Strength exercise

# Leg press

A machine press for the legs. Your back is supported by the seat while the legs push the load.

Also called: leg press machine, leg press with back pain

- **Type:** Strength

- **Equipment:** Gym

- **Area:** Lower back

- **Level:** Advanced

- **Starting dose in Remedy:** 3 sets of 12, last two reps hard

## How to do it

- Sit in the machine with your back and hips flat against the pad.
- Place your feet flat on the platform about hip-width apart.
- Release the safety and lower the platform under control until your knees are bent, stopping before your low back peels off the pad.
- Push through the middle of your feet to straighten your legs without locking your knees.

## Form cues

- Feet flat, push through mid-foot.
- Don’t let the low back curl at the bottom.
- The last two reps should feel hard.

## Common mistakes

- Going so deep the hips roll up and the low back rounds off the pad.
- Locking the knees hard at the top.

## Easier and harder versions

- **Easier:** [Goblet squat](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/goblet-squat)

## Why it helps a sore back

It lets you load the legs heavily while the seat supports your back, which is useful for gym-goers training around a sore back.

## How Remedy uses it

In the app it is called **Leg Press**. Remedy is more likely to pick it if you say your back is bothered by working out. A typical starting dose is 3 sets of 12, last two reps hard, and the program adjusts reps as the weeks go on. Every exercise in the app has a demonstration video.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, or pain, numbness, or tingling spreading down a leg.

## More strength exercises

[Strength

### Resistance band row

Pulling a resistance band toward your lower ribs and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Band or dumbbells · Beginner](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/banded-row)
[Strength

### Seated cable row

A seated horizontal pull on a cable machine.
Gym · Intermediate](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/seated-cable-row)
[Strength

### 45-degree back extension

A hinge on a 45-degree bench with your hips on the pad and feet anchored.
Gym · Advanced](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/back-extension)

## Guides that use it
[Guide
### Sore back after the gym
Normal soreness vs a tweak, and how to keep training without guessing.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/sore-back-after-gym)

[More exercise guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/)

## Get a back program you can actually keep

Free to download on the App Store. Answer a few questions and your first session is ready in minutes.

[](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/remedy-back-pain-relief/id6813745106)[Read the guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/)

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Source: https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/leg-press
Remedy is a fitness and wellness app, not medical care.