Where to place feet on leg press

If you want to continually progress with your workout program, these will help take you there:

If you are looking for ways to develop and adapt your leg day, then you should try out different foot placement variations on the leg press machine.

High feet leg press

Placing the feet higher up on the foot pad encourages the hamstrings and glutes to activate, which takes stress off the quads. This is a great substitute for deadlifts and hamstring curls. Most people will find that they are able to lift the most weight in this position.

Low feet leg press

Placing the feet low on the foot pad totally shifts the stress loading pattern of the exercise onto the quads. This is the best substitute for squats, but if you suffer from knee pain, go easy on this one.

Wide stance leg press

By bringing your further apart, the emphasis will move on to your inner quad muscles. This move is a similar one to a standard sumo squat.

Narrow stance leg press

By bringing your feet closer together you will work the outer thigh muscles. The lower you place your narrow stance, the more quad dominant this variation will be.  Note that by placing the feet close together though you will already be placing more emphasis on the quad muscles, so this is a very good variation or those who want to build up this muscle in particular.

Whichever variation you choose to try, simply change between the variations every 2-4 weeks and you’ll continue to make the gains that you’re after.

What are the benefits of the leg press machine?

• It’s a great option for those of you who have difficulty squatting due to back or knee pain, because it reduces the stress load on the back, whilst challenging your leg muscles.
• The extension of your knees against the resistance offered by the leg press works your thigh muscle
• The action of extending your hips works your butt or gluteus maximus muscles
• The load-bearing effect of the leg press strengthens your legs bones
• They strengthen your knee and hip joints
• The leg press can be used to develop strength and/or muscle size depending on the type of training you perform.

The only small problem with the standard leg press is that if you only perform it in the standard foot placement way, eventually your muscles are going to adapt and you could fail to progress. But that’s where these leg press variations come into play.

While the barbell squat is widely considered the king of all leg exercises, the leg press—another effective and popular leg builder—is definitely in the royal family. Even though it's easy to load up some plates and press with abandon, where you place your feet on the leg-press sled is actually an important decision.

A mid-sled foot position allows the focus to remain on the quads, glutes, and hamstrings about equally.

Most leg-press platforms allow you to place your feet high, low, wide, narrow, or any number of combinations in between. Which combination you choose can actually change which muscles the leg press targets, making this exercise extremely versatile!

1. High Foot Placement

Placing your feet higher increases the degree of hip extension and flexion while reducing the range of motion around the knees. What's this mean? Simply put, you'll feel an increased stretch in the hams and glutes, making them capable of a stronger contraction. In other words, if you want to emphasize your glutes and upper hamstrings when leg pressing, use a high foot position.

Go higher on the sled to increase the degree of hip flexion and extension while reducing the range of motion around the knees. That more strongly targets the glutes and hams.

Of course, this shift in focus is not absolute—you can't truly isolate one muscle over another, so your quads—and especially your vastus medialis, or "tear drop" muscle—will still do a lot of the work. Also, since you're seated during a leg press, your upper hamstrings and glutes still won't receive the same activation you'd get with a standing exercise like a squat.

2. Low Foot Placement

A lower foot placement reduces the degree of hip extension and flexion while increasing the range of motion around the knees. That means you get more quad activation and less involvement form the glutes and hams.

Positioning your feet toward the bottom of the sled makes the quads work harder while reducing the stimulation of the muscles that attach at the hip: the upper hams and glutes.

Keep in mind that increasing the muscular stress on your quads also means the knees get subjected to greater stress. A very low foot placement on the sled increases the risk of your knees passing the plane that comes out from your toes. While this isn't inherently problematic, lifters with pre-existing knee injuries or pain may find this foot position uncomfortable and should be especially careful.

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