Single Leg Press: Benefits, Muscles Worked, & Best Machines

Single leg press benefits image

The leg press doesn’t get as much love as a barbell squat in the world of bodybuilding, but when it comes to building mass and working all of the major muscles of the lower body, the leg press is one of the most beneficial compound leg exercises you can include in your exercise routine.

While most people use the leg press machine with two legs at the same time, performing a single leg press is an even harder variation that has some unique benefits.

Keep reading to discover these awesome single leg press benefits.

Is Single Leg Press Good?

Yes, the single leg press is a solid exercise to add to your routine – mainly because most functional movements that occur in sports and everyday life are done one leg at a time. Does that mean it should be the only leg exercise in your arsenal? Probably not.

The single leg press is good for isolating the major leg muscles including the quads and hamstrings, the same way you use dumbbells to isolate each bicep or tricep. But most guys don’t get really strong, muscular legs from this exercise alone. It should really be included after both legs are worked together using squats, regular leg presses, or a similar movement.

What Muscles Does Single Leg Press Work?

The single leg press works the muscles in your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. These are the primary muscles used for running, squatting, and jumping.

At the front of your thigh is the quadriceps femoris. This is the main muscle group worked by this exercise and it’s actually a group of four muscles including the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and the rectus femoris. This muscle group is responsible for knee extension necessary in most basic and high-intensity physical activities.

Your hamstrings are also stimulated by the single leg press. This muscle is located at the back of your leg below your glutes and aids in flexing your knee. You can work this muscle a little more by going deeper into each repetition.

Last, your gluteal muscles are also worked by this exercise. This is a group of three muscles that forms your butt, including the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and gluteus maximus. This group controls the hip joint through a series of movements including abduction, extension, and rotation.

7 Real Single Leg Press Benefits Trainers Swear By

Now, you just learned what muscles this exercise works, but there are a ton of other benefits worth mentioning. To convince you to add this movement to your routine, here are 7 benefits of the single leg press that bodybuilders and personal trainers stand by.

1. Muscle Symmetry

Most people have an imbalance between their left and right sides. One side is usually stronger or bigger than the other, and when you are doing squats or the traditional leg press, that stronger, bigger side is carrying the load and doing most of the work.

When you do a single leg press, you are forcing each side to perform an equal workload. This will result in balance and proportion between both legs.

This is one of the key principles you’ll find in very effective lower body workout programs for women like the top-rated Kinobooty program.

2. Greater Range of Motion

As I’ve talked about before, the leg press works the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. And, when you do the exercise just one leg at a time you will work those muscle groups with a greater range of motion, and that will activate your muscles even more.

Studies have shown that when you do focused eccentric training on your hamstrings – like you can do with the single leg press – it gives them the ability to produce peak force. You will see noticeable benefits when running and sprinting, and this will also benefit your hamstrings when they are in the stretched position like at the bottom of a deadlift, squat, or kettlebell swing.

3. Core Stimulation

When you are doing a leg press, your back is supported on the back rest. But, this doesn’t mean you aren’t working your core or obliques during the movement. When you do a single leg press you have to stabilize your body even more, and that means more work in your core.

4. One Leg Means Half the Weight

When you are doing a traditional leg press with two legs that means you have to load up the machine with a ton of plates. If your legs are really strong, you will most likely need at least ten 45-pound plates, and rounding all those up and loading them on the machine can be a huge pain in the ass.

No one wants to be a weight plate hog at the gym, and doing a single-leg press can help you avoid that completely. You will only need about half the weight you would normally use, but still get just as much – if not more – muscle stimulation.

No matter how strong you are, you won’t need a huge stack of 45-pound plates to get a killer lower body workout.

5. Improved Functional Strength

Contrary to popular belief, the leg press does improve your functional strength. I’m not just saying this because I am a fan of the single leg press, there is actually science to back me up on this.

A 1996 study of college-aged participants showed that after a six-week leg press training program, there was a 2.55 inch increase in single-leg jump height.

Would you get a better result with barbell squats? Maybe. But, when people tell you that leg presses have no functional strength benefit, they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Leg press training improves balance recovery, vertical jump height, number of bodyweight Squats in 30 seconds, and short-distance sprinting ability…

says Chris Beardsley of Strength and Conditioning Research in a 2014 blog post.

You might have heard that athletes don’t perform the leg press because they don’t build functional strength. But, the truth is that elite athletes like Colin Kaepernick and Dwyane Wade include single leg presses in their workout routine because it is a more functional variation.

Just about every athletic movement is done from a single-leg position. “I like single-leg work because it isn’t often as a quarterback that both of your feet are stationary and planted,” says Kaepernick.

6. More Power

You would think that bilateral movements like barbell squats would be all you need for explosive power training, but unilateral exercises like the single leg press have been shown to improve the Rate of Force Production (RFD).

I don’t want to get too sciencey here, so think of RFD as a car’s 0-60 MPH time. In other words, it is the measurement of how long it takes a muscular contraction to hit the peak level of force production. Yes, bilateral movements are extremely important to RFD, but don’t ignore unilateral exercises.

When you have only one foot on the machine, that small base of support stimulates the motor neurons at the spinal level, which contributes to force development. Think of single leg presses as improving your force from the inside out.

7. Cardio in Disguise

There are significant cardiovascular and metabolic advantages when you are doing single leg presses. When you do a high amount of reps in a high volume program, by the end of the set you are going to notice a significantly increased heart rate.

When you are doing one leg at a time, it will take you twice as long to work both legs compared to the traditional leg press. That means twice the amount of time under tension, twice the metabolic cost, and twice the number of heartbeats.

