What's a great substitute for leg press?

[Gray1985]

This page has something against leg press: http://www.livestrong.com/article/43...ted-exercises/.

I've been actually thinking of replacing it among my exercises but couldn't think of any. Then I read that article and I think it's finally time to really find something better.

These are my current exercises:

bench press
squat
pull over
alt DB press
leg press (what's a good replacement for this?)
pull ups
leg raise

I need something for the lower body. I was thinking about deadlift but I think it would be a bit too much considering that I already do squat.

Will appreciate any feedback.

[jayareohh924]

are we reading the same article? All I got from that is its bad to do leg press with bad form. which is true with any exercise. leg press, while not necessary, is a great tool for building up your quads.

[Gray1985]

are we reading the same article? All I got from that is its bad to do leg press with bad form. which is true with any exercise. leg press, while not necessary, is a great tool for building up your quads.

I'm not sure we are. The part I read about it states:

Some bodybuilding coaches offer passionate defenses of the leg press, arguing that it's a good choice for some lifters in some situations. And this is indeed true. But the reverse is also true: It's a poor choice for most lifters in most situations. That's because when you do the leg press, you become a part of a machine that resembles a huge accordion -- with you in the middle. That is absolutely the wrong position to be in when handling a heavy weight. The higher you place your feet on the platform, the more hip flexion you create. And the greater the hip flexion, the faster you lose the natural lordotic curve of your lower back. Just as you wouldn't do a deadlift with a rounded back, neither would you want to push a heavy weight on the leg press from that position.

If you feel that back squats don't hit your quads hard enough, try front squats. When those grow boring, try split squats. These options are much safer on your back and have more functional carryover to real-life and sporting actions.

[9863]

everyone that uses free weights should be doing the basic 3 lifts: Bench press, Deadlift & Squats.
But if you want to add another leg exercise in there to replace the leg press & your already doing back squats, my suggestions would either be weighted lunges or a front squat. (personally i'd add both along with the deadlift but thats just me)

but looking at the information provided, i think a proper program (many available on this site) would be most benificial to you.

[jayareohh924]

I'm not sure we are. The part I read about it states:

Some bodybuilding coaches offer passionate defenses of the leg press, arguing that it's a good choice for some lifters in some situations. And this is indeed true. But the reverse is also true: It's a poor choice for most lifters in most situations. That's because when you do the leg press, you become a part of a machine that resembles a huge accordion -- with you in the middle. That is absolutely the wrong position to be in when handling a heavy weight. The higher you place your feet on the platform, the more hip flexion you create. And the greater the hip flexion, the faster you lose the natural lordotic curve of your lower back. Just as you wouldn't do a deadlift with a rounded back, neither would you want to push a heavy weight on the leg press from that position.

If you feel that back squats don't hit your quads hard enough, try front squats. When those grow boring, try split squats. These options are much safer on your back and have more functional carryover to real-life and sporting actions.

Don't place your feet as high on the platform. And while I do agree that it's not a substitute for squats and front squats, I'd argue that its a "bad" exercise. Your back should never come off the back of the back rest. Unfortunately most people do place their feet too night on the platform (it creates leverage) but at the bottom of the press, it tends to cause rounding. Going back to my 1st post, form is everything.. for any exercise. If you don't know how to do it properly, research it or don't do it. The injury risk is high with improper form