In the gym

[no edge]

I was very shocked to see my bench press improve so much. I'm not big on bench. The spotting used was different for me. Hands off and go until you fail... then they helped. That one thing got me big results.

You know I am not training with Crossfit right now due to health. But I learned a lot from the programming. I have heard many complaints about weak coaching, but that has not been my experience. In the Albany area Crossfit is really good. When you go to the box you know that you are going to get your ass kicked. 45 min of your life will not we wasted.

 

[Rod9301]

The leg press can cause serious trouble for the spine. The back of the seat restricts natural movement in the spine. You don't often see that machine in serious gyms.

With back squats the body moves as needed. You can get hurt doing back squats, so learn them with good coaching, but they are a great way to strengthen the posterior chain. Legs, butt and and back get stronger if done right... core as well.

You can choose from: back squats... high bar and low bar, front squats, squats with no weight, and lunges. Good form is a must but you will need to build up to heavy lifts.

Crossfit is into Snatch and overhead squat. I have heard many trainers criticize the Snatch, but is a super core strength exercise.

If you hinge at the hip when you leg press, you will not hurt your back, it's doesn't move.
And to say serious gyms don't use leg presses, i don't even know how to respond to this
All world cup skiers build leg strength with leg presses, then move to squats for other reasons

 

[no edge]

Using a leg press, and a hamstring curl machine, i press 600 and curl 230 lbs. That's a pretty good ratio.

It probably is, but how would you know. Those machines probably don't offer any true correlation. So how can you tell, not sure.

 

[no edge]

If you hinge at the hip when you leg press, you will not hurt your back, it's doesn't move.
And to say serious gyms don't use leg presses, i don't even know how to respond to this


All world cup skiers build leg strength with leg presses, then move to squats for other reasons

They use squats for strength as I see it. What other reasons might there be. Honestly I have not seen in much detail what the World Cup skiers are doing. I do know that they use plenty of dead lifts and squats. I do not know how concerned they are about imbalanced quads/hams.

How about the Smith Machine? Machines that restrict natural motion can spell trouble. - - Leg extension is another one. I stay a way.

 

[Rod9301]

It probably is, but how would you know. Those machines probably don't offer any true correlation. So how can you tell, not sure.

I read that you are supposed to match the leg extension weight with a hamstring curl weight.

So i tested myself, that's how i can't with that ratio

I don't like to do leg extensions so ii use the leg press to curl ratio

 

[no edge]

[QUOTE="Rod9301, post: 287248, member: 526

I don't like to do leg extensions so ii use the leg press to curl ratio[/QUOTE]

IMHO leg extensions are to be avoided. Seated leg press, the same. Do you have access to free weights and coaching? That is the safest... done correctly

 

[Rod9301]

[QUOTE="Rod9301, post: 287248, member: 526

I don't like to do leg extensions so ii use the leg press to curl ratio

IMHO leg extensions are to be avoided. Seated leg press, the same. Do you have access to free weights and coaching? That is the safest... done correctly[/QUOTE]
Why are seated leg press to be avoided?

 

[no edge]

IMHO leg extensions are to be avoided. Seated leg press, the same. Do you have access to free weights and coaching? That is the safest... done correctly

Why are seated leg press to be avoided?[/QUOTE]

Because your movement is restricted. The spine is trapped. If you do a back squat or a front squat the body can move naturally to avoid injury. If you have not used weights, it is worth giving it a try. With weights there are other risks, but if the skills are learned and practiced, it works much better than machines. A good coach is a must.

Working out at a typical gym usually will not offer safe free weight lifting. My experience at Crossfit taught me how to lift. Not all "boxes" provide that level of coaching. But, Crossfit is all about lifting, strength and fitness. If you go that route, talk to members and observe what's happening before you join.

It's just one option. If you are going to spend time at the gym, you might as well get the results.

 

[Monique]

Working out at a typical gym usually will not offer safe free weight lifting.

What do you mean?

 

[Rod9301]

Why are seated leg press to be avoided?

Because your movement is restricted. The spine is trapped. If you do a back squat or a front squat the body can move naturally to avoid injury. If you have not used weights, it is worth giving it a try. With weights there are other risks, but if the skills are learned and practiced, it works much better than machines. A good coach is a must.

Working out at a typical gym usually will not offer safe free weight lifting. My experience at Crossfit taught me how to lift. Not all "boxes" provide that level of coaching. But, Crossfit is all about lifting, strength and fitness. If you go that route, talk to members and observe what's happening before you join.

It's just one option. If you are going to spend time at the gym, you might as well get the results.[/QUOTE]
This reason didn't make sense to me.
As long as you press the shall of your back in the back support, there is no way you can injure the spine.
It's load on the spine when it's curved that puts the discs at risk.

 

[no edge]

Time to try the Google.

"The leg press machine is very bad mechanically for your body, because it does not allow your muscles/joints to perform in a functional manner and puts a tremendous amount of stress on your knees and lower back,” says Josh Stolz, a Tier 4 trainer at Equinox in New York City

You will get more favorable recommendation the lower you go on the training scale.

If you go to a gym that is full of strength machines, there's a whole 'nuther world out there.

 

[no edge]

What do you mean?

A typical gym is one filled with machines and weights as an add on. If there is no coaching it is likely to be a dangerous situation.

Un like your situation where you have a trainer/coach.

 

[Monique]

A typical gym is one filled with machines and weights as an add on. If there is no coaching it is likely to be a dangerous situation.

Un like your situation where you have a trainer/coach.

Ah!

So I think what you're saying is, without proper education, free weights can be dangerous. The weights in the gym aren't inherently dangerous.

