Hips lifting off the seat
Stop the descent just before your lower back starts to round off the pad.
Squat · Leg press
Leg Press
The leg press is a machine exercise where you push a weighted sled away with your feet while seated or reclined. It trains quads and glutes heavily with less balance and back demand than squats, making it great for volume and all levels.
- Primary
- Quads
- Secondary
- Glutes
- Starting rep range
- 8–12 reps
- Target effort
- 1.5 reps in reserve
- Progression
- 10 kg / one stack step
Muscles worked
The quads extend the knees and the glutes extend the hips. Higher, wider foot placement shifts emphasis toward glutes and adductors; lower, narrower placement biases the quads.
How to set up
- Sit with your back and hips flat against the pad.
- Place feet about shoulder width in the middle of the platform.
- Press the platform up and release the safety handles.
- Keep a slight bend in your knees at the start.
How to do each rep
- Lower the sled under control by bending your knees toward your chest.
- Go as deep as you can while keeping your lower back and hips on the pad.
- Push through the whole foot to return to the top.
- Stop just short of locking the knees hard.
Common leg press mistakes
Shallow reps with heavy weight
Use a load you can take through a full range, at least to about 90 degrees of knee bend.
Snapping knees locked
Finish with a slight bend or a controlled lockout rather than slamming into it.
Sets, reps, and progression
Surpass starts the leg press at 8–12 reps with about 1.5 reps in reserve. As a compound lift it usually belongs early in the session, when you are fresh.
Work in 8-15 reps and add a plate per side when every set hits the top of the range with full depth. It works well after squats or as a primary quad lift if squats aren't an option.
Know what to lift next time
Surpass shows what you lifted last time beside a target for this set, and adjusts it from your reps and RIR. Free on iPhone, no account needed.
Leg Press alternatives
These train the same main muscles. Swap when the equipment is busy, something hurts, or progress has stalled for several weeks.
Programs that use it
Push Pull Legs (6-Day PPL)6 days a week · intermediateUpper/Lower Split (4 Days)4 days a week · beginner3-Day Full Body Workout3 days a week · beginnerArnold Split (6 Days)6 days a week · advanced5-Day Bro Split5 days a week · intermediatePPL + Upper/Lower Hybrid (5 Days)5 days a week · intermediate
Questions
Is leg press as good as squat?
For building leg muscle, the leg press can be very effective. Squats train more balance and trunk strength, so they carry over better to free-weight strength.
Where should feet go on leg press?
Mid-platform at shoulder width is a good default. Higher placement brings in more glutes; lower placement emphasizes the quads but demands more knee and ankle range.