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 tips on how to use varied 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 you must find out about utilizing every to be able to keep away from ache and damage and use them most successfully for constructing measurement and power.
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 safe, including for ACL rehabilitation.
There’s additionally a delusion that leg extensions aren’t purposeful. However quad power interprets to all the things from strolling to working, and significantly to explosive actions like leaping and cutting. Additionally, as a result of individuals usually use compensating muscle tissue when doing different leg workout routines (particularly in the event that they’re coping with accidents), leg extensions, by isolating the quads, may help appropriate power imbalances created by these compensating methods. That is helpful in stopping new accidents, in addition to re-injuries, particularly 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’ll be able to confidently put on your shorty shorts round city. And, because you’re solely transferring a single joint, they carry out this operate with out requiring the sort of restoration you want after doing the squat or leg press.
However since leg extensions, like all workout routines, are solely secure to do when you do them proper, let’s get into tips on how to carry out them correctly.
Setting Up the Machine
My house gymnasium, plate-loaded leg machine doesn’t have as many adjustment choices as one you’ll discover in a business gymnasium, 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 an easy motion. The large factor it’s important to take note of is establishing 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 colleges of thought on what weight you must use for leg extensions. One is that you must go together with decrease weight since you’re solely utilizing a single joint to maneuver the load, and also you’re not in a position to exert that a lot pressure with out kind breaking down. To get the hypertrophic stimulus with decrease weight, you’ll must do excessive reps within the 15-20 vary. For those who’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 primary leg train just like the squat.
The opposite college of thought is that so long as you’ll be able to carry out the reps with good kind and with out ache, you’ll be able to stick 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 will be adjusted forwards or backwards. Positioning it accurately will decrease undue pressure in your knees and assist you to produce most pressure. You need to transfer the seat again in order that while you sit down, your knees aren’t 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 peak. The pad that may 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 the direction of your toes.
Leg bar vary of movement. The leg bar will be adjusted in order that it sits roughly underneath the seat’s base. The additional again it sits, the higher the vary of movement that shall be attainable in your leg extensions. Alter 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 when you’re positioned accurately and do the train correctly, this pad isn’t needed.
When you’ve received all these changes in place, you could need to make an observation someplace of the numbered positions of every piece, so the following time you utilize the machine, you gained’t must spend time fiddling round and making the changes via trial and error.
Doing Leg Extensions
Now that the machine is about up proper, it’s time to do a correct leg extension:
Sluggish and managed. The large 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 carry the bar up and convey it down in a gradual and managed method. Sluggish and managed is the trail to hypertrophy.
Carry the bar. As you elevate the leg bar, you’re not lifting your butt and hips up. You’re not rocking forwards and backwards; solely your legs are transferring, 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 carry 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 carry, so decrease the bar in the identical gradual and managed method that you simply lifted it — its descent ought to take a full one to 2 seconds.
Somewhat than slamming again down, the load ought to simply gently contact the load stack because it returns. When you hear it calmly clang, carry the bar up once more and do one other rep.
Toe place makes little distinction. Maintaining your toes straight forward versus angling them slightly inwards or outwards can create small variations wherein elements of the quads get labored. However except you’re an elite bodybuilder, this isn’t one thing it is advisable fear about. Maintaining your toes straight or tilted barely in is okay. Do no matter feels most snug for you, as this may assist you to produce most pressure.
Go for full vary of movement. Go all the best way up and all the best way down with every rep. For those who can solely carry the leg bar midway up, the load is simply too heavy.
Go arduous. 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 via the motions gained’t construct muscle. You ought to be doing units that carry you inside one to 2 reps of failure.
Positive it hurts, but it surely hurts so good, child.
Leg extensions will be completed utilizing only a single leg at a time, which will be helpful for addressing power imbalances.
As a result of leg extensions solely work the quads, they need to be completed in a program that features different leg workout routines like squats, leg presses, and lunges.
