I heard a trick once to find the best foot position for the squat and legpress. Jump up as high as you can and when you land immediately jump again. Two or three times. Pause before jumping one of the times and look down at your feet. That's how your body generates power through your feet and pushes away. For me, it's a pretty narrow stance and one of my hip sockets must be shaped funny because my right foot turns out a smidge more than my left. Squatting was never comfortable for me, but when I mirror this it is.🙌
The leg press might be the most egotistical lift in the gym. I rarely see anyone do a full range of motion, but I see a ton of people load up the weight and do baby reps.
Thank you for your training techniques. I’ve been doing this wrong for years and my goal is to increase leg strength and development. I will stay tuned in thank you.
The York combination leg press and hack squat machine has an adjustable pad angle. And is heavy duty. I was lucky enough to buy a used one in very good condition.
Yeah I definitely just put my feet high up on the pad and don’t think I really felt it in my quads so thank you for the explanation! Gotta redo leg day now.
Can’t thank you enough for this. I’ve been going heavy on leg press for 10+ years and have never really felt my quads. Took 2 plates off my working sets and my quads are cramping between sets haha
I started working out with a guy that shared some of these same tips. He also has us do a high volume set on our pump day. Started with two plates, yeah that seems light. Two sets of ten to warm up...then a set of 100...if you cannot make it all the way to 100...stop and rest 10 to 20 seconds then go again as long as you can...repeat until you get to 100. Huge pump...impossible to describe the feeling well because it's worse than "it hurts". At first you feel pathetic because weight so low and you're lucky to get to 50 reps...but after 8 weeks, you'll be much much stronger and you will see growth.
It's amazing how much adjusting exercises to really work the target muscles can just shred them. You may have to suppress the ego a bit but the gains start piling on.
0:14 Opening remarks 0:40 Mistake #1 - Putting your feet too high 2:49 Mistake #2 - Pad angle too high 4:19 Mistake #3 - Depth being lacking 6:52 Mistake #4 - Feet too close or too wide 8:18 Mistake #5 - Letting your lower back round 10:38 Mistake #6 - Going too heavy or too light 12:24 Mistake #7 - Forcefully locking out the knees 15:47 Closing remarks - INDIVIDUALIZE
All the mainstream gyms like 24 hour fitness, crunch, dont have Adjustables. Just local gyms in my experience of traveling the country and trying different gyms.
@@martinez209 my Planet Fitness has a leg press with adjustable pad. It is only high/low but I guess that’s still adjustable. It seems odd to me to not be able to adjust it ..
But Bribie that can damage your knees. Most of us are quad dominate so we should do more Glutes and hamstrings to stop the knee leg imbalance. That helps us with other exercises, sports and nice looking legs & prevent leg & knee problems!
@@analogcrunch4716 here you go sweetheart. I don’t think you watched the full video. Mistake #7 12:24 if you’re calling me an ego lifter might as well call the Doc one too. 😉😉😉
One minute in and already fixed my biggest leg day issue. Feet too high, pelvis tucks a little too much at the bottom, lower back goes every time. Watching this 24hrs too late though haha laying here with ice on my back 24hrs after hurting my lower back on leg press. Great video!! My back thanks you
I always thought the rule was ninety degrees. That's the case with Bulgarian split squats, and with a few other exercises, I think, but this video was really helpful.
This is how I fucked up my back once. I had my feet and the pad too high. My lower back arched and the small stabalizer muscles of the lower back experienced too much force. I heard a really loud crack and a very sharp pain. Fortunately, I was using warm-up weight so I could still rack it, but when I got home I collapsed from the pain. It took 2 months to be able to go to the gym again and about 6 months to completely lose the pain in my lower back. Still when I perform exercises in an inproper manner my back quickly reminds me of what happened. It also makes you remind how unimportant it is to look "cool" by lifting heavier weight than the average person at your gym. Set aside your ego and first work on your technique before thinking of increasing the weight, because if you don't it could scar you for life.
Holy damn, sorry you went through that. I had the same experience twice for about three-four weeks at a time. Was horrible af had to stay in a fixed position for a whole day.
