Leg Press in Powerlifting Discussion

Originally posted by littlegirlbunny...


I disagree - my core gets tired way before my legs when im squatting. Therefore I start to fold under the bar easily and that is an injury risk. Plus, my back is still quite weak and prone to easily being overtrained by exercises such as the squat and deadlift. Thus leg press works my leg strength without the increased risk of injury which comes from squat variations. (especially when you are as uncoordinated as I am)

Originally posted by JDVeganMofo...
it is s**te because there is no good reason to dismiss something so strongly when the supporting evidence is shaky both ways. So while i wont run in defence of something like leg press, i can see why LGB chooses to do them, and hence the vague words like can't hurt etc.

Thats why it is called art and not science

I believe that a person should work on their weaknesses in assistance exercises. SO, if your core is the limiting factor here, why are you going to leg presses which takes your weak point out of the equation. That is ignoring your weak point and not strengthening it. So when you go back to your squat, your weaknesses have not been strenghthened and you are even more likely to get injured.

If your core is weak therefore you need to be doing heavy lower back exercises, ab and oblique work, not leg presses. They aren't the answer.

Originally posted by Olly...
Finally, some proper discussion...

A few points about the leg-press:

- Ive used it successfully to build quad strength for both the deadlift and the squat.

- Everybody that I know who has done them consistently has gained quad strength for both the deadlift and the squat.

- Some of the best powerlifters/strongman around rate the leg-press as a good assistance exercise becuase it has a number of advantages, it doesnt faituge the lower back, it doesnt fatigue the abs, the skill level required is low so that its perfectly feasible to work hard at leg-press when you're already tired, something I certainly wouldnt recommend for squats/deadlifts/goodmornings/sldls, the risk of injury is just too great.



To discount the leg-press would be a mistake, if you dont like it/dont get much out of it, then fine, but lots of people do, and lots of very good lifters do. Faz for example, who would most likely be pound for pound the best lifter here raves about the leg-press for both squats and deadlifts. He has used them to great success, is he wrong? of course not, but your mileage may vary.

Originally posted by Emperor_Naseem...
I am making no reference to strongman events in this discussion.
.

Originally posted by Olly...
Haris, stop being a c**t. Firstly, delete the word strongman from my post and the point is still EXACTLY the same. Secondly, i'll point out that I was referring to the whole thread as proper discussion, not my post. I was referring to the fact that this was the first real training discussion on the board.

Also, I'm still not sure that you'll find a better exercise than the legpress that strengthens the quads without taxing the lower back? If you know of any, please feel free to post them? I can think of lunges, bulgarian split squats and a few others but neither of those will get you using any meaningful weight, and in my opinion, the carryover to the deadlift and squat will be far less than with legpress.

Originally posted by Adam...
Not everybody wants to hit their lower back hard twice a week, quite often it leads to injuries, (coincidentally LGB is just coming back from a lower back injury). You can argue that the back needs to be stronger, but you also need to be aware of overtraining. If you want an exercise that targets both the quads and hams, leg press is a good option.

The fact is a lot well known powerlifters have used leg press as an assistance exercise to great effect for both squats and deads, who are you to say that leg press isn't a good exercise.

I think having exercises that work the quads without taxing the lower back are essential to get enough volume. The lower back, IMO, is easily overworked, and having the option to work some of the movers in both the squat and deadlift without overtaxing the lower back is an option worth having. I'd never suggest using a leg press instead of a squat or a deadlift, but as an accessory to them, I think they can have value.

Not everybody wants to hit their lower back hard twice a week, quite often it leads to injuries, (coincidentally LGB is just coming back from a lower back injury). You can argue that the back needs to be stronger, but you also need to be aware of overtraining. If you want an exercise that targets both the quads and hams, leg press is a good option.

Originally posted by Adam...
Not everybody wants to hit their lower back hard twice a week, quite often it leads to injuries, (coincidentally LGB is just coming back from a lower back injury). You can argue that the back needs to be stronger, but you also need to be aware of overtraining. If you want an exercise that targets both the quads and hams, leg press is a good option.

The fact is a lot well known powerlifters have used leg press as an assistance exercise to great effect for both squats and deads, who are you to say that leg press isn't a good exercise.