Leg Press good for runners?

Anything that will THICKEN your SCRAWNY/SKINNY runners legs is good for you.

Leg press is good, but squats and deadlifts are king. Make sure you go heavy, bro.

I need more muscle? wrote:

I was going to start doing some leg strength training. I did leg press yesterday and it made my legs quite sore. Is Leg Press good for runners?

Leg press is a useless exercise for runners. Start with bodyweight full squats; work up to 50 or 100.

Lifting is never "useless".

Learn and practice exceptional form. Nobody at the gym cares how much weight you lift. Lift with proper form and manageable weights.

Leg press is good if you starting out and want to gain confidence. When I was younger I started out with the hamstring curl machine and leg press, but quickly transitioned out of it. The quad extension machine is terrible and puts a lot of stress on the knee joint - don't use it.

The best exercises are dead lifts, squats, step-ups, and lunges. These exercises should be the staple of your lifting routines. Research proper form.

I found I was faster running 80 mpw and lifting 45 minutes twice a week than running 90 mpw. Lifting increases testosterone and cuts fat. I would typically weigh the same on both regimens, but instead of having 3 pounds of fat on me I substituted with 3 pounds of muscle.

Some lifting is worse than useless. In particular, hamstring curl is a bad exercise for runners that may well cause hamstring issues.

But I agree with your list of the best exercises, and in fact they are my basic routine.

The leg press is the best overall lower body exercise for everyone, including runners. Many strength coaches hate on it because they are indoctrinated into the false paradigm of modern gym broscience, which holds that only "hardcore" barbell exercises like squats and deadlifts are acceptable. F*ck em. They know literally less than nothing about exercise.

Box squats with bands. Deadlifts with chains. Low reps and high sets. Seriously.

Then again, none of you will listen anyway.

Junk Master wrote:

Box squats with bands. Deadlifts with chains. Low reps and high sets. Seriously.

Then again, none of you will listen anyway.

Perhaps if you proposed a program that was significantly more complete, people would take better notice of your ideas.

Junk Master wrote:

Box squats with bands. Deadlifts with chains. Low reps and high sets. Seriously.

Then again, none of you will listen anyway.

so when is nop taking a trip out to train with louie simmons

There might be five people here who know who Louie Simmons is.

Runners shouldn't lift like powerlifters. There's a difference between just basic heavy lifting and what PLers do.

Leg Press is not a horrible exercise but I could think of lots of reasons why the squat is better. It's not bro science, I could link you to research and even more important the opinions of professional S&C coaches. Squats are better for 99% of athletes.

Start with body weight and go from there. Keep in mind the heavier you go the more your technique will need to be on point.

Alan

Also, you're going to be sore pretty anytime you do something new or do something you haven't done in a while. Soreness does not equal progress.

I've posted my ideas before. Here is a summary:

For a stone cold beginner (which most runners would be):

1 month: body weight exercises

*twice a week

*squats, single leg deadlift, push-ups, inverted rows.

*circuit of 60s each, 15s rest.

*3-5 rounds

1 month: basic barbell instruction

*twice a week

*barbell squat, RDL, dips, pull-ups

*10 reps. Short of failure. Focus on technique

*2-3 sets

2 month: strength improvement

*twice a week

*same exercises as above

*5 reps

*warmup, ramp up to a max set.

*"2 for 2", if for two weeks you are able to lift 2 reps pass your goal then the next workout add 5-10lbs.

*Example: squat- 45x10, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5. Couple weeks later you are able to lift 155x7 for two straight workouts, the next workout go up to 160.

*for dips and pull-ups just leave it at body weight, 2-3 sets amrap

2 months: plyos and peak competition

*if race just once a week, if no race then twice a week

*box jump, speed squat (half squat), KB or DB swing, dips, pull-ups

*box jump: 2-3 sets of 5, increase ht each set

*speed squat: half of 5 rep wt, do 5 fast reps performing a half squat (approx 135 deg knee angle). 2-3 sets

*KB or DB swing. 25-35lb. 5 reps, 2-3 sets. Using only your hips swing the wt by hinging at the hip. The ht the wt reaches doesn't matter. Focus on powerful hip extension.

*dips/pull-ups the same as above

Alan

Lunges are king for runners. The single leg action is running related. Also, reverse lunges are easiest on the knees. I’ve seen a certain Ingebrigsten gold medalist doing this exercise. Doesn’t mean you can’t do leg press, squat, and deadlift. It’s just that they don’t correlate to distance running as much as the lunge.

If you are going to do a leg press it will depend on the machine…
Try and use one where the back rest can be adjusted. On one of the old fashioned 45 degree plate loaded machines when your legs are extended your glutes are not working maximally because the angle of your legs to your torso means that the gluts are not working at the angle for peak torque.
This is why squats are better, because at a point in the movement your quads, hamstrings and glutes are working at the angle of peak torque. However barbell squats have their own issues, as the spine is not a solid bone. It has many small muscles and connective tissue that is probably not designed to handle the same loads that the larger muscles of the legs and glutes can. Yes people will say use proper form, but we don’t live in a world where everyone or probably anyone does every rep perfectly.
Reps done with less than perfect form, or too deep so the lower back rounds, or ground out so that proper spine curves aren’t quite kept, might be negatively affecting the spine over time. For this reason, if you can have access to a hip belt squat, use it. It loads the legs, without loading the back. A split squat with the rear leg on the floor, holding dumbbells, ( no need to put the rear leg on a bench…causes the back to hyperextend) is a good alternative if you can keep your balance.
The step up is problematic…especially with a barbell across your shoulders. A couple of US college football players have been paralysed due to accidents with this exercise. I wouldn’t recommend it.
If you want to strengthen your vastus medialis…the tear drop muscle near your knee…which will help strengthen the area around the joint, research “terminal knee extensions”. They use the last top few degrees of the extension movement, but don’t use a machine.
Single leg glute bridges done from the floor rather than with the back on a bench or in one of those purpose built machines might be an option. Don’t put hundreds of pounds across your lap to bridge…another risk to the spine.
A 45 degree hypertension bench may be an option…but don’t go so low in the movement that your lower back rounds.
Finially don’t forget heel raises and tibialis raises to strengthen both sides of the lower leg. The tibialis raises may help protect against shin splints…

Yes leg presses are fine and s good exercise to start off it when your starting weightlitfing.

Nothing wrong with leg presses. But I would argue that barbell squats are superior. They require balancing and stabilization.

Why do an inferior movement? Sure it looks good to move a lot of weight. Squats is where you need to be.

What is the point of bodyweight squats (or squats with super light weight)? I'm old and out of shape by the standards of this board, and I've always been on the heavy side for a runner. Even I would find these so easy as to be useless.

The idea of hight reps/low weight weight training for runners is outdated and doesn't make much sense. If you want to build endurance, just run. If you want to build strength, lift heavy. No point in splitting the difference and lifting light.