Most commercial gyms will have a Leg Press machine.  There are three different types of leg press available and these can be differentiated by the direction in which the weight load is pushed.

• 45 Degree Leg Press allows you to push the weight load at a 45 degree angle.
• Horizonal Leg Press allows you to push the weight load horizontally (towards the wall).
• Vertical Leg Press allows you to push the weight load vertically (towards the ceiling).

This article delves into the differences between the three machines and which may be better suited to you, whether you’re buying for yourself or your gym.

What Are The Different Types Of Leg Press?

45 Degree Leg Press

The 45 Degree Leg Press, sometimes referred to as the angled leg press or incline leg press, tends to be most common in a gym environment and often features an adjustable back pad and a footplate which sits at a constant 45 degree angle.

Vertical Leg Press

The Vertical Leg Press is a machine with a back pad which is at floor level with a footplate directly above the back pad.  You would lie on the back pad and place your feet flat against the footplate so your legs would be straight up in the air.

Horizontal Leg Press

The Horizontal leg press is somewhat similar to the 45 degree leg press.  Sometimes referred to as a seated leg press, they feature a footplate which sits at the same height as your torso.

This is a fairly common addition to a gym as they are the easiest to use when compared to other leg press models. 

When it comes to a seated leg press vs a leg press the key difference is that a seated leg press tends to feature a weight stack rather than being a plate loaded machine.

The most noticeable differences between the three machines is the direction that the weight is being pushed. 

With the seated leg press the weight is pushed horizontally (straight out in front of you and parallel to the floor), the 45 degree leg press the weight is pushed diagonally and at an incline of 45 degrees and the vertical leg press the weight is pushed vertically (straight up towards the ceiling).

How Do You Use A Leg Press Machine

Each of the three types of leg press machines are used differently with some being easier than others.

Seated Leg Press

As touched on above, the seated leg press is by far the simplest to use. 

The reason for this is because of where the footplate is in relation to the seat pad.  The seat pad tends to be positioned higher off the ground than both the vertical and 45 degree leg press with the foot plate being located immediately in front of you.

1. To use the horizontal leg press, ensure the set-up is correct with the desired weight selected with the pin.
2. Sit down whilst placing your feet on the footplate immediately in front of you. Your knees will be slightly bent at the starting position.
3. Push your legs forwards until almost straight, this should disengage the footplate.
4. Bring your knees back to your chest whilst keeping your back flat on the pad at all times. Hold for a second or two before straightening out your legs. Repeat required repetitions.

Recommended Reading – How Much Weight Should You Use On The Leg Press?

45 Degree Leg Press

A 45 degree leg press is a plate loaded machine, so you’ll want to load up the desired weight to begin with.

1. Adjust the back pad to achieve the ideal starting position and sit in the machine keeping your back and head against the back support.
2. Place your feet on the footplate. The most common foot position is feet hip width apart with toes pointing outwards.
3. Push the footplate away from you using your heels until your legs are mostly straight, try and avoid locking out your knees as this will add undue stress which could result in injury.
4. Slowly bring your knees back to your chest but keep your back flat on the pad at all times to avoid rounding your back. If this happens the weight will be shifting from your legs to your lower back which could again result in injury.

Vertical Leg Press

The least common of the leg press machines, the vertical leg press is a plate loaded machine so load up the machine with the required number of plates before you begin.

1. If the machine has an adjustable footplate or back rest, adjust these to your ideal starting position.
2. Lie down, keeping your back flat against the pad and raise your legs up so you can rest your feet on the foot plate directly above you. These machines can be a little disconcerting if you’ve never used one before so go in with a light weight and potentially have a spotter available to help out.
3. Position your feet hip width apart with toes pointing outwards, release the foot plate to take the full weight onto your legs.
4. Slowly bring your knees to your chest but be sure not to round your back. Some users will suggest bringing your knees to your chin is full range of motion but by doing this you are placing the weight on to your lower back as opposed to keeping it on your legs, where it should be.
5. When you have come down as low as is comfortable, push back up using your heels but as with other leg press machine do not lock out your knees. Repeat repetitions as required.

What Muscles Does A Leg Press Work?

All of the leg press machines offer subtle differences in the way they work and they all essentially target the same muscle groups.

The primary muscles worked when using a leg press machine are the quadriceps.  Secondary muscles include the glutes, hamstrings and calf muscles. 

Whilst the same muscles are activated during movement, one type of machine may be placing much more of the weight on to your legs over another.

For example, if you select 40kg on a selectorised seated leg press the weight is generally positioned to the side and has to travel through a pulley system that uses cables. 

This will create an element of drag and take some of that 40kg of weight.

Recommended Reading – Maximising Your Leg Press Weight : How Much Weight Should You Use?

By comparison, if you load a 20kg plate either side of a vertical leg press, this is going to be much more challenging. 

Firstly, because the weight is positioned directly above you, meaning you will taking the full load of that weight. 

Secondly, you will also be pressing the weight of the leg press carriage.  In some instances these can weigh as much as 40kg.

You can now see that 40kg on a seated leg press is not the same as 40kg on a vertical leg press.

Another important factor to consider with the muscles being targeted, is that of foot placement.  By making small adjustments to where your feet are positioned on the foot plate will have an impact on what muscles are taking the bulk of the weight. 

We go into more details below on different kinds of foot positions and what muscles they target.

What Are The Advantages Of Using A Leg Press?

