The squat may be considered the king of leg exercises, but the leg press is a great way to minimize glute and hamstring involvement while preferentially overloading the quadriceps. But which of the four quad muscles does the brunt of the work- the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius or rectus femoris?
To find out, Japanese scientists measured EMG activity of the medialis and lateralis during leg presses performed with a narrow, normal, and wide stance. They skipped the rectus femoris because it does little work on the leg press, and the vastus intermedius muscle is too deep to measure properly.
Japanese researchers from the University of Tsukuba(lbaraki) had male volunteers perform the leg press using 75% of their one-rep max with a narrow stance (feet almost together), medium stance (about shoulder width) and a wide stance (wider than shoulder-width apart). During each exercise, the scientists measured activity of the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis by attaching electromyography (EMG) electrodes to each muscle. They were surprised to find that regardless of foot position, the vastus madialis appeared to have the highest muscular activity. It was highest - 43% higher than the lateralis- with a narrow-stance leg press
.
To target all four quad muscles during your leg workout, be sure to include a wide variety of exercise choices, such as the leg press to concentrate on the vastus medialis, the hack squat to target the vastus lateralis, the leg extension to hit the rectus femoris and vastus intermedius, and of course barbell squats to work all four.
(TIM SCHEETT)
To find out, Japanese scientists measured EMG activity of the medialis and lateralis during leg presses performed with a narrow, normal, and wide stance. They skipped the rectus femoris because it does little work on the leg press, and the vastus intermedius muscle is too deep to measure properly.
Japanese researchers from the University of Tsukuba(lbaraki) had male volunteers perform the leg press using 75% of their one-rep max with a narrow stance (feet almost together), medium stance (about shoulder width) and a wide stance (wider than shoulder-width apart). During each exercise, the scientists measured activity of the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis by attaching electromyography (EMG) electrodes to each muscle. They were surprised to find that regardless of foot position, the vastus madialis appeared to have the highest muscular activity. It was highest - 43% higher than the lateralis- with a narrow-stance leg press
.
TIP
To target all four quad muscles during your leg workout, be sure to include a wide variety of exercise choices, such as the leg press to concentrate on the vastus medialis, the hack squat to target the vastus lateralis, the leg extension to hit the rectus femoris and vastus intermedius, and of course barbell squats to work all four.
(TIM SCHEETT)
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