The Leg Press Vs. the Squat Who Wins the Battle for Leg Day? – BarBend

When youre serious about growing lower body strength, power, and muscle, you cannot go past the barbell squat and the leg press. These lifts are often the top two contenders in strength programs when it comes to lower body muscle and strength. But given a choice, should you do the leg press or the squat?

Youll see a lot of beginning lifters and advanced bodybuilders doing the leg press. Its a machine-based, accessible exercise for athletes at all levels to build serious strength and muscle mass. On the other hand, the squat is a free-weight move that forms the bedrock of most strength programs. Depending on your goals, your body, and your preferences, the leg press or squat may work better for you. Heres how to determine when its better to squat or to leg press. Lets dive in.

Though theyre both leg day staples, the leg press and squat are not the same beasts. Here are some of the principal differences between them.

Lets get the obvious over with first. The leg press is a machine-based, closed chain exercise meaning your feet are in a fixed position and your upper body is supported throughout the lift.

Conversely, the squat is a free weight, open-chain exercise. Because of these mechanical differences, both moves work your quads, but the squat trains more total body muscle mass. It also requires a tremendous amount of isometric strength and coordination.

While youre leg pressing, you dont need as much motor control because the movement is fixed. As a result, you dont have to worry about where your body is in space.

This is not the same with the squat. Some lifters spend their entire career trying to master squat technique to squeeze out every strength and muscle advantage. The squat requires more stability and coordination than the leg press.

Due to the upper body support and fixed movement, the leg press is more of an isolation move for your quadriceps. The squat trains more total body muscle mass because your core and upper body are heavily involved. However, if you are looking for that hamstring boost during your leg press, place your feet higher on the sled.

With the leg press, you dont need upper body and core stability, and there is less compressive stress on your lower back. On the other hand, a lot of squat variations involve a compressive load on your spine.

The leg press is a machine-based closed chain exercise where the movement is fixed its path is determined by the machine. Therefore, it takes less technical know-how to perform the leg press than the squat.

Some lifters spend years picking up nuances of the squat to keep building strength and size. It takes a lot longer to learn how to squat well than it takes to leg press well.

One of the biggest differences between the leg press and the squat is the positioning of the weights. In a loaded barbell squat, youll be holding the weight on your back, on your delts, or over your head. The leg press machine is an exercise that requires you to push the weights that are below your feet.

The leg press and the squat do not look the same and the setup is different. However, theyre both leg day staples for a reason. These lifts have still got some similarities, too.

When youre doing a squat variation or a leg press, the eccentric component of both exercises involves hip and knee flexion to lower the weight. During the concentric contraction of both exercises, the quad and the glutes extend to push the weight up. Both exercises train a similar movement pattern and joint function.

The leg press and squat both train your glutes and quads, but neither exercise specifically isolates your hamstrings. During both exercises, the hamstrings role is to stabilize your knee joints, with most of the hamstring action coming from the eccentric portions of both lifts.

Your hamstringshelp out with these lifts (especially the squat), but arent prime movers in either of them.

Both of these moves involve pushing through your feet to either squat up or press the platform up. Still, there are a few mechanical differences between the squat and the leg press.

During the eccentric portion of the squat, your back and core are responsible for keeping the weight stable either on your upper back, on your delts, or above your head. But due to the seated angle of the leg press machine, your upper body will be closer to the ground than your feet.

With the leg press machine, the angle and placement of the weight and the seat keeps your upper body in a fixed position. This makes it easier to get into position and puts less compressive force on your lower back, which is supported by the seat. With the squat, your lower back works hard to stay neutral during the eccentric portion while the barbell puts a compressive load on your spine.

The leg press will look different for different athletes, depending on body type and the type of leg press machine youre using. Before beginning, adjust the machine if possible to provide maximum safety and comfort for your body.

If you can, experiment with different angles without weight to ensure that the machines set-up is optimal for you.

* If needed, place your feet wider to give comfortable space to your chest and/or stomach at the bottom of the lift. Just spend some extra time warming up your inner thighs.

Like the leg press, the squat will look different depending on peoples bodies and limb length.

Check out these tips for performing a solid squat.

Note: This is a barbell back squat, and variations like the front squat and overhead squat have some set-up differences.

Both of these lifts deserve a spot in your programming, depending on body type and injury history. But if youre trying to figure out which one to choose to best fit your goals, check out the advice below.

When it comes to moving the most weight possible, you are likely going to move more weight with the leg press than with the squat. That said, the barbell squat plays a bigger role in building more total body strength.

Because of the involvement of your upper and lower back, quads, and glutes, the barbell squat will strengthen your entire body, giving you a distinct advantage in full-body strength development. So if youre looking to load on the most amount of weight plates, slip onto the leg press machine. But if you want to build as much full-body and functional leg strength as possible, opt for the barbell squat.

The leg press should be your go-to if youre looking to build bigger quads while taking stress off your back. When you want bigger quads, the stability provided by the leg press machine puts more emphasis on your legs and none on the upper body. The ability to perform simple and safe drop sets and burn out sets on the leg press machine is another reason its a great muscle-builder.

But for more total body muscle potential, squats are your best bet. When performing squats, the body releases more human growth hormone (HGH), which will increase your hypertrophy potential. (1)

But both are great choices for muscle because they work similar muscles hard and heavy. But since the leg press is easier on your lower back and more stable due to your upper body support, you may have an easier time recovering from more hypertrophy-focused sessions with the leg press.

Bodybuilders might be able to recover faster from the leg press because of the lack of compressive force on your lower back and the lack of involvement of your upper body. It also more specifically targets your quads, which can be a great advantage when youre looking to build out those teardrop quads and reach failure safely.

Barbell squats are important for bodybuilders who want to keep their overall fitness game in top form not to mention building full-body strength and muscle. But for those looking for specificity, the leg press might win out here.

Powerlifters certainly can supplement their routines with the leg press, but theres no getting around it the back squat is a competition lift for powerlifters and will therefore need to take precedence. If youre working in the offseason and want to build up your quads or just generally need to give your low back a break on leg day, you certainly can swap in the leg press.

But in general, for both powerlifters and functional fitness athletes CrossFitters need that powerful squatting ability the squat is a more functional and sports-specific movement.

Bodyweight squats are a great exercise for beginning lifters, as it is a fundamental movement pattern. But when it comes to lifting a load, starting with the leg press might help some lifters get stronger while still learning proper squat technique.

The fixed range of motion increases stability and less stress on your lower back compared to the back squat. This can let a beginning lifter build confidence while increasing their ability to move heavier weight.

Both the leg press and the squat can have a place in any well-designed strength program. When youre looking for a functional movement to boost full-body strength with a huge emphasis on leg strength, squats are your go-to. If youre a powerlifter or functional fitness athlete who needs to perform squats during competition, then these are definitely your proverbial bread and butter.

If youre a bodybuilder, suffer from lower back pain, or are just starting out on your lifting journey, you might find that the leg press is a better option. With less compressive force on your spine, more stability, and less technical expertise required, the leg press will allow you to go harder and heavier for longer.

Which one you choose is a matter of preference, body needs, and fitness goals. The choice is yours with such solid lifts, you cant really go wrong.

Featured Image: Alfa Photostudio / Shutterstock

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The Leg Press Vs. the Squat Who Wins the Battle for Leg Day? - BarBend