Leg Press: The do's and don'ts with Will Brink

[ThatDankGuy]

Good video and information!

[u8therooster]

How much weight is here? I for one put my hand on my knees but only for comfort and to keep my knees straight. I never push the weight with my hands. I just came out the gym doing 4 sets of 830 plus the sled at 8 reps. So your lbs for ilbs strong man and you shouldn't knock certian things or at least word them right.

[nezpercenathan]

Not mentioned here, though partially demonstrated, is proper foot placement for yur particular goal. Generally, higher foot placement develops glutes more, lower foot placement better for quads.

[psychodude6]

I'm not sure if I'm doing a partial rep or not because I get my legs to almost 90 degrees but its not quite there, is this still considered a partial rep just because I didn't get that extra 2-3 inches? Thx, btw, I was bending my knees in too and I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that.

[Netlocd]

I saw a pretty big guy (who is a gym regular) in the gym doing partial reps. I was sitting there wondering, "Was I doing it wrong?" when I realized that, after this video, he was doing it wrong, and I was doing it right.

Cheers.

[19LastCrusader45]

lol u can put your hands on your knees for support so you don't get hurt, especially is you go heavy. You really think you can push that much weight with your hands? cmon

[ariisbest2]

despite the comments up top, hes got some pretty nice form, its hard not to arch your back. i do 3 45 plates on each side, idk if my range of motion is too limited though.

[Proud2BeAPirate]

Lol i think my hamstrings are to tight to do leg press properly....shit.

[Relikorfitness]

best leg press video i've seen so far. I'm sick of having to wait on our one plate loaded press (well, one that you can get a good ROM) for people do the classic "6 inch press" or calf raises. pretty much how i teach my clients, but you forget to tell him to breathe :p (i'm sure the guy already knew)

[risingphoenix737]

proper form>more weight

[0snitzel]

putting hands on your knees is just a way to spot your self with that one or two extra reps...

[job187]

Is the leg press a good substitute for squats?

[reid1709]

Is this workout or machine bad for the knees? I have a meniscus tear in my right knee and want to keep my muscles strong before surgery which is a few months away.

[harrignos]

@reid1709 don't leg press before a surgery if you have a tear.. Try lower intensity stuff, like lunges. BUT, this exercise is always bad for the knees if you do it with such a horrible form as the man in this video.

[Kainthemain]

i think your supposed to press down until your back is lifted a little bit automatically

[Swamplord1000]

"Finally, the proper leg press" but he is still locking his knees... ?

[MAXMARTINS23]

Man, I put my hands on my thighs, And I put because this way I can feel the muscles working and I have much better results,And I never pull the weight with my hands I only put my hands on my thighs to feel the muscles engaged,and feel them working,so I think this video doesn't really explain what's really wrong or right to do when working out leg on a leg press machine,

[mario68079]

hands on knees is not considered wrong in the first rep if you want to keep progressing

[fuckoff2121]

okay so my gym teacher who also happens to be the football/wrestling coach says that you have to take your knees all the way to your chest when i do that i can only do 180lbs because it makes my kness lock if i dont go all the way but as close as possible without locking my knees i can hit 600lbs easy am i right or wrong when i say as close as possible my knees are about an inch away from my chest

[srinivaskari]

is it best to push thru the heels or thru the balls and toes(upper part of the foot)

[avenger1000]

is he locking out his knees? I thought this was bad for the joints?

[willbrink]

@avenger1000

Watch the vid, locking of knees is an example of what NOT to do...

[nikolatesla08]

@willbrink leg pressing is an example of what not to do......

[HisTruthbeUNKOWN]

Why is it everytime I watch a *how-to* in weight training, it's always the people with NO muscle telling the world the *right* way to do an exercis!!. There are MANY huge bodybuilders who put their hands on their knees when pressing. Check out Skip Lacour for one.

And from what I can see in this video, the *right* way being demo'd is actually very wrong! Snapping the knees & locking them out at the top is asking for big knee trouble. This demo is an epic fail. :(

[willbrink]

@HisTruthbeUNKOWN

Hey expert, the guy in the vid is a national ranked strong man and could out lift you on his worst day. He's not a bber, but he's damn strong, lb for lb, MUCH stronger then most bbers. He's also multi belt MA, and the head SnC for Tap Out Boston. He's one of the best coaches on the planet BTW.

[DreadfulControversy]

@willbrink LUL half of these people don't know the difference between a bodybuilder, powerlifter, olympic weightlifter and strongman.

[blockkitteh]

ok, if u say that the partial rep is wrong, then y dus my leg press at the gym show instructions almsot identical to the partial press, and calls it a full rep, just curious

[manggangbang]

So i have problems with keeping my lower back on the pad when i go all the way down as its shown in the end. If i do leg press like that i can really feel it in the lower back afterwards as in a bad way. So any tips on keeping the back as firmly in the seat as possible and still go as deep as in the clip (he goes past 90 degrees)?

[smash1out]

@manggangbang Try it with very little weight and see at what point (if at all) ur back comes off pad. Ur flexibility may be the main cause so increase the range gradually to allow ur legs time to gain strength in those low parts of the rep.

[raphaelmartines]

YOU MEAN TH INPROPER WAY MAN...............THE DUDES LOCKING HIS KNEES AT THE PRESS, THAT'S A RED FLAG FOR LIGAMEN AND MUSCLE TISSUE DAMAGE.......OFF TO SURGERY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[crummydo]

I would like to add another tip for this and any other lift, press, or curl using heavy weights. Breathing. I find that controlled breathing, exhaling on the way up, is the best way for me to get the best pump, longer and stronger.

