How to Safely Use a Leg Press Machine

A leg press machine is a great piece of fitness equipment that can greatly improve your leg workout. However, like any piece of exercise equipment it’s important you know how to use it correctly. This is both to ensure you get the most out of your workout, and that you are safe from suffering an injury during your workout. 

Keeping an eye on form and safety will help to avoid injuries like joint and muscle strain, sprains, and more. Learn more about how to use a leg press machine safely.

Leg Press Machine Basics

The leg press machine can give you a great full-leg workout, working muscles like the quadriceps, calves, hips and even your lower back. It’s also a great way to build knee strength. The leg press machine has weight plates on the side that you can adjust to your preferred weight. 

It’s important to keep in mind that while it might feel great to push yourself to lift your weight limit, it’s more important to build quality movements and muscle memory than to crank out dozens of reps with poor form. Choose and stick with an amount of weight that’s challenging but still allows you to perform quality reps with proper form. 

Using the Leg Press for Success

The leg press machine is one of the best alternative ways to perform squats. However, unlike traditional squats the leg press machine provides a more isolated exercise that focuses more on your quadriceps muscle than your glutes and hamstrings. Even though the focus is on your quads, the leg press machine still provides a great workout for your entire lower body. Keep in mind, when it isn’t used correctly injuries can be sustained easily.

If you’ve never used a leg press machine, you might want to ask someone who is experienced with them or hire a personal trainer to spot you and watch your form. When in doubt, we recommend using a lighter weight until you’re sure you’re using the machine correctly. 

There are many types of leg press machines available for sale that are set up with different angles. Some of our favorite leg press machines are:

Body-Solid Vertical Plate Loaded Leg Press Machine PVLP156X 

Body-Solid Pro Select Leg & Calf Press Machine GLP-STK 

Muscle D Leg Press/Calf Raise Combo Machine 

Preparing to Workout With the Leg Press Machine

Once you’re ready to begin working out with a leg press machine, you can follow these steps to ensure you get a great leg workout:

1. After selecting and setting up the appropriate weight on the machine, check to ensure you have the proper foot positioning by placing your feet shoulder width apart on the platform.
2. Engage your core and take a deep breath, then exhale as you push away. This helps to protect your lower back, spine and your ribs from the pressure of the weight. While you might think your legs are bearing the heaviest load here, it’s actually your pelvis doing so. 
3. Then, inhale as you slowly return to your original position, bringing your knees back down toward your butt at a 90-degree angle.
4. When you push on the platform be sure to do it with each foot from your toes to your heels. You also want to ensure that you balance the weight equally between your right and left foot.
5. Be careful not to lock your knees or get full knee extension when you extend your legs to avoid a knee injury.
6. To decrease tension in your knees, you can raise your feet a little higher. This will focus the pressure more on your hamstrings and take some of it off of your knees.