Bench Press Legs
You can use it for a great leg work out or as a rehab tool for an injury.
Bench press legs. Slowly lie down on the decline bench so your legs are higher than your head keeping your back firmly planted into the back of the bench. If you re looking to maximize muscle size target 8 12 reps per set on average and choose multijoint movements like the bench press squat overhead press bent over row and deadlift which recruit more total muscle mass than single joint moves thus allowing you to lift heavier weights. The harder you contract your leg muscles the greater the force you exert when driving your legs during the bench press. Lifters talk about bench press leg drive like it s some mythical creature.
The legs up bench press is performed like a standard bench press but rather than the feet placed on the floor the legs are bent and the feet are positioned flat on the bench. The role of your leg drive in helping press the weight and the ideal position for you to maximize this drive is going to be dependent on mobility body size proportions and even the footwear you choose. If your legs get sore or feel like they are cramping after you are benching one thing you can try to do is foam roll your hip flexors and gluteal muscles which are the two areas of your legs that are very active during the bench press and these tend to get tight overtime. Good leg drive in the bench press isn t just pushing your heels straight down to the ground as hard as you can.
There are other less direct benefits of squeezing the bench between your thighs. Bench angled down at 30 degrees. They swear it exists but they ve never been able to capture it. This leg press machine is really sturdy and strong and easy to use.
The advanced bencher s secret. And if they could capture it they d finally be able to bench as much as they did back during high school football. Even though this might seem like a small difference the impact of having the feet off the floor while bench pressing can change the emphasis of the movement drastically. For example when attempting a 1 rep max lift.
Squeezing the bench with your inner thighs activates your leg musculature particularly the adductors hamstrings and glutes more intensely. No matter how long you can hold a yoga plank or how many packs you have on the front of your midsection guys in the gym judge you on how much you can bench always have always will. Train like a bodybuilder. Well you say i don t train for them but you re not exactly happy about maxing your bench press at 185 either.