Leg press range of motion
Posted by Tanya
While doing the leg press one of the trainers at my gym told me that I shouldn't go all the way down as it was hard on the joints. He claimed that I was doing it the old fashioned way similar to the style of bodybuilders many years ago.
Well I tried it half way and frankly I did not have much of a reaction. Should I be adding more weight or did the bodybuilders back then know more about training than this fellow is letting on?
tx
Re: Leg press range of motion
Posted by hulk
Full range of motion should always be used when exercising. With squat you should always go to 90 degrees. Some cry in horror at this but remember olympic lifters squat until they are in the sitting position.
If you work the muscle throgh its full range you are most likely to make gains.
On the leg press there are some points to be aware of.
The knees should never overshoot the toes (or in some cases not by much)
Consider your foot position on the plat of the leg press machine, is this a natural position that you would squat in?
As with all exercises if you have any sharp pain stop!
You may need to drop weight to get a full range of motion but I have seen guys in the gym with many hundreds of kilos on the leg press doing a full range. They seem to do OK!
