narrow & wide leg presses

Author	Message

faipdeooiad

Total Posts : 692
Reward points : 531
Joined: 21/11/2011
Status: offline
Read my TROG

narrow & wide leg presses 01 February 2012 20:54 (permalink)

[Helpful answer received] / [List Solutions Only]

I have been working my legs a lot recently and as part of my training, i have been doing leg presses.

i have been doing wide-legged presses, but i've had some brah in the gym tell me i should be doing narrower (i.e. feet closer together) leg presses instead.

is there a massive different between the two? should i be doing either over the other one or trying to incorporate a mixture of both?

i'm currently doing 3 sets of 12 sets with the weight increasing each session (as the weight from the previous session feels easier every time i go back). i'm currently on 225.7kg on a wide leg press.

thanks

#1

BodyActive-Online - the best internet store for advice, service, and price on bodybuilding supplements

CitizenKane

Total Posts : 11473
Reward points : 3364
Joined: 05/04/2009
Status: online
Read my TROG

Re:narrow & wide leg presses 01 February 2012 21:07 (permalink)

[This post was marked as helpful]

Love when people go around the gym giving advice without knowing anything about the circumstances of the recipient of their advice.

For me, personally, I use a wider stance on the leg press out of necessity, because a narrower stance simply places too much stress on my knees (I have a tight IT band in both knees and what appears to be the beginnings of rheumatoid arthritis). Same reason I would use a wider stance on a Hack Squat and same reason I tend to squat low-bar. So basically a narrower stance will put more stress on the knees, but this will only be a problem if you have knee problems!

I think realistically it's not going to make a massive amount of difference in terms of activating the quads.

JOURNAL

I'm tougher than leather, I'm smoother than suede,
Always never broke 'cos I'm usually paid.

#2

faipdeooiad

Total Posts : 692
Reward points : 531
Joined: 21/11/2011
Status: offline
Read my TROG

Re:narrow & wide leg presses 01 February 2012 21:13 (permalink)

ah, lovely stuff, thanks.

i do get knee pains every now and then, but it seems to be diet related (for some unknown reason i get really sore knees after drinking fresh orange and lager (not from falling over because of the lager))

i'd rather not place any unnecessary stress on the knees, so i think i'll stick with the wide-legged presses.

on the note of leg training, i find it infinitely more enjoyable than training any other part of the body. it baffles me when i see brahs at the gym with massive upper bodies and twiglets for legs.

#3

stephen77 Total Posts : 3458 Reward points : 5861 Joined: 28/07/2005 Status: offline Read my TROG	Re:narrow & wide leg presses 01 February 2012 21:59 (permalink) I like just a little wider than shoulder width with feet slightly point outwards. I recomend choosing a postion that is comfortable while allowing a good ROM.
	#4

Bollard Total Posts : 1282 Reward points : 3919 Joined: 16/01/2008 Status: offline Read my TROG	Re:narrow & wide leg presses 02 February 2012 10:55 (permalink) On the orange juice and lager thing, that'll be a build up of uric acid. Watch this - it could end in gout! Eating red fruit daily, especially cherries, will help a lot with this - or of you're loaded you can take cherry extract capsules, but they're about £20.00 for two weeks supply.
	#5

faipdeooiad Total Posts : 692 Reward points : 531 Joined: 21/11/2011 Status: offline Read my TROG	Re:narrow & wide leg presses 02 February 2012 13:00 (permalink) thanks bollard. i just avoid them to get around the problem rather than try and cure the aches. i hate lager anyway, so it's not a problem
	#6

Rachfit

Total Posts : 2879
Reward points : 2603
Joined: 21/10/2009
Location: Nottingham
Status: offline
Read my TROG

Re:narrow & wide leg presses 03 February 2012 09:24 (permalink)

Sorry CK but I have been reading a load of squat research, as you may or may not know, and I found a piece of work stating :
when considering the width of the squat it has been demonstrated that the wider squat generates 15-16% significantly greater compressive forces through the knee joint than a narrow stance. Thus a narrow stance is a better choice if you wish to reduce the risk of compressive forces going through the knees.
What I really needs to be added into the consideration is how deep you are going because, wide or narrow, there is more compressive load on the knees once past 90 degrees of flexion
This isnt my opinion this is research based information

'You can only manage what you can measure'
Rachel France DipITS,MBCA
Master Trainer
Specialist Biomechanics Coach
(Injury 'prevention', Low Back Health & Resistance Specialist)

#7