Sled 45° Leg Press

1. Sit into the machine with your back and hips flat against the pads.
2. Place your feet on the platform about shoulder width apart, roughly in the middle of the plate.
3. Press the platform up slightly and release the safety handles.
4. Lower the platform under control by bending your knees toward your chest.
5. Descend until your knees reach about a 90 degree bend, or as deep as you can without your lower back curling off the pad.
6. Press through your whole foot to drive the platform back up.
7. Stop just short of locking your knees out hard at the top, keeping tension on the legs.
8. After the final rep, re-engage the safety handles before releasing the platform.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the lower back roll off the pad: going so deep that the hips tuck under transfers load onto the lumbar spine. Only lower as far as your hips can stay glued to the seat.
• Slamming into knee lockout: snapping the knees straight under heavy load stresses the joint. Finish each rep just short of a hard lockout.
• Half: repping with too much weight: tiny bounces at the top do little for the legs. Use a load you can lower to a full 90 degree knee bend under control.
• Pressing through the toes: letting the heels lift shifts strain to the knees. Drive through the mid-foot and heel with the whole foot flat on the platform.