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 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 need to learn about utilizing every with the intention to keep away from ache and damage and use them most successfully for constructing dimension and power.
First up in these tutorials is the leg extension machine, which targets your quadriceps and your quadriceps alone.
There may be some folklore on the market that the leg machine could 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 delusion that leg extensions aren’t practical. However quad power interprets to the whole lot from strolling to operating, and notably to explosive actions like leaping and chopping. Additionally, as a result of folks usually use compensating muscle mass 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, 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 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 in the event you do them proper, let’s get into carry out them correctly.
Setting Up the Machine
My dwelling gymnasium, plate-loaded leg machine doesn’t have as many adjustment choices as one you’ll discover in a industrial gymnasium, so I couldn’t dial in my place as a lot as you may be capable to, however this a usually good set-up place.
The leg extension itself is an easy motion. The massive factor you need 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 drive, and the prevention of undue ache and pressure in your joints:
Weight stack/plates. There are totally different faculties of thought on what weight you need to use for leg extensions. One is that you need to go together with decrease weight since you’re solely utilizing a single joint to maneuver the burden, and also you’re not capable of exert that a lot drive with out type breaking down. To get the hypertrophic stimulus with decrease weight, you’ll have to do excessive reps within the 15-20 vary. Should 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 primary leg train just like the squat.
The opposite faculty of thought is that so long as you may carry out the reps with good type and with out ache, you may follow the standard 8-12 rep vary prescribed for hypertrophy and go heavier.
Experiment and discover what works for you.
Seat again distance. The seat again may be adjusted forwards or backwards. Positioning it accurately will reduce undue pressure in your knees and permit you to produce most drive. You wish to transfer the seat again in order that while you sit down, your knees usually are not 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 towards the sting of the butt pad.
Leg pad peak. The pad that can sit on prime of your decrease legs can typically 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 may be adjusted in order that it sits kind of underneath the seat’s base. The additional again it sits, the larger the vary of movement that shall be potential in your leg extensions. Modify the leg bar to full depth to maximise the vary of movement.
There may be typically additionally a pad that may be adjusted over the thighs to lock them down. As your butt/legs shouldn’t come up in the event you’re positioned accurately and do the train correctly, this pad isn’t needed.
When you’ve acquired all these changes in place, you might wish to make an observation someplace of the numbered positions of every piece, so the subsequent time you employ 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:
Gradual and managed. The massive mistake folks make with this train is bouncing/swinging the leg bar up, utilizing momentum, and letting it drop again down. As an alternative, you wish to elevate the bar up and convey it down in a gradual and managed method. Gradual and managed is the trail to hypertrophy.
Elevate the bar. As you elevate the leg bar, you’re not lifting your butt and hips up. You’re not rocking backwards and forwards; solely your legs are shifting, not the higher half of your physique. Butt stays in touch with the seat’s base pad; again stays in touch with the seat’s again pad. Lean again a little bit. Grip the handles to maintain your butt down.
Steadily convey 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 in the course of the eccentric part of a elevate, 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.
Reasonably than slamming again down, the burden ought to simply gently contact the burden stack because it returns. When you hear it frivolously clang, elevate the bar up once more and do one other rep.
Toe place makes little distinction. Holding your toes straight forward versus angling them a little bit inwards or outwards can create small variations during which elements of the quads get labored. However until you’re an elite bodybuilder, this isn’t one thing you must fear about. Holding your toes straight or tilted barely in is ok. Do no matter feels most comfy for you, as this can aid you produce most drive.
Go for full vary of movement. Go all the best way up and all the best way down with every rep. Should you can solely elevate the leg bar midway up, the burden is just 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 by means of the motions gained’t construct muscle. Try to be doing units that convey you inside one to 2 reps of failure.
Certain it hurts, nevertheless it hurts so good, child.
Leg extensions may be achieved utilizing only a single leg at a time, which may be helpful for addressing power imbalances.
As a result of leg extensions solely work the quads, they need to be achieved in a program that features different leg workout routines like squats, leg presses, and lunges.