However, the authors of the study were quick to note that the differences were a small, albeit significant, 2%-7% difference. The squat might be the King of lower body exercises. Even though both the exercises are know for their many benefits in improving leg strength, there has always been a debate over which is the best exercise for legs. Although the leg press is a good workout addition, especially if you want to build strong quads, the potential for injury may be greater than with squats. 2000 But the leg press is definitely his army general, not afraid to wage war on your quads when the time is needed. First aim was describing Smith machine squat and leg press exercise as nominal load, knee extensors activity, and rating of perceived exertion. Hell, kicking a soccer ball at full strength would most likely register a lot higher on a surface EMG than a 1RM squat. For several years the fight over which exercise is better for legs has been doing the rounds and unfortunately none of them has managed to found a clear winner. An EMG Comparison Study of a Leg Press and a Squat Lift Melissa James MPT, Heidi Ivesdal, Thomas Mohr PT, PhD, John Frappier MS Dept. Though leg presses and squats work the same muscle groups, they do so from slightly different angles and with greater emphasis on one group or the other.

Biomechanics research on the knee has demonstrated that during the squat and leg press, the tibia slides backward. Leg Press. Bigger Bodyparts. 5 EMG activity was recorded from the erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (GM), vastus lateralis (VL), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles. Joseph M. Horrigan, D.C. Share. Tweet. Second aim was developing predictive equations to provide same muscular activation and same perceived exertion nominal loads during the two exercises. Squats The squat is the workhorse of exercise movements because it calls on muscles of the entire body. Subjects. The analysis method used was electromyographic (EMG) activity. One thing to also keep in mind is that when it comes to hamstrings, Romanian deadlifts really are king in terms of EMG activation (as shown here). Before I conducted my EMG studies, I too, would've sworn that the leg press activated more quad than the squat, at least for taller guys like me (I'm 6'4").

Because squats and leg presses work similar muscles it can be tempting to choose one (usually the one you hate least) and skip the other. Though they target the same areas, the exercises work together for optimal muscle building and toning. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle recruitment during a leg press and a traditional squat lift.

The best two out of the three are the leg press and barbell squat – though there are hardcore hack machine users who swear that the hack machine is the best. That might be a bad move. 5 The exercises performed were the leg press and the barbell squat lift. The leg press also works the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Q: Is there any significant difference between the squat and leg press with respect to the muscles involved?Can I get by with doing one or the other, or do I need to perform both? But although I "feel" the leg press working my quads more than I do the squat, the EMG told me a completely different story. Squat vs. Leg Press Maximal Strength and Speed Strength.

Over the course of an eight week period, 78 people were studied to determine how back squats compare to leg presses using the 45 degree machine. In fact, around 60% of my readers feel that the hip thrust (40%) or barbell glute bridge (19%) is the best glute exercise (see HERE for the results to a poll), with the remaining 40% coming from the squat (8%), deadlift (7%), Bulgarian split squat (6%), kettlebell swing (5%), single leg RDL (4%), lunge (4%), single leg hip thrust (3%), and back extension (3%).