Machine Horizontal Leg Press
A seated leg press with a horizontal sled, pressing the plate away from a deep knee bend under back support.
How to do it
- Set the seat so your knees start bent to about 90 degrees.
- Sit with your back and hips flat against the pad.
- Place your feet on the plate at shoulder width and grip the handles.
- Release the safeties and press the plate out to almost straight legs.
- Bend the knees and let the plate travel back under control.
- Press back out just short of lockout and repeat.
Key technique cue
Hips stay pinned to the seat through the full range; don't lock out the knees.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Locking the knees at the top, which passes the load from the quads to the joint.
- ✕ Letting the hips curl off the seat at depth, which rounds the lower back.
- ✕ Pushing the knees inward on the drive, which loads the joint instead of the quadriceps.
- ✕ Cutting the range short so more plates fit, which trains a fraction of the movement.
Benefits
- ✓ Loads the legs heavily with no spinal compression and no balance demand.
- ✓ The seated position makes it easy to teach and easy to supervise.
- ✓ Foot placement gives a simple lever for shifting work between quads and glutes.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Machine Horizontal Leg Press
- Machine Leg Press
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Step 2
About the exercise
The horizontal leg press seats you upright with your back against a pad and your feet on a plate that travels roughly level. You release the safeties, let the knees bend until the thighs come close to the chest, then press the plate away without snapping the knees straight. The quadriceps do most of the work, with glutes and hamstrings extending the hips and the calves and trunk supporting. Foot position changes the split: driving through the heels with the feet higher pulls in more glute, driving through the balls of the feet biases the quads. It suits beginner lower body templates and anyone avoiding a bar across the back.
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