The Proper Technique to Do Leg Extensions for Sturdy and Meaty Quads

Final month, I talked about how I’ve reincorporated weight machines into my strength-training exercises to good impact.

This yr, we’ll be doing a little articles on use numerous weight machines correctly. One of many advantages of utilizing machines is that they’ve a a lot simpler studying curve than lifting barbells. However there are some things it’s best to find out about utilizing every to be able to keep away from ache and harm and use them most successfully for constructing dimension and energy.

First up in these tutorials is the leg extension machine, which targets your quadriceps and your quadriceps alone. 

There’s some folklore on the market that the leg machine may cause accidents and places an excessive amount of stress on the knees. However this isn’t borne out by analysis, which has discovered that leg extensions are secure, together with for ACL rehabilitation. 

There’s additionally a fable that leg extensions aren’t purposeful. However quad energy interprets to all the things from strolling to operating, and notably to explosive actions like leaping and reducing. Additionally, as a result of individuals usually use compensating muscular tissues when doing different leg workouts (particularly in the event that they’re coping with accidents), leg extensions, by isolating the quads, may help appropriate energy imbalances created by these compensating methods. That is helpful in stopping new accidents, in addition to re-injuries, notably a second ACL tear. 

Not solely are leg extensions a secure strength-building train, additionally they assist provide you with outlined and meaty legs, so you may confidently put on your shorty shorts round city. And, because you’re solely shifting a single joint, they carry out this perform with out requiring the type of restoration you want after doing the squat or leg press. 

However since leg extensions, like all workouts, are solely secure to do for those who do them proper, let’s get into carry out them correctly.

Setting Up the Machine

My residence fitness center, plate-loaded leg machine doesn’t have as many adjustment choices as one you’ll discover in a business fitness center, so I couldn’t dial in my place as a lot as you may be capable to, however this a typically good set-up place.

The leg extension itself is a straightforward motion. The massive factor it’s a must to take note of is organising the machine earlier than you begin doing them.

There are a number of changes to make to the machine earlier than you start this train to make sure ergonomic consolation, maximization of strength-producing, hypertrophy-creating pressure, and the prevention of undue ache and pressure in your joints: 

Weight stack/plates. There are completely different faculties of thought on what weight it’s best to use for leg extensions. One is that it’s best to go along with decrease weight since you’re solely utilizing a single joint to maneuver the load, and also you’re not capable of exert that a lot pressure with out kind breaking down. To get the hypertrophic stimulus with decrease weight, you’ll have to do excessive reps within the 15-20 vary. In the event you’re going to go the excessive rep route with leg extensions, carry out them on the finish of your exercise, so that you don’t fatigue your self for the principle leg train just like the squat.

The opposite faculty of thought is that so long as you may carry out the reps with good kind and with out ache, you may persist with the normal 8-12 rep vary prescribed for hypertrophy and go heavier.

Experiment and discover what works for you.

Seat again distance. The seat again might be adjusted forwards or backwards. Positioning it accurately will decrease undue pressure in your knees and let you produce most pressure. You need to transfer the seat again in order that if you sit down, your knees will not be too far in entrance of the sting of the seat’s base, nor too far again. Your knees ought to align with the leg bar’s pivot level. The creases on the backs of the knees ought to sit in opposition to the sting of the butt pad. 

Leg pad top. The pad that can sit on prime of your decrease legs can generally be adjusted up or down. The pad ought to relaxation the place the ankle flexes. Not up in your shins or down in direction of your toes.

Leg bar vary of movement. The leg bar might be adjusted in order that it sits kind of underneath the seat’s base. The additional again it sits, the better the vary of movement that shall be attainable in your leg extensions. Modify the leg bar to full depth to maximise the vary of movement. 

There’s generally additionally a pad that may be adjusted over the thighs to lock them down. As your butt/legs shouldn’t come up for those who’re positioned accurately and do the train correctly, this pad isn’t essential. 

When you’ve obtained all these changes in place, you could need to make an observation someplace of the numbered positions of every piece, so the subsequent time you utilize the machine, you gained’t should spend time fiddling round and making the changes by means of trial and error.

Doing Leg Extensions

Now that the machine is ready up proper, it’s time to do a correct leg extension: 

Sluggish and managed. The massive mistake individuals make with this train is bouncing/swinging the leg bar up, utilizing momentum, and letting it drop again down. As a substitute, you need to elevate the bar up and convey it down in a sluggish and managed method. Sluggish and managed is the trail to hypertrophy.

Raise the bar. As you increase the leg bar, you’re not lifting your butt and hips up. You’re not rocking forwards and backwards; solely your legs are shifting, not the higher half of your physique. Butt stays involved with the seat’s base pad; again stays involved with the seat’s again pad. Lean again slightly. Grip the handles to maintain your butt down.

Steadily deliver the bar up till you attain full knee extension/peak contraction. Pause for a second throughout this prime maintain. Squeeze. Really feel and relish the burn.

Decrease the bar. A lot of hypertrophy occurs throughout the eccentric part of a elevate, so decrease the bar in the identical sluggish and managed method that you simply lifted it — its descent ought to take a full one to 2 seconds. 

Fairly than slamming again down, the load ought to simply gently contact the load stack because it returns. When you hear it flippantly clang, elevate the bar up once more and do one other rep.

Toe place makes little distinction. Preserving your toes straight forward versus angling them slightly inwards or outwards can create small variations during which elements of the quads get labored. However except you’re an elite bodybuilder, this isn’t one thing you must fear about. Preserving your toes straight or tilted barely in is ok. Do no matter feels most snug for you, as it will show you how to produce most pressure. 

Go for full vary of movement. Go all the way in which up and all the way in which down with every rep. In the event you can solely elevate the leg bar midway up, the load is simply too heavy.

Go onerous. Don’t simply mindlessly crank out leg extensions, tacking them on to the tip of your exercise with out giving them a lot effort. Simply going by means of the motions gained’t construct muscle. You have to be doing units that deliver you inside one to 2 reps of failure.

Certain it hurts, but it surely hurts so good, child. 

Leg extensions might be executed utilizing only a single leg at a time, which might be helpful for addressing energy imbalances.

As a result of leg extensions solely work the quads, they need to be executed in a program that features different leg workouts like squats, leg presses, and lunges.