Never start a 400 pound leg press without warming up with lighter weights first. Not to mention squats, lunges, split squats, leg press, and other compound lifts work your quads better. Yes, leg extensions are bad for your knee and ACL. They then justify the leg curl, defending it as the best way to work the hamstrings, as if it possessed none of the issues associated with the leg extension. I’m obviously kidding, well partially, but the point I’m getting at is the leg extension has always been innocent. I recently did an interview with my friend and colleague, Nick Tumminello about the pros and cons of the leg extension. For example, no studies have documented people tearing ligaments while doing leg extensions, and while knee pain is a risk with all lower body activities, it can be avoided on leg extensions by limiting the motion to the very last 20 degrees of knee extension. Most gyms have some type of back extension equipment, be it a Roman chair or a larger machine with attached weight stack. I was surprised to see that the Leg Extension machine was one of the ones listed, especially since it's one of the go-to leg exercises for most people. Repeat this movement several times and do the same number of reps for each leg. This causes shearing forces on the knees, which means the force is … So I recently read an online article on Men's Health about machines that are more harmful than helpful. Even outside of rehab, many people will be able to … Leg extensions as noted above are great if you go light and high rep and use them to simply bring out the quads and tighten the knee from the front. 5. FULL 12 WEEK PUSH, PULL, LEGS PROGRAM! "does leg extension exercise bad for knees ? But if you're experiencing leg press knee pain while lifting, it might be time to check your technique. That's typically my leg day. They also work the muscles less well than a compound exercise. I may knock out two or three sets of leg extensions for 15-20 repetitions and then immediately go to either the leg press or the smith machine to knock out leg presses or light squats. It's true that there is more sheer force in the patellofemoral joint, and that it can aggravate issues with patella tracking, but it has clinical use. Many people think that squatting is bad for your knees. In natural motions, such as squats and lunges, there is very shearing force on the knee. Update: The leg extension, along with hack and sissy squats, are the best exercises to develop the rectus femoris, the V-shaped two-headed muscle on the upper middle portion of the front thigh.The single-joint action at the knee allows this muscle to actively lengthen and shorten, leading to more intense contractions impossible through compound exercises like the squat or leg press. The only time I completely agree that Leg Extensions are bad, is when ego lifting takes over rational, and people start loading up more weight than what can be handled. One-leg leg press. This results into ripped muscles and tendons. One word of caution though. Warm-up Exercise Leg Extensions. Instead, the problem is usually in application. However, driving your knees forward with Front Squats, High Bar Back Squats, Forward Lunges, Hack Squats do the same thing to some degree, as well. But are leg extensions really bad? Meaning, how they tend to be done is problematic. Not going light will chop up the meniscus at lock out and cause tracking issues etc.. Without a doubt, the leg extension debate is one of the most heated in the fitness industry today. Answered by Dr. Peter Ihle: It depends on what U: … The leg extension is like that kid in High School who sits in … Like a really high bridge that’ll cripple them out of the industry so they can’t regurgitate bad advice anymore. 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