Legs without a bar on your back

Leg Press

Feet on the sled. Lower under control. Press the floor away. Do not turn it into a bounce contest.

Hunter: I like this when I am not ready to put a bar on my back, or when goblet squats already did the pattern work.

Cues

Whole foot on the platform. Not just toes. Not just heels.
Lower until your thighs are at a depth you can own without your low back peeling off.
Press through the mid-foot. Knees track over toes.
Do not slam the lockout. Soft finish.
Keep your hands on the handles, not on your knees.

Setup

Sit. Safety catches where the gym wants them. Start lighter than your pride. A sled that is already loaded is not your working weight until you have felt the path.

Machine legs still count

If squats feel like a stage, the leg press is a way to train quads and still leave in 45 minutes. Pair with a hinge and a carry. Log the plates. Use the plate calculator if the sled is plate-loaded and your brain is fried.

Depth you can repeat

Match last week's depth. Chasing a deeper hole with more plates is how the set gets ugly. Ugly is not a PR.

Common misses

Tiny range with a mountain of plates. Letting the seat round so your low back takes it. Bouncing out of the bottom. Also: loading every 45 in the gym because the guy next to you did.

FAQ

High feet or low feet?

Start with a stance that feels like a squat. High or low tweaks can wait. Same stance each week so the log is comparable.

Log the leg press in the free Vitality Engine. Count the plates. Do not estimate from across the room.

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