3 Single Leg Press Variations (How To)

Standard Single Leg Press

This is the standard single leg press variation that’s going to emphasize the quads, but also work the hamstrings and glutes. Here’s how to do it:

  • Sit in the leg press seat facing directly forward and place your right foot in the vertical center of the footplate inline with your right hip.
  • Unlock the safety restraints on the leg press.
  • Bend your right knee and allow the footplate to move closer to your body. 
  • When your knee reaches close to a 90-degree angle, press against the footplate and push your body back to starting position.
  • This is one rep. Repeat for 10-12 reps and then switch legs.

Side Leg Press

[Video Below]

The side leg press is just what it sounds like, but there’s even more of a twist. Not only will you be sitting sideways, but you’ll also be propped up on your knee to change the muscle emphasis. Here’s how to do it:

  • Position yourself in the leg press seat by facing to the left, propping yourself up on your left knee, and placing your right foot up on the footplate.
  • When you’re ready, unlock the safety restraints on the leg press.
  • Bend your right knee and allow the footplate to move closer to your body. 
  • When your knee reaches close to a 90-degree angle, press against the footplate and push your body back to starting position.
  • This is one rep. Repeat for 10-12 reps and then switch legs.

Side Leg Squat

[Video Below]

The side leg squat is very similar to the side leg press, but you’re not propped up on your knee in the seat. This allows you to go even deeper on each rep and feel the emphasis more in your glutes and hamstrings. Here’s how it’s done:

  • Position yourself in the leg press seat by facing to the left and placing your right foot up on the footplate. You may need to lean forward slightly to get into position.
  • When you’re ready, unlock the safety restraints on the leg press.
  • Bend your right knee and allow the footplate to move closer to your body. 
  • When your knee reaches close to a 90-degree angle, press against the footplate and push your body back to starting position.
  • This is one rep. Repeat for 10-12 reps and then switch legs.
This video shows how to do both the side leg press and side leg squat.

3 Best Unilateral Angle Leg Press Machines

If you’re interested in getting a special piece of equipment to perform the single leg press, you may want to consider a unilateral angle leg press machine. These are leg presses that actually have independently-moving footplates for both your right and left feet.

Of course, you could always buy a standard leg press machine like the ones we have listed on our seated leg press page, and then just work one leg at a time. Regardless, here are the 3 best unilateral angle leg press machines we found to add to your home gym to isolate those quads.

1. Legend Fitness Unilateral Angle Leg Press

The Legend Fitness Unilateral Angle Leg Press is a very popular model in gyms, health clubs, and online equipment distributors. Because this model has 6 different safety stop positions, you can make each rep much safer and not have to worry about any runaway weights.

There are extra long weight pegs on each side of the machine so you can store plenty of standard barbell plates. Plus, there are even hooks to attach bands for additional resistance or assistance.

The main drawback of this machine is they don’t even list the price on the website. You have to contact sales and get a quote which indicates that they manufacture to order, and the price will be steep.

Pros:

  • Safety is top priority
  • Plenty of weight plate storage
  • Can attach resistance bands

Cons:

  • Have to contact sales for pricing

Click here check the specs for the Unilateral Angle Leg Press by Legend Fitness.

2. Live Well Raptor Unilateral Inverted Leg Press

Live well raptor unilateral inverted leg press image
Click the image to check the price on Amazon

Another viable option is the Live Well Raptor Unilateral Inverted Leg Press. You should be pretty comfortable in this machine since both the back pad and seat are adjustable for any body type.

It’s made of heavy duty steel and the footplates move very smoothly to accomodate a steady pressing motion both up and down. Plus, the manufacturer took the initiative to create a separate instructional guide showing how to properly use the machine to maximize muscle stimulation and safety.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have as many weight pegs as the other models which isn’t terrible, but that means you can’t store as many plates.

Pros:

  • Comfortable fit for most body types
  • Smooth motion
  • Instructional exercise guide

Cons:

  • Fewer weight storage

Click here to check the price of the Raptor on Amazon.

3. Wilder Fitness Unilateral Leg Press

If you’re looking for something that was built for a commercial gym, then you might want to check out the Wilder Fitness Unilateral Press. It’s made from a fully-welded frame and has a lifetime warranty so you know it was manufactured for very long-term use.

You should be pretty comfortable while you’re working your quads since the seat is adjustable to different angles and the diamond foot plate is oversized for different foot placements (in case you have long legs). You can also make this model your own since it comes with your choice of frame color and upholstery color too.

The downside is it’s very pricey. Unless you’re buying to put into your own gym, you’re going to be laying down some serious cash.

Pros:

  • Made to last a very long time
  • Easy comfort adjustments
  • Can make a custom model thanks to color options

Cons:

  • Expensive

Click here to check the current price of the Wilder Fitness Unilateral Press.

The Final Word on Single Leg Press

I encourage you to add single leg presses to your workout routine. Of course, don’t leave out the barbell squats entirely. Instead, alternate between the two exercises on leg day, or do them both. Just be sure to include single-leg training in your routine because there are numerous benefits.

But you can’t build a visually-impressive body with just one exercise. You need a complete diet and training system.

That’s why you should check out the greek god program and discover how you can build a lean and muscular body in only 3 short workouts per week while eating large, satisfying meals throughout the day.

The post Single Leg Press: Benefits, Muscles Worked, & Best Machines appeared first on NOOB GAINS.



from NOOB GAINS https://noobgains.com/single-leg-press-benefits/

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