Any Love for the Leg Press?

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

Due to work, family, etc. I can only get to the Y from 630 - 830 PM. Often the squat racks are full and I start off with presses. Sometimes the racks never come open until later and I have to rush through squats. as summer YMCA hours end at 8:30 This typically happens on Tuesday or Thursday nights and I am often at the gym on one of these nights.

There is leg press sled that is almost always open. For an intermediate using HLM, 45 years old, can I effectively use the sled for light OR medium nights as long as I keep leg press to only once per week and squat the other 2 nights? In other words, can I substitute 1 squat night out of 3 with the leg press and if I can, should it be low or medium (recognizing that I at the end of the day, there is no substitute for high intensity squats or deadlifts). Or is using a sled either non or counter-productive in any way? If I can use the sled, would I program the sets/reps the same as the squats?

Thanks

[Cody]

Yes, you can. Leg presses are awesome. I have one in my personal gym, and I have excellent quads. You don't program it like squats though, program it like a bodybuilder would.

Just be aware that even if you use the leg press under proper supervision, it should be known it isn't safe. Would you let your 5 year old use it? Would you advocate that others have their toddlers use it? Do you really think it's safe for a person that has muscular dystrophy to use it?

Didn't think so. If you really want to have an intellectually honest conversation about leg presses and the dangers they pose let me know.

[Daverin]

Didn't think so. If you really want to have an intellectually honest conversation about leg presses and the dangers they pose let me know.

I would like to hear those thoughts. I can think of quite a few ways leg presses can, and have, gone wrong, but admittedly there is always enough of a human factor that I don't pin it on the machine.

[Tim K]

Yes, you can. Leg presses are awesome. I have one in my personal gym, and I have excellent quads. You don't program it like squats though, program it like a bodybuilder would.

Just be aware that even if you use the leg press under proper supervision, it should be known it isn't safe. Would you let your 5 year old use it? Would you advocate that others have their toddlers use it? Do you really think it's safe for a person that has muscular dystrophy to use it?

Didn't think so. If you really want to have an intellectually honest conversation about leg presses and the dangers they pose let me know.

Expertly done

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

Yes, you can. Leg presses are awesome. I have one in my personal gym, and I have excellent quads. You don't program it like squats though, program it like a bodybuilder would.

Just be aware that even if you use the leg press under proper supervision, it should be known it isn't safe. Would you let your 5 year old use it? Would you advocate that others have their toddlers use it? Do you really think it's safe for a person that has muscular dystrophy to use it?

Didn't think so. If you really want to have an intellectually honest conversation about leg presses and the dangers they pose let me know.

Oh my god, you have such a fundamental miss-understanding of the concept of risk and what drives it. You should really brush up on the risk equation and then chime back in.

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

I would like to hear those thoughts. I can think of quite a few ways leg presses can, and have, gone wrong, but admittedly there is always enough of a human factor that I don't pin it on the machine.

Do you use leg presses and if so how has your success been?

[Cody]

Oh my god, you have such a fundamental miss-understanding of the concept of risk and what drives it. You should really brush up on the risk equation and then chime back in.

Nah, I don't misunderstand at all. You do, however, misunderstand hyperbole.

But I really do have a commercial leg press in my personal gym. And I really do have excellent quads. And I'm stronger than you. I like the leg press. Really.

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

how do you program it? more specifically, how would you use it if you were me and wanted to get as strong as you?

[Cody]

how do you program it? more specifically, how would you use it if you were me and wanted to get as strong as you?

I have been under severe schedule restriction with only 2 days/week to train and battling some injuries, so I have been squatting 1x/week and leg pressing 1x week. Squats have been in traditional "strength" rep schemes (3-5 sets of 1-5 reps in 70-95% range) and leg presses have been programmed for hypertrophy (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps).

For someone in your position, there are 2 effective ways to program it. Straight substitution on your light day using the aforementioned range, or as a partial substitute for some volume on your medium day. That is to say, instead of doing 4 or 5 sets of squats on medium, you could do 2-3 sets of squats (possibly ramping in order to minimize fatigue/stress) then 2-3 sets of leg press in the 10-12 rep range.

Without knowing full specifics of your program (which have been spared from your OP, and which I have not the desire to wade through), this is the best general advice I have.

Decide WHY you would include them, then program appropriately. Just don't want to wait for a rack every day? Our your light day on one of the busier days and do a straight substitute. Want more volume for hypertrophy but without the total stress induced by squats? Consider the medium day option. Both? Do both.

[Igor]

Are front squats done after cleaning a barbell an option for you as a light day?