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Final month, I talked about how I’ve reincorporated weight machines into my strength-training exercises to good impact.
This yr, we’ll be performing some articles on easy methods to 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 it is best to find out about utilizing every to be able to keep away from ache and harm 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’s 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 useful. However quad power interprets to all the things from strolling to working, and significantly to explosive actions like leaping and chopping. Additionally, as a result of individuals usually use compensating muscular tissues when doing different leg workouts (particularly in the event that they’re coping with accidents), leg extensions, by isolating the quads, might help appropriate power 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 secure strength-building train, in addition they assist offer you outlined and meaty legs, so you possibly can 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 sort of restoration you want after doing the squat or leg press.
However since leg extensions, like all workouts, are solely secure to do if you happen to do them proper, let’s get into easy methods to carry out them correctly.
Setting Up the Machine
![](https://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2024/04/leg3.jpg)
My residence health club, plate-loaded leg machine doesn’t have as many adjustment choices as one you’ll discover in a industrial health club, so I couldn’t dial in my place as a lot as you may have the ability 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 power, and the prevention of undue ache and pressure in your joints:
Weight stack/plates. There are completely different colleges of thought on what weight it is best to use for leg extensions. One is that it is best to go along 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 power with out type breaking down. To get the hypertrophic stimulus with decrease weight, you’ll must 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 possibly can carry out the reps with good type and with out ache, you possibly can 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 may be adjusted forwards or backwards. Positioning it appropriately will reduce undue pressure in your knees and can help you produce most power. 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 top. 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 may be adjusted in order that it sits kind of below the seat’s base. The additional again it sits, the larger the vary of movement that will probably be attainable in your leg extensions. Modify 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 if you happen to’re positioned appropriately and do the train correctly, this pad isn’t crucial.
When you’ve obtained all these changes in place, chances are you’ll need to make a remark someplace of the numbered positions of every piece, so the subsequent time you utilize 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 about up proper, it’s time to do a correct leg extension:
Sluggish and managed. The massive 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 elevate the bar up and convey it down in a gradual and managed method. Sluggish and managed is the trail to hypertrophy.
Elevate the bar. As you increase the leg bar, you’re not lifting your butt and hips up. You’re not rocking forwards and backwards; solely your legs are shifting, 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 somewhat. 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.
Relatively than slamming again down, the load ought to simply gently contact the load stack because it returns. When you hear it evenly clang, elevate the bar up once more and do one other rep.
Toe place makes little distinction. Protecting your toes straight forward versus angling them somewhat inwards or outwards can create small variations by which components of the quads get labored. However except you’re an elite bodybuilder, this isn’t one thing it is advisable to fear about. Protecting your toes straight or tilted barely in is okay. Do no matter feels most comfy for you, as this can aid you produce most power.
Go for full vary of movement. Go all the way in which up and all the way in which down with every rep. Should you can solely elevate the leg bar midway up, the load is simply too heavy.
Go exhausting. 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. You ought to be doing units that convey you inside one to 2 reps of failure.
Positive it hurts, nevertheless it hurts so good, child.
Leg extensions may be completed 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 completed in a program that features different leg workouts like squats, leg presses, and lunges.
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