@@tiana8247 hey sir I did that yesterday and like the pain is not that much is just when I bend it hurts a little which am guessing it was not like your pain
Great video 👍 I've been asking several trainers about the best pad angle and they all said it didn't matter, and I always thought that it didn't make sense, why would you have the option to adjust the pad if at the end it wouldn't matter 🤷🏻♀️
Exactly. These machines are designed by bio-mechanical engineers as much as mechanical engineers. Companies that build this kind of equipment do that not only for product quality but also to minimize lawsuits over injury. They know you have to allow the user to dial in their own body, but he's right about starting in the lowest position.
I was getting lower back pain so I stopped going down as far as I can, somewhere I read to only go till your knees are 90° now I don't know if I've been doing it wrong
Confession time. I have never been a fan of the leg press, for myself or the people that I used to train. I always viewed it as a squat substitute. I watched this video because other videos from Dr. Mike helped me realize that I had a big blind spot in my knowledge. I love these tips and adjustments. The overall mindset he brings is huge too. I'm taking notes for myself and to help others. Thank you.
You can choose to focus more on quads which requires more knee flexion OR you can choose to focus more on glutes which doesn't require the knees to bend as much and the feet can be higher.
Excellent presentation except for the mistaken belief that this should primarily be a quad exercise instead of a full thigh/hip exercise (esp mistaken focus for those that don't squat or deadlift (well). The glutes, adductors/abductors and hams can and should grow huge from well-done angled leg presses ( esp for higher 15-20 reps with full depth and controllable weight). Secondly, the higher sled angle also offers advantages, too, as the leverage angle distributes weight differently and higher than the lower 45 degree angle, actually emphasizing the quads more, so alternating foot position from workout to workout or over cycles is not a bad idea if hitting quads is indeed a trainee's goal. Finally, a very thick towel can be more comfortably used as a lower back support when foam is lacking ( as it usually will be).The back will inevitably come off the machine for most people when the range of motion is deep enough bc most people lack the flexibility or the lower back strength to stay in place when going back low enough with the knees/ hips, so having something in place to keep the back from compressing should be an expected requirement. This becomes an even more important consideration as the the weight grows higher in poundage and if the trainee is older or lacks a strong lower back (most people who leg press don't squat, deadlift or trap lift or even do back extensions), the potential danger for low back injury grows as well.
As long as you're controlling the weight and not rounding the butt and lower back you're going to be fine. Each foot position targets a different area of the leg more or less. I like to target glutes more than quads because my quads are already too large to fit in most jeans. This is why Dr Mike's head looks like an ass. What he is basically saying is ...... A barbell is only to be used for upright rows. A leg press is ONLY for quads. No it's not.
@@PickleThePig Well, that not really true, Sally. All of us can learn and improve. There have been many pro bodybuilders, powerlifters and trainers who have preformed exercises wrong for decades and still made great progress. So, speaking for myself, I'm always looking to learn and improve even if making a few tweaks by taking a few tips from this video helps. Clearly, my form and practices are not prefect like yours.
this is superior information in terms of yt fitness, one thing tho is a lot of people lack the mobility and that’s why their leg press is shit (me) any advice to increase ankle mobility?
Yup, best thing is long pauses (10-120s) at the bottom of leg press, or preferably squat. Just sheer amount of total time in that position. One popular method is 30m a day total in an unweighted squat (you can watch RU-vid or whatever at the same time).
Interesting. Can someone explain to me why my leg press rom is poor (even with no weight on the press) I can barely get depth. But with a normal bodyweight squat I can get very low, so I feel my ankles are not the issue
But there are 3 muscles we target when doing leg press, inner thighs, glutes and quadriceps if you're ruling out other movements kindly also share other options of doing the other muscles apart from guards alone?
Hmmm... This is a bit worrisome. I was mid-leg press and this vid pops up. You watching me or something. This is kinda freaky. Good vid nonetheless. Keep it up.
@@matthewhardwick365 first time on the internet huh? Do you believe everything you see or read? It's a joke. BTW you should be on your phone tracking tempo, rest periods, RPE, hydration levels, calories, macros, feeding times. It isn't scientific without proper data tracking and controls.
@@fa113nreturns5 not "mid leg press" also if you're tracking all of that bullshit while you're at the gym you need to work on your focus. Reps, sets, RPE, rest times, fine, the rest is a joke. So there are 2 options here, 1 you get distracted by your phone at gym, 2 you lie about getting distracted by your phone at gym.