[1000rtodd]

the rolling stones = perfect for any situation

[The49ers52]

hey will when i do leg presses i try to do full range motion but it really hurts my stomach and ribs what can i do to fix that problem ?

[TheWinningGambler]

i put my hands on my knee to support the threshold but i never use my hands to help push off. My aching knees aren't what they used to be after spraining them. still pressing 12 45lb plates though =)

[Nickasaurusrex]

Yeah, I always see the partial rep when I go to the gym...cmon people, lower the weight and go all the way down!

[willbrink]

@Nickasaurusrex

That's because they wanna impress their buds with all the plates they have on, whne in fact the real lifters are laughing at them. Tons of YT vids of kids with 15 plates per side moving the weight a few inches.

[HumanLifeAwareness]

There's nothing wrong at all with doing partial reps or strong-range reps. Its definitely better for your knees if you're looking to avoid knee damage over the years.

My heaviest leg press over a range of 6 inches at the moment is 1,855 and I plan to press 2,000 within a few weeks at least 10 reps in that range.

Handling that heavy weight in that range has made it easy for me to leg press 1,000lbs. My best one set with 1,000lbs pressing it at least 1 foot each rep is 40 reps.

[kb826062871]

why do you extend it all the way down? it doesn;t hurt yr knees?

[Gearz86]

Jesus, I could NEVER get my roommate to get his hands off his knees...he claimed it was something wrong with his joints or something....I called BS because we played basketball all the time.

[brineal2]

why would anyone take advice from someone who provides no credentials other than being an author for a plethora of magazines which are for entertainment and are a joke from a strength and conditioning perspective..

[willbrink]

@brineal2 I agree. Don't watch any vids on my channel, don't come back, and you will have saved yourself the hassle. Good luck.

[smash1out]

@brineal2 a more relevant question(s) and please i hope u will respond, is- Why bag the guy out for posting a vid that is completely correct?? Please inform me of his misguidance?

[BodybuildingLion1984]

Well I think hands on the knees is good at the very last set when your doing it to failure.Just to get through that very tough last set.

[dannielpreto]

Will Brink that's the coolest name, I've heard in a while man.

[willbrink]

@dannielpreto Well thanx. It's not as cool a name as Max Power, but it's the name I was born with :-)

[Scio87]

I do realize that in the body building world the Leg Press is often looked at as a wuss exercise, but I don't care. I am currently at 800lbs on the leg press and I can press it 10 times, That is up from 435lbs a month ago :)

[dannielpreto]

@Scio87 Just curious why is it looked as a wuss exercise?

[willbrink]

@dannielpreto Because it's not nearly as challenging or functional as squats, front squats, etc.

[ncxcrunner]

@willbrink

Totally functional. One of my doors in my house (cruddy college house) got stuck, so i put my back against the wall and leg pressed it into place. Making the world my b*tch, one leg day at a time

[neoc03]

@dannielpreto - It's an important exercise, but it's not one of the big three

Squat, Deadlift, and Flat Barbell Benchpress are considered the three main lifts that give you an idea of someones overall strength.

[Doggysoft]

Thanks for the tips!

[swordfish00007]

To EWE,

Putting your hands on your knees might not be bad but the problem someone might get into is locking the knees out in doing that. When you lock the knees your opening yourself up to injury in a hurry! This gentleman has excellent info here.

[johnnyu3]

putting your hands on your knees is fine. Why use a weight so light that you only struggle with at the bottom. If you use more weight & push with your hands at the bottom you get overload throughout the entire range. It's called a strength curve.

[kirkyboipopo]

crap, i had to do 30 100pound leg presses in my PE class, and i weigh 100pounds!! it was like going through hell...

[5waterpolo5]

lol, how old r u, please?

[OhMeMummah]

i weigh 125 and do 600lb 100 straight -_-

[EweTubee]

there is nothing wrong with putting your hands on your knees as long as you arent pushing, its more of a psychological thing and makes the person doing the exercise feel safer.

[AntonBarkland]

True, also partial reps is ok sometimes for variation but it's nothing a would recommend for beginners.

[asdlkjklsdf]

As far as partial reps, I think they can be used effectively by bodybuilders trying to get used to a higher weight. The goal would be to increase ROM as strength increases.

That's about it, though.  Good vid.

[NiTr091]

why do i feel like taking a shit, when i do the legpress

(serious question)

[FEEDER87]

Perhaps if you go for a poop before you work out? I feel a bit funny down there when i do my squats without pooping first.

[OzzmanX30]

because your squeezing your abs strongly -makes poop come out

[MrSuperme66]

@NiTr091 fucking true i fart on the heavy once LOL

[bearhardman]

@NiTr091 the squat postion, when you're at the bottom of the legpress, is the natural way for humans to take a crap, it opens up the colon. sitting in a toilet is actually unnatural and you won't be able to crap as much as when you fully squat.

[zazoo112]

I guess he wasn't listening when you said don't lock your knees! Also i have to say that you can use the leg press machine for many different exercises. Whether your feet be placed more to the top/bottom and wider/middle because you can work a certain area but also being cautious with how much weight you have on the machine. Proper form and the right weight will ensure great results!

[mouellito]

thank you!!!

[cheke64]

leg press underrated.

[69Messifan]

@cheke64 And the squat is vastly over-rated.

[headlisthorseman]

leg press has little athletic carryover, squats are much better for athletes. i think leg press is good for rehab though.

[tyciol]

It has more athletic carryover than a leg extension :p Anyway squat+leg press will have more carryover than just squat. Watch Samurai Jack.