Final month, I talked about how I’ve reincorporated weight machines into my strength-training exercises to good impact.

This 12 months, we’ll be performing some articles on use numerous 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 learn about utilizing every in an effort to keep away from ache and harm and use them most successfully for constructing dimension and energy.

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 protected, together with for ACL rehabilitation. 

There’s additionally a fantasy that leg extensions aren’t practical. However quad energy interprets to every thing from strolling to operating, and significantly to explosive actions like leaping and reducing. Additionally, as a result of folks usually use compensating muscle tissues when doing different leg workouts (particularly in the event that they’re coping with accidents), leg extensions, by isolating the quads, can assist right energy imbalances created by these compensating methods. That is helpful in stopping new accidents, in addition to re-injuries, significantly a second ACL tear. 

Not solely are leg extensions a protected strength-building train, in addition they assist offer you 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 operate with out requiring the type of restoration you want after doing the squat or leg press. 

However since leg extensions, like all workouts, are solely protected to do in case 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 business gymnasium, so I couldn’t dial in my place as a lot as you would possibly be capable to, however this a usually good set-up place.

The leg extension itself is a straightforward motion. The massive 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 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 must use for leg extensions. One is that you must go along 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 must do excessive reps within the 15-20 vary. In the event 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 principle leg train just like the squat.

The opposite college of thought is that so long as you may carry out the reps with good type and with out ache, you may follow 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 might 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 once you sit down, your knees will not be 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 high 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 might be adjusted in order that it sits roughly beneath the seat’s base. The additional again it sits, the better the vary of movement that shall be attainable in your leg extensions. Regulate the leg bar to full depth to maximise the vary of movement. 

There’s typically additionally a pad that may be adjusted over the thighs to lock them down. As your butt/legs shouldn’t come up in case you’re positioned accurately and do the train correctly, this pad isn’t mandatory. 

When you’ve acquired all these changes in place, you could wish to make a remark someplace of the numbered positions of every piece, so the following time you employ the machine, you received’t must spend time fiddling round and making the changes by trial and error.

Doing Leg Extensions

Now that the machine is ready up proper, it’s time to do a correct leg extension: 

Sluggish 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 carry the bar up and convey it down in a gradual and managed method. Sluggish and managed is the trail to hypertrophy.

Raise 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 bit. 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 high 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. 

Fairly than slamming again down, the burden ought to simply gently contact the burden stack because it returns. When you hear it frivolously 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 a bit inwards or outwards can create small variations by which elements of the quads get labored. However except you’re an elite bodybuilder, this isn’t one thing you have to fear about. Maintaining your toes straight or tilted barely in is ok. Do no matter feels most snug for you, as this may assist 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. In the event you can solely carry the leg bar midway up, the burden is just too heavy.

Go onerous. Don’t simply mindlessly crank out leg extensions, tacking them on to the top of your exercise with out giving them a lot effort. Simply going by the motions received’t construct muscle. You need to be doing units that carry you inside one to 2 reps of failure.

Positive it hurts, nevertheless it hurts so good, child. 

Leg extensions might be achieved utilizing only a single leg at a time, which might be helpful for addressing energy imbalances.

As a result of leg extensions solely work the quads, they need to be achieved in a program that features different leg workouts like squats, leg presses, and lunges.