@@matthewhardwick365 mid-leg press could mean in between sets, it does not necessarily mean literally half way thru a rep. Btw I clearly said it was a joke. If you actually listened to what Mike has said and continues to say and actually read their strength book the youd know better than to say the dumb shit you just did about tracking the things I mentioned.
you're right. there's a risk of injury when putting feet too low bc in the lowest point of motion heels want to rise off the platform. middle position is the best for quads
Leg pressing like this burns my quads like crazy! I spent years without doing the leg press when I was super focused on powerlifting training. When I was low bar squatting I mostly was just focusing on moving the weight and staying alive. I think I missed out on some great quad gains by skipping leg press.
If you're doing leg press as a Squat accessory then you do want the glutes involved. Of course targeting the quads is also fine if you need more quad work, but it's just more time efficient if you can work your glutes at the same time.
Going to low is horrible on the knees, long term pro body builders speak against that method. Going higher targets more hams and glutes, mid is better for quad sweep. Check out Mountaindog1 on youtube John Meadows pro bodybuilder. His advice on leg press is great for long term body building.
Go as low as you can _without_ it hurting your knees, if you want to focus on the quads; the higher the feet, the more the emphasis shifts to the hams and arse.
any guy who wears the absolute most hideous water slip on shoes with completely exposed ankle White Sox but is jacked up from top-to-bottom I would take advice from any day of the week that guy is CLEARLY not fkn around !!!
I used to only do free weights for legs and tried out the leg press because of RP. Seems like the leg presses in my gym suck and I can't even properly apply the advice from this video on them.. But hey one of the leg press machines is good for calf raises.. while the dedicated calf raise machine sucks. We also don't have a hack squat machine... I guess I'll try out Smith machine squats.
Disagree. First of all he said leg press is only for quads. Does he know what he's talking about ??? High foot placement targets the glutes yes you sacrifice rounded back but that's part of it. This guy is crap
@@gioplease6848 I do see where you’re coming from but I don’t know about the term misleading, he is quite open about the technique adjustments being to specifically target the quads over hamstrings and glutes. He mentions it several times, it’s intended to be a quad exercise as opposed to an entire lower body exercise. Which is fine if that’s what you want out of it but I don’t think misleading would be the appropriate term
@@dr.weeniehutjr the reason it’s misleading is because he’s saying “7 leg press MISTAKES and how to fix them” when in reality it’s not a mistake. Leg press is meant to work quads, glutes , hamstrings, and a little bit of calves. It’s a compound exercise not a Quad exercise. He could’ve just explained what the different foot placements do instead of calling it a mistake. A lot of people lack hamstrings and putting your feet up help hit that area.
@@gioplease6848 while you’re not wrong at all that people need to hit hamstrings in their leg training, I think hinge work like RDLs and Good Mornings to directly target hamstrings would be a better bang for your buck than sacrificing potentially better quad gains in your leg press technique to hit them in a less than optimal manner. In the leg press the range of motion of the hips is almost zero and to effectively stimulate the hamstrings you’d want to work them through at least a decent range of motion in order to get the best results. I mean take it with a grain of salt which you obviously have; you can leg press however you like, it’s just a matter of differing opinions on how this exercise should be programmed.
your technique puts stress on the joints and you are not strong enough because you are not using your muscles to your utmost capabilities . place your feet higher ...load the press and you won't stress even when you get older because it doesn't stress your joints. everybody at the gym does things the way you do it. but not everybody does it the other way around.
#3 Partial reps - in the stretched position - can be as hypertophic or more hypertrophic than full range of motion. Dr. Mike (i think it's what he called himself) is erroneous. Either way, great video and great info, generally, DR.
He says that if you only do partial reps you're gonna use more weight thus increase the risk of injury and the stress on your joints It's not that doesn't work it just not worth the risk and the extra stress on your body
@@adamsmith4195 they probably just view it as a high sfr exercise to target the quads. If you want to target glutes or hams primarily there are probably other better options.
@@adamsmith4195 I'm glad somebody else thinks this. I like his tips but I had a big question mark over the idea that you do this only for quads. I generally try to tweak compound exercises to focus on the posterior chain where I am weakest.
@@KenE252525 The leg press is not a compound exercise. How are you supposed to activate hams in this? You're not flexing your knees and you're not extending your hips. The only other muscle you could target with the higher position are glutes.
@@SpaghettiToaster It's definitely compound. Think about it. Not extending the hips??? How could that be possible? Only on a leg extension machine. If you don't believe me, sit on the leg press and try to press without moving your hips. Watch the video again. There is extension at hip, knee and ankle, that's why it's compound.
