Strength Training: Incline Leg Press

Hello! Welcome back to my blog, and sadly, my final post. I hope everyone's day is going well and hopefully you are enjoying your Sunday. Today in this post, I will be informing you on how to properly use the incline leg press. Personally, I love to use the leg press machine because it helps strengthen my legs for basketball, and strong legs are critical to playing defense. This machine is fantastic for strengthening the quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and hamstrings.

Having strong legs is very important in a multitude of sports and activities. So, individuals who seek to strengthen their leg muscles, this exercise is for you. To complete this workout follow these steps. First, determine how much weight you want to lift. However, start light and slowly increase to heavier weights because you do not want it to be to heavy to the point where you can't complete reps properly (Delavier 135). Next, lower your body into the seat of the machine and sit comfortably with your back properly against the backrest of the machine. Keep your feet slightly apart on the platform of the machine. Your legs should be straight and not bent. Then, inhale, release the safety bars and bend the knees completely so your thighs are almost touching your chest. After that, return to the initial position exhaling at the end of the repetition. I recommend to complete 3 sets of 15 reps and keep in mind that more reps of a lighter weight is more beneficial than doing more reps of a heavier weight.



The way in which you position your feet on the foot plate determines what muscles you are working out. You can switch the location of your feet on the foot plate to target different muscles. There are a total of five different foot positions that I will be going over. The first foot position is with your feet high on the foot plate. This position targets the gluteal muscles and the hamstrings. Another way, you can place you feet is low on the foot plate. Placing your feet low on the foot plate works your quadriceps. You can place your feet far apart to strengthen your adductors. Place only your toes on the foot plate to strengthen your calf muscles. Finally, put your feet close together on the platform to strengthen your quadriceps.

Utilizing the incline leg press machine is good for people who have endured back injuries. Delavier writes "People with back pain who are unable to perform squats can do this exercise. However, they must never lift their back off the back pad" (Delavier 135). Using the incline leg press machine is a excellent replacement to squats if you suffer from back pain. 

When you are in the gym exercising you always have to keep your safety in mind. Always be cautious and safe. Some tips and reminders that you should remember while using the incline leg press are, when you are done with a set always remember to put the safety bars back on. Also, don't add to much weight because increased weight raises the chance of getting injured or overworking a muscle. Finally, make sure to always have proper foot position because you don't want to lose your footing and have the foot plate come down on you. However, if this does happen there are bars that will stop the weights from crushing you. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate it a lot! This has been a fun and great experience, and I am sad that it has to come to a end. However, I hope the workouts I have written about help you reach individual fitness goals and build strong muscles. As you already know, I enjoy doing this exercise to strengthen my legs for basketball. So, my question for you is, what exercises do you like to do that help you perform the sports or activities you love? 

Works Cited 

Delavier, FreÌdeÌric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.

Exercises to Improve Your Game

To be on your game all of the time, you need to make sure that you’re getting in the right work outs. Running is one of the top exercises that will improve your overall game, but some extra work targeting specific muscles will do wonders to your abilities. Ace McCloud, a soccer expert goes in depth on a few workouts that drastically take your talents to the next level.

Squats:

Squats are one of the best workouts for building up your upper leg muscles. According to the book “Soccer Strategies” by Ace McCloud, “Increasing your squat by 50 pounds can add an extra 10 miles per hour behind your kicks” (McCloud 23). Squats are a great workout for strikers, the ones who have the most shots on goal, but are also useful for defenders as well. Having more power in your legs help when trying to body an opposing player off of the ball. If you don’t know what squats are, you begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your spine straight, stick your butt out, and lower your body until the knees are at a 90-degree angle. If you continuously perform squats correctly, you will see an improvement to the power behind your kicks, and your abilities to defend the opposition.

Uphill Runs:

Uphill runs take sprints to the next level by working out new muscles of the leg. When first performing these exercises your legs will become very sore the next day. This happens because you never work these muscles out. Uphill runs are a great workout because it doesn’t require any extra equipment, all you need is a nice sized hill to become a faster, stronger, and more athletic player. Adding speed to your game helps every position on the field not only on the defensive end, but also on the offensive attack.

There’s hundreds of different workouts that soccer players can do to become faster, stronger, and overall improve their game. These are just two examples that one can do without all of the fancy equipment that the pros use. After reading this blog post did it motivate you to want to get out there and work on your game? Maybe even try one of the workouts out?