Machine Exercises For Legs
The free weight Barbell Squat has long been revered as the best exercise for building legs. It utilises the largest muscle groups from the legs, abs, back, shoulders and its range of motion will make you work hard.
But as great as Squats are, it’s not the only exercise you can do for building legs. In fact, there are machines that can get the job done.
Machines have been vilified as the “easy way out” of squatting. Because machines make you work in a fixed pathway and reduce the need to stabilise, many believe they do not build your legs like the free weight Squat.
But with the right selection of exercises and a good program, you can build your thighs, hamstrings, glutes and calves using machines.
Here are the top 6 machine for building legs
1. Smith Machine – The Smith Machine allows you to vary the angle of your Squat to hit different areas of your legs. You can also go heavy without worrying about getting pinned because of the availability of safety hooks. You can use the Smith Machine for Smith Machine Squats, Smith Machine Deadlift and Standing Calf Raises to work the hamstrings and calves respectively.
2. Leg Press – Although the range of motion is limited, you can target different areas of your legs by changing the position of your feet and the angle of the seatback.
3. Machine Hack Squat – This machine is great for building the front lower part of your thighs. Switch it to a Reverse Hack Squat and hit your hamstrings and glutes.
4. Leg Extension – Give each rep a 2-second pause at the top for an intense contraction. Leg Extension is best used as a warm up or as a workout finisher.
5. Seated Leg Curl – Similar to Leg Extension, add a 2-second pause at the finished curl position to generate a tight contraction. This exercise hits the inner muscle of the hamstring.
6. Lying Leg Curl – Round out your leg biceps work with the lying leg curl machine which targets the outer muscle of the hamstrings.
Sample Leg Building Program Using Machines
Here are 2 programs you can use to build your legs with machines. Program A is a traditional straight set routine while Program B applies the principles of High Intensity Training (HIT).
Program A – Straight Sets; use a weight that is 65% to 75% of your 1-Rep Max or 1RM. Your rest periods are 2 minutes between sets and exercises.
1. Smith Machine Squat - 5 sets x 10 reps
2. Leg Press – 4 sets x 15 – 20 reps
3. Reverse Hack Squat – 3 sets x 10 reps
4. Seated Leg Curl – 3 sets x 15 reps
5. Smith Machine Calf Raise – 3 sets x 20 reps
Program B – HIT; use a weight that is 80% to 85% of your 1RM and make sure you have a spotter nearby to assist you with forced reps and drop sets. You can rest up to 2 minutes between exercises.
1. Leg Extension – 1 set x 8 reps; add 2 forced reps
2. Leg Press – 1 set x 12 reps; add 4 forced reps plus 2 drop sets by reducing the weight by 20% per set and performing AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
3. Lying Leg Curl – 1 set x 8 reps; add 2 forced reps
4. Smith Machine Calf Raise – 1 set x 20 reps
Make sure to warm up properly by doing 10 minutes of dynamic stretching. Pyramid up slowly in weight until you get to your working sets.
After your workout, do 10 minutes of static stretching to start the recovery process.
