the quadriceps femoris (‘quads’), which consist of four muscles attached on the anterior (front) portion of the thigh. The fibers of the rectus femoris muscle (rec-
By Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM, Illustrations by
William P. Hamilton, CMI
muscleform
&function
ACHIEVE
MOUNTAINOUS
THIGH
MASS
WITH
INCLINE
LEG
PRESSES
tus=straight) extend from the front of the hip joint, along the front of the thigh to join the quadriceps tendon above the kneecap (patella). The rectus femoris is functionally weaker in exer- cises with a flexed hip (e.g., seated positions). The vastus medialis mus- cles cover the medial (inner) part of the thigh. This creates the ‘teardrop’ area that is medial and superior to the patel- la. The vastus intermedius is posi- tioned between the vastus lateralis and the vastus medialis muscle but it is deep to the rectus femoris muscle, so you can’t see it. The vastus lateralis muscle is positioned on the lateral (outer) part of the thigh. The three vas- tus muscles begin on the femur bone of the thigh, and all attach to the upper border of the patella by the quadriceps tendon. The patella is attached to the tibia bone of the lower leg by the patel- lar ligament. As the muscles of the quadriceps shorten, they pull on the tibia by way of the quadriceps tendon and patellar ligament, so the leg becomes extended (straightened) at the knee joint. The three vastus mus- cles are not affected by hip angle, so they are active in a seated position and throughout the leg press.
The incline leg press places much less emphasis on the hip and buttock muscles than squats and much more emphasis on the anterior quadriceps muscles. Nevertheless, the leg press
reduces the movement in the hips as compared to the barbell squat, so that the effort becomes more concentrated in the thighs. The gluteus maximus is the major hip extensor. It is most active during the push phase of the leg press because it helps to straighten (extend) the hip joint. The fibers in the gluteus maximusmuscle are very
strong and large, even surpassing the muscles of the thigh and back. The glu- teus maximus begins from the crest of the ilium of the hip bones and across the sacrum bone of the lower region of the vertebral column. It attaches poste- riorly on the femur bone of the thigh at an area referred to as the gluteal line.
Although primarily an anterior quadriceps exercise, the hamstring muscles are activated quite strongly. The hamstring muscles include the semitendinosus, the semimembra- nousand the hamstring part of the biceps femorismuscles (note the biceps femoris also has a short head which does not cross the knee joint). Part of a fourth muscle, the hamstring portion of the adductor magnus also crosses the hip and assists in hip extension. The hamstring muscles have two common features. In general, these muscles attach to the hip bone structure posteriorly, and run to either cross the knee joint (semimembranous or semitendinosus, biceps femoris) or attach to the femur bone (adductor magnus). These muscles help to extend the hip joint during incline leg presses.
Incline Leg Presses
You should invest a few minutes warming up your knees and thighs before heavy incline leg presses. This
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MDcan be done by a little stretching, and riding a stationary bike for a few min- utes at low intensity. You should not feel tired after the warm-up, but it should be enough to increase the blood flow to your knee structures. Although there are several types of leg presses, my preference is to use a unit with a press that is slightly inclined (30-45 degrees) because this decreases the hip angle somewhat and increases the activation of the rectus femoris muscle during the exercise.
1. After loading the weights, set the safety stops so that knee flexion will not be less than 90 degrees in the lowest position. If there are no safety stops on your unit, you should recruit a spotter to help you lift the weight if you get stuck in the down position. Place your feet on the footplate, so that they are approximately shoulder- width apart with the toes pointed slightly outward.
Grip the vertical uprights or hand- grips firmly. Take a deep breath and press the foot plate upward, enough to clear the weight supports. Move the top weight supports out of the way so that you can start your first repetition.
2. Slowly lower the resistance, tak- ing about 3-4 seconds to resist the
weight during its descent. Inhale as the weight is lowered and your knees come toward your chest. Do not let the weight bang into the bottom stops, but control the weight, stop it under control, then thrust it upward. Do not let the knee flex to less than 90 degrees in the lowest position. It is important that you control the weight and do not let the weight control you.
3. Straighten your knees so that the weight moves upward, slowly at first, because this will help protect your knees in a vulnerable position when the joint is flexed. However, after getting the weight moving upward, try to accelerate the weight toward the top, because this will be especially effective in recruiting the largest and fastest fibers of your thigh (and the ones that also appear to grow the fastest). This acceleration should begin on the second and not the first repetition of each set. However, always try to slowly lower the weight on each repetition.
4. Stop just short of the knees becoming straight. It is important to maintain some tension across the thigh musculature, and it does your knee joints no favors to forcibly ‘lock’ the knees.
5. Make sure that the safety bars
are in place before you terminate the set and move out from under the weight. More than one person has been injured by attempting to leave the exercise unit, only to find that the safety bars had not been properly engaged and the weight has come crashing down on their legs. A little attention to this detail will prevent you from becoming one of the injury statistics.
The incline leg press will allow you to more fully focus on the quadriceps muscles without being concerned about balance or falling during a heavy set, as is often part of the dis- tracting package associated with the barbell squats. Perhaps leg presses may not solve all of your thigh issues, but they will reverse the losses that have been accumulated from the missed thigh workouts because you did not have either the time or the drive for heavy barbell squats. Ronnie Coleman has been reported to do 2,250 leg presses, and he had a pretty good run! Maybe you don’t need that kind of weight to get the job done, but you should be able to lift some pretty decent iron in this lift. Renewed thighs via incline leg presses will still take a lot of hard and persistent work. If you do not lose your unswerving focus for your mass-building goals, you will find that huge thighs are achievable. References:
Clemente, CD. Anatomy, A regional atlas of the human body. Fourth edition. Williams & Willkins, Baltimore, J. Velker, Editor, 1997, pp. 493-513.
Buford TW, Rossi SJ, Smith DB, & Warren AJ (2007). A comparison of periodization mod- els during nine weeks with equated volume and intensity for strength. J Strength Cond
Res, 21, 1245-1250.
Ebben WP, Feldmann CR, Dayne A, Mitsche D, Alexander P, & Knetzger KJ (2008). Muscle Activation during Lower Body Resistance Training. Int J Sports Med.
Tanimoto M, Sanada K, Yamamoto K, Kawano H, Gando Y, Tabata I, Ishii N, & Miyachi M (2008). Effects of whole-body low-intensity resistance training with slow movement and tonic force generation on muscular size and strength in young men. J Strength Cond Res, 22, 1926-1938.
Terzis G, Spengos K, Manta P, Sarris N, & Georgiadis G (2008). Fiber type composition and capillary density in relation to submaximal number of repetitions in resistance exercise. J
Strength Cond Res, 22, 845-850.
Moore KL and AF Dalley. Clinically
Oriented Anatomy, Fourth Edition. Williams &
Willkins, Baltimore. PJ Kelley, Editor, 1999, pp 531-546.
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