How to do the leg press
The leg press lets you train your quads and glutes hard without balance or your lower back being the limit. Good for beginners and for high-rep leg work.
The Helthy team · Updated · 6 min read
- Works
- Quads, Glutes
- Also works
- Hamstrings, Adductors
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
The leg press is the simplest way to load your legs heavily. Your back is supported, the sled moves on a fixed track, and there's nothing to balance, so the only thing that limits the set is your legs. That makes it a good first leg exercise for beginners, a useful second exercise after squats, and a sensible swap when your lower back needs a break. It won't teach you to brace under a bar the way a barbell squat does. For building quad and glute muscle, though, it's every bit as useful.
How to use the leg press
- Sit all the way back in the seat. Your hips should be deep in the pad and your lower back flat against it. If the backrest adjusts, the default is fine to start; a more reclined angle gives your hips a bit more room at the bottom.
- Place your feet about shoulder width in the middle of the platform. Toes turned out slightly, whole foot flat. Your heels should stay on the platform through the full rep.
- Press the sled up and release the safety handles. Hold the side handles lightly to keep your hips pinned down. Leave a small bend in your knees.
- Lower the sled toward your chest. Take 2 to 3 seconds. Your knees should track in line with your toes and stay outside your ribcage.
- Stop when your knees reach about 90 degrees, or just before your lower back lifts. For most people that's with the thighs close to the chest. If your hips stay flat on the seat, you can go a little deeper.
- Press through your whole foot back to the top. Drive through your heels and mid-foot, not the toes. Stop just short of locking your knees and go straight into the next rep.
You should feel it in your quads and glutes, and your heels should feel like they're doing most of the pushing. If you feel it in your lower back, you've gone too deep for your hip mobility.
Cues that help
"Push the platform through the ceiling." Keeps you pushing hard through the top half instead of easing off.
"Hips glued to the seat." Your hands on the handles help pull you down into the pad. Fixes your lower back peeling off at the bottom.
"Knees follow your toes." Stops your knees caving in as the set gets hard. If that doesn't click, try "spread the platform apart with your feet".
"Soft knees at the top." Stop the moment your legs are nearly straight. Protects your knees and keeps tension on the muscle.
Common mistakes
Letting your lower back round off the pad. At the bottom of a deep rep, your pelvis tucks under and your lower back curls away from the seat. That's where the leg press can hurt your back, because your spine is flexing under a heavy load. The cause is going deeper than your hips allow. Shorten the range until your hips stay down, or move your feet slightly higher on the platform.
Locking your knees out at the top. Snapping your knees straight under a heavy sled takes the load off your muscles and puts it on the knee joint itself. With big weights, a knee that locks and bends backward can cause a serious injury. Stop just short of straight and keep a slight bend on every rep.
Using a stance that's too narrow or too wide. Feet close together crowds your knees and often lifts your heels; very wide feet pinch the hips and cut your depth. Start at shoulder width and adjust by an inch or two until the bottom feels comfortable and your heels stay down.
Loading more plates than you can move through a real range. The leg press is famous for 6-inch reps with the whole rack of plates on. It looks impressive and does very little. Take enough weight off that you can get your knees to around 90 degrees, and count only those reps.
Pushing through your toes. Your heels lift and the pressure moves into the front of your knees. Put your feet a little higher on the platform and think about pushing through your heels.
Where to put your feet
Foot position changes the emphasis a bit. Placing your feet lower on the platform lets your knees travel further forward, which puts more of the work on your quads. Placing them higher lets your hips bend more and brings in more of your glutes and hamstrings. A wider stance with toes turned out works your inner thighs more.
The differences are real but smaller than people claim. Shoulder width in the middle of the platform trains your whole leg well, and it's where we'd leave most people. Move your feet only if you want to bias one area or the middle position feels wrong for your hips.
Sets, reps and how much weight to use
The leg press suits moderate to high reps. For muscle growth, 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 works well; for a strength focus, sets of 6 to 8 are about as low as it's worth going. Pick a weight you could do 2 or 3 more reps with, and rest 2 minutes between sets. Because there's no balance or bracing involved, it's also one of the safer lifts to take close to failure, as long as the safety stops are set.
Here's roughly what people leg press for working sets:
| Bodyweight | beginner | intermediate | advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 130 lb (59 kg) | 260 lb (118 kg) | 390 lb (177 kg) |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 320 lb (145 kg) | 480 lb (218 kg) |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 380 lb (172 kg) | 570 lb (259 kg) |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 440 lb (200 kg) | 660 lb (299 kg) |
| 250 lb (113 kg) | 250 lb (113 kg) | 500 lb (227 kg) | 750 lb (340 kg) |
Treat these numbers loosely. Machines vary a lot: a 45-degree sled, a horizontal seated press and a vertical press all feel different with the same plates, and most gyms don't count the weight of the sled itself. Compare yourself with your own numbers on the same machine.
To progress, add reps first, then add weight once you hit the top of your rep range on all sets (here's how that works). A single 10 or 20 lb (5 or 10 kg) plate jump is small on this lift, so you'll move up more often than on squats. Logging the machine and seat setting alongside your sets makes it easier to compare like with like.
Variations and alternatives
- Single-leg press: one leg at a time on the same machine. Good for evening out a weaker side, with half the load.
- Hack squat: a machine where you stand on the platform with pads on your shoulders. Closer to a squat and more quad-focused.
- Goblet squat: a home or dumbbell-only swap for the same pattern.
- Barbell squat: the free-weight option. More demanding, more trunk work.
- Bulgarian split squat: a good replacement when you want heavy leg work with little equipment.
Leg press questions
Is the leg press as good as squats?
For building muscle in your quads and glutes, it can be close. Squats train your trunk, balance and bracing too, which the leg press doesn't. If you can squat, do both. If you can't, the leg press is a very good substitute.
Is the leg press bad for your back?
Not when your lower back stays flat on the pad. The risk comes from going so deep that your pelvis rolls under. If you still get back pain with a shorter range and lighter weights for a week or two, get it checked out.
How deep should I go on the leg press?
Until your knees are at about 90 degrees or slightly deeper, stopping before your hips start to lift off the seat. That's the depth where you get the most work without your lower back taking over.