Whilst using a leg press doesn’t recruit as much of the lower body muscles as a regular squat, it does offer some advantages.

If you are suffering from lower back pain or any upper body injuries, using the leg press in place of the squat is a good alternative as it keeps the load away from your back and upper body allowing you to isolate the quads, hamstrings and glutes.

The leg press machine is also good for beginners.  As it’s an easy machine to become accustomed too, you’re less likely to suffer from injuries when compared to free weight exercises. 

So the machine will give you a solid base to build leg strength and muscle size before moving over to something more complex, such as the barbell squat.

Recommended Reading – How To Perform Squats And Their Role In Training

Using the leg press prior to heavy squatting is a good warm up exercise as it stretches out the muscles and joints and reduces potential for injury when performing squats.

It even offers excellent carry over to cardiovascular exercise such as running and jumping as by utilising the leg press with a lower weight but higher repetitions can help to improve explosive leg strength.

What Is The Difference Between A Leg Press Machine And A Squat?

The main difference between a squat and a leg press is that a squat is a compound free weight movement whereas a leg press is an isolation exercise which is performed on a machine. 

Whilst a squat and leg press both target the same lower body muscles, those being quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings, the squat is going to activate additional muscles such as your core and hips. 

This is because during a squat, most of your body is taking the entire weight load whereas with a leg press your back and upper body are supported and thus taken out of the equation.

With a leg press you can alter the muscles that are activated by adjusting your foot position on the footplate, thereby giving you greater control over muscles you’d prefer to target.

A squat offers a much larger range of motion when compared to a leg press machine, meaning that whilst both effectively work the quads, the squat is going to be much better at hitting the glutes and hamstrings. 

This is because you can squat deeper than if you were using a leg press. 

You’re not able to reach the same depth on a leg press machine as you run the risk of rounding your back and causing injury. 

Recommended Reading – Is The Back Squat Better Than The Leg Press?

Remember, whilst you may physically be able to bring your knees to your chest on a leg press, doing so will mean you are rounding your back and making your spine prone to large compressive forces and this should be avoided.  If you want to go to these depths then you need to squat instead.

Another difference between the two is that you’ll be able to leg press significantly more than you can squat.  This is because when squatting you use your stabilisation muscles to help with your balance. 

A leg press machine will stabilise that weight for you.  Also, with the seated leg press or 45 degree leg press the weight is being pushed either away from you horizontally or diagonally so gravitational forces are not against you as they would be with a squat.

Where Do You Put Your Feet On A Leg Press Machine?

It may not seem important but where you place your feet on a leg press will have a direct impact on the lower leg muscles that you are focussing on.  To get the most out of using a leg press, it’s worth knowing where you can place your feet and what muscles you are hitting.

Below are some options for foot placement along with which muscles they effectively target.

Standard Foot Placement

The most common stance where your feet are positioned in the centre of the footplate with feet approximately hip width apart and toes pointing slightly awards. 

This won’t place emphasis on any particular muscle group but instead offer overall development of the quads, glutes and hamstrings.  It’s easy to undertake and particularly ideal for beginners to the machine.

As you perform the movement, keep your feet flat on the platform at all times bring your knees as close as possible to your chest but without rounding your back. Your back and head should remain flat to the pad throughout the exercise.

Low Foot Placement

By placing your feet lower down on the foot plate you’ll be encouraging more activation of the quadriceps.  This is because your knees will travel further over your toes as you bring them towards your chest.

Feet should be placed as low down as possible on the platform without your heels overhanging and at hip width apart. 

Again toes should point slightly outwards. 

Bring your knees as close to your chest as possible whilst ensuring your feet remain flat to the foot plate and avoid rounding your lower back. 

Because your knees will be travelling over your toes it’s worth nothing that a degree of ankle flexibility is needed for this movement.

High Foot Placement

A high foot placement on the leg press will activate more hip extension meaning more emphasis will be placed on the hamstrings and glutes. 

Because of the additional hip extension being recruited this may not be suitable if you are suffering from any lower back issues.  Keeping your feet high will also remove much of the work by your quads.

Wide Stance Foot Placement

With a wide stance foot placement it’s necessary to have a good degree of flexibility to the inner thigh muscles. 

This is to ensure that you can keep your knees out throughout the movement without them ‘caving in’.  This particular stance encourages use of the hamstrings and glutes.

To correctly do this movement, place your feet wide apart on the footplate with toes almost overhanging. 

You may notice that some leg press machines offer a wider foot plate than others so this could dictate to how wide you can position your feet.   

Your toes will need to be pointing out quite significantly for this one, around 45 degrees or so.  Carry out the movement slowly to determine how far you can bring your knees to your chest, this will depend on flexibility.

Narrow Stance Foot Placement

The narrow stance foot position is ideal for activating of your quads.  It does have a fairly limited range of motion as you’ll find your thighs could make contact against your stomach at the bottom of the movement. 

Because of this however, you’ll likely be able to press more weight so this is a good one if you want to go that little bit heavier.

For this one, keep your feet in the centre of the footplate and just under hip width apart with toes pointing out slightly.

Conclusion

No matter what one you choose, the different leg press machines all allow you to effectively target your quads, glutes and hamstrings while removing most of the stress from your lower back. 

Common in most gyms, a leg press is great for beginners allowing them to build decent leg strength and muscle size before moving over to undertake more challenging leg exercises, such as a barbell squat.

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