I tend to feel this way, but I guess a lot of people do find value in teaching themselves via Youtube. But I can't see myself lift, and proprioception isn't always reliable. My coach sees a LOT, but even he needs to be at just the right angle (in front, behind, from the side) to see some things. Or like the other day when I asked whether I was letting my shoulders droop in deadlift - he said that he'd been focusing on my twisting issue, so he couldn't pay attention to anything else. There's just a lot to get right in a lift. But I suspect a lot of lifts just aren't that complicated / risky.

 

[surfacehoar]

A fun fact about modern strength machines is that if you look at the wheel of the machine, it is often out of round. This is to match the natural strength curve that your body has. So the load is actually variable depending on where you are in the ROM of the rep.

Quad/Hip imbalance is fairly complicated. Both the quads and the hamstrings cross the knee joint as well as the hip. So you need to consider the function of both joints and all the muscles surrounding, not just the hamstrings and quads. Condensing this subject down as best I can; We sit on our ass too much. Our hips and knees are held constant at 90 degrees for. This is compounded with sleeping posture as well, many people sleep on their side, in a position that mimics sitting in a chair, that's where the muscles are comfortable. All of this causes some muscle to become short and tight (quad/calf), some muscles to be loose and long.Your ass muscles and core becomes lazy and inactive. Extra stress is placed on the spine and hamstrings making them injury prone.

There are pros/cons to every exercise. The only machines I tend to lead clients away from are the leg extension/leg curl. Isolation machines are great for aesthetic training, but if your goal is performance and health there are better uses of your time and energy.

I sponsor the local ski teams, they train out of my gym. They bring their own trainer but I've been their while they are working out a fair bit. They do use the leg press, specifically with the alpine racers. The freestyle guys are just goofing around for the most part. If I was training a ski racer, I would use the leg press to train lactic threshold. High volume, moderate weight, rep range shortened, pumping the quads until the burn is too much. Basic barbell training for their base strength, followed by lots of single leg exercises, plyometrics and body weight training.


If you are looking for a good posterior chain exercise, start with hamstring curls on a stability ball. Keep your hips up and don't let them fall. This forces your glutes to stabilize the hip. If you can perform this exercise sucessfully, you can try single leg versions. Then move on to assisted glute ham raises and then unassisted glute ham raise.

 

[Monique]

If you are looking for a good posterior chain exercise, start with hamstring curls on a stability ball. Keep your hips up and don't let them fall. This forces your glutes to stabilize the hip.

I had to do these for ACL rehab. OMG. They are no joke. (mental note: add to list for leg day)

 

[Rod9301]

Time to try the Google.

"The leg press machine is very bad mechanically for your body, because it does not allow your muscles/joints to perform in a functional manner and puts a tremendous amount of stress on your knees and lower back,” says Josh Stolz, a Tier 4 trainer at Equinox in New York City

You will get more favorable recommendation the lower you go on the training scale.

If you go to a gym that is full of strength machines, there's a whole 'nuther world out there.

I call bs on this advice
You have to remember that trainers get paid more the more you use them.
So instructing someone on the use of a leg press takes half an hour.

Instructing on how to squat might takes 10 days or more. So which one do you think a trainer would recommend?

Anyway, all you need to do is look at how works cup skiers train. They use leg presses extensively and also squats and many other exercises.

 

[no edge]

I call bs on this advice
You have to remember that trainers get paid more the more you use them.
So instructing someone on the use of a leg press takes half an hour.

Instructing on how to squat might takes 10 days or more. So which one do you think a trainer would recommend?

Anyway, all you need to do is look at how works cup skiers train. They use leg presses extensively and also squats and many other exercises.

This might be true, but correct form is an on going quest. You can only speak from experience if you give it a try. I keep using Crossfit and that can bug people. But going to Crossfit will expose you to correct lifting technique and extreme training that will get you in shape. (Though some could disagree). Lifting together in groups or partners is fun and educational - you become the analyzer. The talk during rest is helpful.

I think that you will love lifting correctly, tracking measurable gains and training with other people with similar goals. The WODs will kick your ass!

You don't have a personal trainer at Crossfit. The coach reviews the lift every time it is included. This is done in group. Proper ditching is taught. All weights are bumper - rubber coated, And many lifts include dropping.

I could go on and on. Keep in mind that Crossfit is not the only game in town with programing like this.

 

[no edge]

Most private trainers do a bunch of lifts during the session. At Crossfit, there is one strength feature prior to the beginning of the WOD. So every training day only one lift is done for pure strength. It might be something like "work to a 3 rep max, 4 attempts - dead-lifts 4 min rest between. This is a serious attempt to lift as much as possible for 3 reps. Typically the last rep is dropped (thus bumper). And on to the WOD.

This is not universal for Cross. Each owner runs his own programming.

The question... "who PRed". I never trained this way before, but man it works.

 

[Monique]

The question... "who PRed". I never trained this way before, but man it works.

Sounds like an excellent way for competitive people, like me, to injure themselves. It might work if you have self control ...

 

[no edge]

Sounds like an excellent way for competitive people, like me, to injure themselves. It might work if you have self control ...[/QUOTE

You'd be fine. It's a natural progression. The key is, "work up to a max..." I did not see injuries from that. The coaches monitor the weigh often moving the weight up.

One time two women were pressing and a 5 lb plate - steel, fell off. Landed on her foot. She was fine after a few days, but something like that can be serious.

Heavy lifting is where it's at. One woman is 76 and she came with osteoporosis. She's amazing and she can lift! Her doctor is amazed.