How To Properly Do Leg Extensions & Leg Curls

Let’s be real here, I used to dread leg day. I never felt like my legs were adequate enough or up to par with the rest of my physique. One day, I decided to stop making excuses and really chase after a goal of growing these babies! I was able to start seeing a lot of growth when I really nailed down proper form and stayed consistent. BLAH BLAH BLAH – you are being told all the time to be consistent right? Well, it’s time to start listening. No more excuses.

Are you looking to build bigger quads and hamstrings? Leg extensions and curls have been two crucial exercises used to really add size to my quads and hamstrings. These exercises I’m going to walk you through will really isolate these muscle groups. You will not believe the HUGE PUMP that follows from these exercises if done correctly! Leg extensions and curls are great for pre-exhausting your legs before heavier compound movements or being used as a finisher at the end of your workout. I am going to walk you through the proper form for these exercises as well as a great way to really deepen the burn and amplify your sets. You will get amazing results once you start doing these ACCURATELY and staying CONSISTENT! LET’S GROW SOME LEGS!

Leg Extensions – The Set-Up

When you sit in a leg extension machine, there are plenty of ways to get set up based on your size and stature, but you need to make sure you do the following appropriately:

• Your back needs to be sitting all the way back against the pad with your butt planted.
• Your knee caps should be flush with the end of the butt pad.
• Make sure your head stays pointed forward so your spine is straight.
• The bottom pad should hit your shins right above your feet.
• Keep your feet flexed (upward (dorsiflexion), not pointed (plantar flexion)).

Making sure you have FULL RANGE OF MOTION is extremely important! You need to be able to fully squeeze and contract your quads on every rep. Make sure you are feeling the exercise and having good mind-muscle connection. Now that we’ve identified how you should be seated, we are ready to move on to feet placement!

Leg Extensions – Feet Placement

Where you place your feet will determine what part of your quads you are hitting. The closer your feet are together, the more outer quad (vastaus lateralis) you will be hitting.

The wider your feet placement, the more inner quad (vastus medialis / tear drop) you’ll be hitting. Having a nice shoulder-width feet placement is great for hitting everything overall.

Leg Curls – The Set-Up

The same thing applies here for the leg curl in regards to sitting in the machine (this is for a seated leg curl as opposed to a lying leg curl). Make sure you follow these guidelines:

• Keep your back planted against the back pad.
• Make sure your head is looking forward, keeping your spine straight.
• Your knees should be in line with the pivot point of the machine.
• The bottom pad should be placed on the very bottom of your calves with your toes pointed forward and your legs straight.

The next and last step is very important! Just like the leg extension, make sure you have a FULL RANGE OF MOTION and squeeze and contract your hamstrings!

Amplify Your Leg Extensions

If you’re looking to take your leg extensions to the next level, try this out! You will want a partner/spotter.

Once you are only a couple reps from failure on your set of leg extensions, have your partner lift the leg pad barely off of your legs at the top of the movement. You’ll want to squeeze your quads as hard as you can for 3-5 seconds. You should have little to no weight resting on you, but it will not feel this way. Embrace the burn!! After about 5 seconds, your partner will let go of the pad, resting it back on your legs, and you’ll slowly lower the weight back down, getting a great negative rep in as well (control is important here)! Try to get at least 3-5 more reps like this and your legs will be SCREAMING!!!

Amplify Your Leg Curls

We are virtually using the same method for the leg curls as we did with the leg extensions. Again, you will need a partner/spotter.

Once you almost hit failure on your set with a couple of reps left in you, have your partner push the bottom leg pad all the way in with his/her foot taking the tension off of your legs. At the bottom of the movement you will be squeezing your hamstrings as hard as you can for 3-5 seconds. Your partner will release their hold on the leg pad and you will slowly control the weight back up getting another great negative rep here as well. Continue this for another 3-5 reps.

Conclusion

Whether you are just starting your lifting career or you’ve been at it for years, the leg extension and curl are great additions to your leg day workout! Make sure you’re doing the form correctly and have FULL RANGE OF MOTION! If you’re ready for the next level and have a training partner, you will love the amplified sets! The PUMP will be unreal! Go get those leg gains!