I think the feet should be where the groove is, (splitting the difference)but that's not possible because of the groove. If u use one like this don't go too heavy imitating them, because there feet are a hair too low. This is just my opinion though.
Dunno how active this is anymore but recently (today) I almost blacked out after doing the leg press today. I’m an out of shape guy but the weight I was using was challenging without being impossible. I did 4 sets of 12 (was aiming for 5 or 6) and afterwards I got so light headed I basically blacked out for about 5 minutes. Intense nausea, sweating ect. It genuinely scared me. I’m extremely new to lifting and fitness as I’m trying to lose a ton of weight. I’ve been steered towards lifting and body recomposition. What am I doing wrong? Are there any tips for how to do this safely but also effectively?
im no personal trainer but ive been lifting hard for around 2 years. my guess is you are too out of shape (no offense) to really go to failure in lifts like the leg press. its not a good idea to go all out on leg presses anyway. leave 1-3 reps in the tank and go to failure on easier lifts if you want (extensions for example) maybe if you get better work capacity overtime you may be able to push yourself more good luck and keep grinding bro
@@DROGOC0P thanks man. I definitely need to get back into the gym because that moment scared the shit out of me because I do not really know what I’m doing. Either way I need to take better care of myself. Thank you for the advice!
Thank you for this video. I’ve just realised I’ve been doing the leg press wrongly. My feet are lower than the pad, but the back is as high as possible, . I have adjusted for back rounding, but my legs only come back to 90 degrees. Thank you. I’m changing my technique next workout. Michael
Whoa, Whoa! Don't mess with my "Pad" bro! :) Thanks Mike was actually really helpful love these common machine use tutorials I actually wonder often if I'm using mechanics properly. Love to see "incline hammer press" , and Shoulder press machines.
Thanks for these tips, especially having the pad angle too high. Made some changes and could feel so much more tension in the quads and adductors. Back on the growth train...
Great tips but totally agree with that it all depends on the person's body type. I have long legs and putting it low like this aggravates my knees. Also wish I had this leg press. It looks so solid.
After my torn knee ligament injury my doctor and physical therapist recommended me Leg Press to regain strength in Knee muscles and prevent knee surgery during covid-19. I have no pain right now and I am doing fine.
Hobbyist powerlifter here. Best squat is 190kg. Did some (full ROM) leg press today for the first time in years. 167.5kg for 8s @7. I have no idea how the bros in my gym are using 12 reds, but I suspect f*ckery.
Mike, I have access to a Smith Machine and a Hack Squat (and of course a Power Rack for Barbell Squats). *PLEASE, Mike, can you make a video like this one for Hack Squats and/or Smith Machine squats as well?* I know you are squatting in a Smithmachine quite often as well!? *Much respect from the Netherlands!*
Great video, and thanks por taking the time to explain it all. Just a quick question my problem is that my proportions are big, even for Squats I got some problems, so when I get that knee flection to my limit even if I am making a nice form they say that I don't go all the way. How can I fix it? (it can get fixed)
This whole video is a total joke. Leg presses are for close grip presses and rows if you stand on top of a pull up bar, NOT FOR THESE SILLY LEG EXERCISES!!
I am not sure if this is something to brag about: I regularly made ALL SEVEN MISTAKES. For some reason, I had an unpleasant feeling about doing the leg press, and afterwards felt pain. Now i know why.
I sought out this video because I was doing the leg press tonight and came down low like a good boy, but it felt like my left side was getting squashed. I thought my legs were out wide enough, but I guess not. I still have a super tender spot in my ribs. This was at my 4th set with added weight. I gave myself a few punches to the rib area later on to be sure, and confirmed it's way tender there. I typically have good exercise form, but I have not used this machine. My plate was flat, not angled, and it was a guessing game for a guy who normally uses dumbells to work legs.
Thank you for the informative videos! I personally think that rowing / BB, T bar, meadows, etc. would be very useful, as there seems to be a disconnect between typical instruction videos & biomechanical way to understand how the movement should be performed- especially with torso angle & bar path.
I have scoured Pubmed looking for the answer to the question I’m about to pose, so I tried haha. With all those adjustments, I still go into posterior pelvic tilt at around 90 degrees of knee flexion😖I can’t find much on how to improve beyond what my anatomy allows (I think it’s the way my hip is built). Can I still be an honorary member of Team ROM until I find the right information to get my hips right?
