At the gym, is a leg press a good enough exercise for the hamstring muscle group?
I know that it’s already a great exercise for the Quadriceps.
I concur with Gary.
I was looking for a muli-joint exercise, working opposing muscles to squats. I came up with hanging from a Roman chair, holding a dumbbell b/n my feet and lifting by flexing hips and knees. Or lying on the floor with a cable in the lowest position, pull on it with your feet in the same way.
The back extension bench, where your thighs brace against the pad and your heels brace against a lower bar, and you lift your back uses your glutes and I think works the hamstrings isometrically (looks like a Romanian deadlift at an angle).
April 28th, 2010 at 7:10 am
When doing leg press make sure you don’t cheat and only go halfway down. By going all the way down you incorporate more muscles in your legs i.e. hamstrings, gluteals, hip flexors. By all the way down I mean the top of your quads should be touching or nearly touching your abdominals. Do not keep your hands on your knees that’s just cheating.
References :
Years of training and experience.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:56 am
The short answer is no. Your hamstring is a stabilizer for the movement, but i does not work it directly. Hamstrings flex your knee and your quads extend it.
References :
April 28th, 2010 at 8:38 am
I concur with Gary.
I was looking for a muli-joint exercise, working opposing muscles to squats. I came up with hanging from a Roman chair, holding a dumbbell b/n my feet and lifting by flexing hips and knees. Or lying on the floor with a cable in the lowest position, pull on it with your feet in the same way.
The back extension bench, where your thighs brace against the pad and your heels brace against a lower bar, and you lift your back uses your glutes and I think works the hamstrings isometrically (looks like a Romanian deadlift at an angle).
References :