Single Leg Leg Press

Single-Leg Leg Press Basics

Primary muscles worked: Quads, Glutes

Synergist Muscles: Hamstrings

Mechanics: Compound

Equipment: Seated Leg Press Machine

How To Perform The Single-Leg Leg Press

• First, position yourself on a seated leg press machine. You need to adjust the seat so that an angle just under 90 degrees is formed at your knee joint. Your feet feet should be situated about shoulder width apart on the foot platform.
• Now, stand up, bringing your legs to full extension.
• Disengage the safety catch bar to allow for the full range of motion during the exercise (this can easily be re-engaged if the you enter a compromising situation).
• Grip the hand attachments on the seat of the leg press machine.
• Next, one leg should be picked up off of the foot platform.  With all of this in place, you may begin the lift.
• Bend at the knee that is situated on the foot platform until it reaches a 90 degree angle.
• Once you have reached the 90 degree angle, push through your heel until your leg reaches full extension.
• After the desired number of reps has been completed, re-engage the safety rack and lower the weight back to the safety pins.

Single-Leg Leg Press Tips

• If at any point you become unable to perform the full range of motion for the exercise, you can place your other leg on the platform to assist with the lift.

Single-Leg Leg Press and Sports Application

The single leg, leg press could be comparable to single leg jumping. The ability to jump off of one leg with strength to achieve maximal height can be very important in sports such as football, baseball, and soccer, to name a few. By teaching each leg to operate independently at maximal strength, dual leg strength and power will also increase due to each leg becoming more efficient. This makes the single leg leg press a great exercise for training programs.