Butt wink/lower back rounding is a good tip! I never noticed it since I was sitting. I then tweaked my back and couldn't walk right for a couple months, much less workout. My feet were high and weight heavy. It felt great until it didn't lol. Listen to this video! All good tips for LgPs!
s d yes , not only is squatting superior for hypertrophy of the legs but it also build more strength . Also builds mobility and stability unlike the leg press . Leg press is only good for advance lifters to add extra quad volume . Tho I’d still rather do a Bulgarian split squat or some step ups for extra quad volume before I do leg press .
Victor S haha that only happened to Ronnie Coleman cause he was on massive amounts of gear so he had too much muscle for his whole frame hence why those weights destroyed his spine . Leg press is absolutely horrible for the knees and if you go down to low you can even hurt your lower back .
Perhaps viewers here are smart enough to already know there are individual exceptions to every 'rule', but... I have bad knees, and my joints are beat up *less* by only going down to a 90-degree angle and upping the load. I can, however, take my knees right up to my chest no problem, so my glutes & hams aren't missing out on stimulus. For some reason, I can still comfortably go super-heavy on leg extensions and ass-to-ground on single-leg bodyweight squats... and I am a heavy MF.
Brandon's ankles and knees are in THE worst angle/position possible (lower on the platform) for pushing 300, 400, or upwards of 700lbs. Not to mention leg pressing folding one's knees into the chest is unrealistic and counterproductive. The legs should be wider so getting depth is comfortable, and the body cannot be used to help stop the weights descention or push the weight back up.
Yeah, full ROM mantra. I get a way better pump from the half reps. But I focus on the middle half of the ROM, never lock out and never let the knees too close to the body. Less stress on the joints, and constantly in muscle tension. With full ROM, just like with squats, I get tired before my muscles do.
I've seriously yet to see one person in my gym use a full range of motion on the leg press lol. I've been at my current gym 3 years and in that time noticed EVERYONE just loads it up with weight and those little quarter reps, men women, big small strong weak, EVERYONE
You might want to look into getting some custom orthotics for your shoes. A lot of knee problems are derived from having poorly shaped arches in our feet which can transfer all the stress of walking and running (or squatting) along a single line up the shin and into the knee instead of distributing it across the foot and into the heel. With poor arches, literally the bones going into the knee carry all the stress from the impact of your foot hitting the ground (instead of your heel) which causes them to tear and pull at the knee causing inflammation and pain. If the arch isn't keeping your leg bones aligned properly while in motion it can really tear up your knees. Plus weight lifting shoes with custom orthotics can redistribute the stress across the foot and keep your heel from rising out of position so it always carries the load.
Completely disagree with two points. The Leg Press isn't just for the quads - if it was, there wouldn't be multiple angles for foot placement. I'm not saying it's the best option, but it's an option. The other thing is where he says "it's fine to lock out your knees". No, It's not. It's NEVER fine to lock out on a leg press. That puts way too much pressure on the knee. There's some good advice here, but it's hard to take it seriously when somebody says it's fine to lock out your knees on the machine.
Why is only purpose of legpress build quads? Thats so bullshit :D You contradicting yourself in the video saying dont put legs too high when you can target hams and glutes by that. Also if quad is domintating force in your movement (like sissy squat for example) its not healthy for your knees.
Feet position is base on your body mechanic such as height. The idea all feet low seem like generalized method. Im 6'3...low position put the weights on my knee. Even seat position is base on body mechanics.
What is with people wearing a fucking baseball cap in a gym? If you're doing any sort of proper workout, you're going to be covered in sweat. Why do you want a sweaty backwards baseball cap on your head while you're working out?
I can't barbell squat because bad shoulders, but I still want to go for a compound lift with max effort like 5x5 routine. I feel like the leg press is the only option to really load up the weight. So, given my situation, should I still not bother doing it like this?
I used to push 730Ibs leg press and I’ve done it for over a year. But a couple of weeks ago my rib got hurt for no reason. I know can’t push that much weight anymore. My legs press on my ribs when I do that and it just hurts so bad.
I bought this homeym, but the leg press on it is not adjustable to my height. I’m way too tall and my lower back is rounding even before I start pressing the weight. Should I skip the exercise and do different ones instead or should I work on my mobility? Maybe it’s about time I start going to a real gym… I just like working out from the comfort of my own home.
