The gym that I go to has 3 plate loaded incline leg press machines. My best guess is that about 80% of the people perform a limited range of motion at the top of the movement.
Sure a person can move much more weight limited to little more than a lockout. But with just a lockout the lifter has little hamstring and glute involvement. And one of the most underdeveloped muscle in the gym is hamstrings. (I know that squats reach both of these areas, but even then most are only doing partial squats, i.e., not near parallel.)
IMO, all leg pressing should be done as low as you can get without your hips leaving the back of the seat. If you insist on doing heavy lockouts, okay, but do them after full ROM are done first or done on a separate day of the week.
Sadly, what women want most to target on the leg press, they are not getting as much as they could out of the exercise.
Are you guys seeing similar leg press less than optimal use?
I am a believer of full range of motion used safely, and i see too many out of shapers using partial or very limited range of motion on free weights and machines and being unsafe with the movements, i.e. too quick, dropping the weight on the negatives instead of controlling, etc
I would agree with your whole post, but I think the ladies have us gents beat with it comes to ROM for pretty much everything - particularly leg exercises.
The guys, however, are very much guilty of loading up 1000lbs just to use a 3 inch stroke. I like to call this range of motion “ego”… so by extension, they are indeed stroking their ego.
Agree 100% with this. I’ve seen many folks guilty of partial ranges of motion on numerous exercises in gyms over the years. I can’t recall a single time the offender has been a woman.
I dont like leg press at all - i believe people should squat. Id say its ok to use only if old or crippled which then means that whatever this person does is better than nothing and i applaud the effort anyways.
I did try it a bit when i tweaked my back, and yes, i agree than knees should be behind your ears when leg pressing, haha. And i believe that people only lockout and heavily overload the machine. When i did full ROM and max stretch on the Leg Press, i used 3 plates at each side and it was completely enough for me. Most people do at least 5 plates but they couldnt squat my first warmup.
i am with @RT_Nomad in this… have you ever actually pushed yourself and maxed at least a 440 squat?
Sure, i am weak as piss, but after i do a max, and i do squat DEEEP, my glutes and hamstrings are ripped upen so hard it feels like i also broke my asshole.
As far as i understand(not and expert) hamstrings do a lot of work UNDER the level of paralel.
well thats because you are probably either old or crippled… there is NOTHING wrong with being either or both.
I also believe cables are for old or crippled, but since my both elbows have been broken the ONLY triceps exercise i can do is a cable rope pushdown… I cant do any barbell or dumbbell triceps movement. I am crippled, thats why i use the cable.
Im just saying that if a person is healthy he should do BETTER exercises.
English is my third language and i have never used english outside some forums, so i might not know the “softer” or more “appropriate” ways to tell this. I only know the actual terms, not the emotions connected to each, sorry
The next day i am cleary feeling hamstrings also. I dont think you can hit glutes and not hit hammys.
To stop the squat at the bottom, you would use hamstrings, no?
Im not saying squat is a hamstring exercise, im just saying that after a heavy max we can feel muscles involved… for example after maxing a deadlift i 200% feel quads like a mofo.
At the bottom your hamstrings are stretched from the origin at the same time they are shortened at the insertion. As you push from the bottom your hamstrings contract from the origin at a greater percentage of the lengthening at the insertion. In other words the angle of your thighs relative to your torso moves more degrees than the degree change at your knees.
Hence, the higher your foot placing you will better target the hamstrings, because the knees straighten much less at the beginning of the movement than the hips are extending.
A lower foot placing targets the quads more so than hamstrings.
I’d much rather just squat but that’s not presently in the cards.