Leg press machine is an important apparatus for developing muscles and strength of the lower body. It is also important to understand that this is just one of the supplemental exercises when it comes to packing meat on your thighs. But, quite a supplemental exercise it is! It develops power more than any other leg movement, except for squat, of course. Therefore, it should be used often in your routine, if not always.

I want to clear one thing from the start. From my experience, leg presses compared to squats don’t stand a chance when it comes to building the ultimate leg power. Therefore, if you plan on buying some leg equipment, squat rack should be the first of your choices, it should even have priority over leg press machine. Depending on your budget, there are some good ones that you can consider buying.

Two Types

There are two main types of leg press machines:

• 45 degree leg press where the weight is pushed diagonally upward with sled type movement.
• 90 degree or vertical leg press machine where the weight is pushed vertically upward with sled type movement.

Call me crazy but vertical version has one interesting advantage. When the weight pins you down to the floor you are unable to squiggle under the construction, which can often occur on 45 angled ones when the weight is too big and you are trying to struggle with it and thus cheat by raising yourself up the seat. But, 45 version inflicts less pressure on ankles and knees, and feels more natural to perform. That is why I prefer using it.

These machines are reliable and have high safety factor because of the included adjustable side brackets that will prevent the user from being trapped under the weight.

Leg Exercises

Actually, there is not a big variety of exercises that you can do on a leg press machine because of its predetermined weight path, but the ones that you can are important part of your leg workout and should not be neglected. Beside the intended leg exercise you can also perform calf presses, which can be a great addition to your main calf builders – standing calf raises. These can be done either with one leg or with both at the same time.

I always try to share advices on home gym with leg press type of equipment because I know there are a lot of people that prefer exercising at home. I myself am a gym rat; hence I usually dabble on some gym leg press.

Although I am a bigger fan of diagonal machines there is an excellent cheap Powerline vertical version from Body Solid. You can find it anywhere from $200 up to $250 which is suitable for many wallets. Although affordable, this can be too much for low budgets. In that case you can opt for used leg press machine. These can cost less than $100, depending on how much weight is included in the price.

If you have any other question or you want me to review a certain leg press machine that you want to buy, bump a comment and I’ll be happy to accommodate.