The Leg Press

The Leg Press is the most important and most demanding exercise that is performed in a Total Results workout. It involves all of the musculature of the lower body, most specifically the quadriceps (responsible for extension of the knee), the hamstrings (responsible for knee flexion), and the buttocks (which perform the function of hip extension). It is such an important exercise that it is generally the first one we teach to beginning clients during an initial consultation. This machine's movement arm tracks horizontally rather than upward at a 45 degree angle (like many plate-loaded machines that you see in commercial gyms), so it is safer for your lower back. It is also safer than a traditional barbell squat because you are loaded through the pelvis rather than through the shoulders (which vertically loads and compresses your spinal column).

The Leg Press has what Arthur Jones (the founder of Nautilus and Med-X exercise equipment) referred to as a "knock-on effect", meaning that it has a tremendous impact on your overall exercise stimulus that will trigger growth in muscles that are not directly involved in this particular exercise. Since this exercise involves such a large amount of muscle, it is usually performed near the beginning of a Total Results workout because we want to do the most demanding exercises when the body is relatively fresh.

The Leg Press machine is engineered to properly track muscle and joint function and facilitate safe and easy entry and exit. It has adjustable start and end positions as well as shoulder restraints to accommodate varying limb lengths and height. There are three adjustable head pads available to ensure safe head and neck position. Other features include a cradled seat for your sacrum (tail bone) and non-slip foot board. Finally, the seat back has three different positions: vertical (often used to perform calf raises), middle (for leg press), and reclined (to perform more of a squatting movement).

The machine's design allows for clients to reach momentary muscular failure at various points in the range of motion from one workout to the next, and you don't have to worry about being put into a compromising or unsafe position the way you would in a barbell squat. This machine is truly a marvel of engineering and is a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors and contemporaries.