billsworld

It is a free bar with a yoke on it.(google it) Its a nice piece if you have back problems. It also tends to put you in that perfect position if your not a natural squatter as some taller guys are. wont help your quad though. Get well

Meek One

Shhh, don't tell everyone the secret.

I am happy that now I am stronger than the Australian men, umm I mean women.

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-Meek
"Some people train to look pretty. I just train so I can be the strongest man there is. And then again, I'm already pretty." -Magnus Samuelsson

Billsworld

LOL....It is my understanding that the AIS spend alot of time using high speed film and such to replicate joint angles and correct speed to best transfer the work to the bike. Please tell me your already low 11s and thats not the master plan to get 10s

velomanct

I believe the Aussie track sprinters were doing something like 300lb 1-leg squats. My best was around 150lbs for those.

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"friendship, family, religion. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business!" -Mr. Burns
The faster you go, the fewer passing cars

Lasalles

Back to leg press,350kgs(777pounds) feel free to come down to Aquafit to train...
As for the Aussies,Eadie once said he did a 300kg squat all the way which put him in bed for a week.

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Hillbrick Zona Track
Felt CA1(Road Hack)

Billsworld

Anyone else find it odd that a world class sprinter is also one of the best 200lb squatters in the world?

Billsworld

. When I advise athletes on the squat and DL. I usually tell them to use the same weight for 4 sets of 5 reps (as the bread and butter). This allows the athlete an ample amount of volume with weight percentages that develop power. I also advise that no increase can be made untill the last set is as easy as the first as a general giudeline. This keeps form in tact because the weight is being handled not pulling the lifter out of desired path.(less injuries) I use the leg press as more of an assistance exersize to iron out weak spots in the squat and even DL. By moving the feet into positions that simply would be impossable with free weights, you can work weak spots. I agree with you on the misuse of this machine. I would really like to know how ais uses it to duplicate joint angles etc. It makes good sense, I just dont know how to do it.