There is no leg pressing machine at the gym so a lot of people use smith machine as an alternative of it for "wide stance leg press"

they lie down on the floor and Push the bar up using legs

is it a good idea ?

Is this what it looks like :D

Leg press machine is a machine so no stabilization needed, if you only want to add more bulk to your legs and nothing else it's a good move.

Squats are legs + almost whole body but mostly legs, so i would go with squats instead. You get more out of it for your body in my opinion. and i don't think you'd ask this if you were already a few years into fitness. Not that i'm an expert either but leg press is just for legs and i think a nice back and core looks better.

yeah this is what I mentioned but not with free weights. this one looks scarry 😬 

I got your point but in my case I have both of squat and legs pressing machine in my routine (LEGS C) besides I am worry about something.. it can be dangerous to the back and the spine for example

by the way you are from Izmir. greetings from Balıkesir but I am not turkish I am Syrian

I get what you mean let's see what Scott says, probly to find an alternative because in the end you want to work legs thats it.

I'm in Bursa now so close to Balıkesir like an hour. You still thre ?

Yeah I mean you can go with that smith machine leg press (I wouldn't suggest doing with with a barbell and no support.. lol). But some other options you have are bulgarian split squats, static lunges, walking lunges, or step-ups if you want to choose a free weight alternative.

This works great - wide or close feet placement - and I do it frequently. The Smith Machine provides balance and safety. Overhead leg press in this manner is harder than 45 degree leg press as the weight is over your head putting the full effect of gravity on your legs. The 45 degree leg press actually only presents a load equivalent to 70% of the actual weight due to the angle and basic physics.

John

Yeah I am working in Balıkesir now

Nooo way I won't do it with a free weight haha

So bulgarian split squats or static lunges or smith machine ? what is the best option for me bro ?

I understand better now thanks

-This leads to an another question: what is the right bar position of the smith machine ? exactly over my thighs for example ?

-how much should I lower my legs when I do it ? as much as I can or I should be careful ?

It depends if you want to focus more on quads or hamstrings/glutes.

To focus more on quads, you want the bar further from your hips. To focus on hams and glutes, you want the bar more over the hips. A closer foot placement focuses more on the entire quads. A wider foot placement targets more the inner thighs.

Go as deep as you comfortably can based on hip and knee flexibility. Given your issues with hip flexibility, I would not go too heavy or too deep until your hips have more flexibility.

John

Well I am not so sure what to target more, because If I do it with smith machine it is an alternative of "Wide-Stance Leg press" workout in (LEGS C) routine

maybe other exercises in it already targeted other muscles. I dont want to miss up with the routine system

What I am trying to say that I am not a qualified person to do it hahaha

Maybe you can help me with choosing what is the best for me @jmboiardi

Don't worry too much about finding an identical replacement to the leg press. Any of those exercises will be good because, like the leg press, they target every part of the legs. If you want to go ahead and give the smith machine leg press a shot, you totally can - it will enable to to at least put a fairly decent load on your legs like you would be getting with the leg press.

Any leg workouts you do and the exercises you choose should ensure you stress the entire quads and puts equal emphasis on the outer and inner sweeps - so as to have balance and equal leg development. Whether you use the Smith Machine or not or do wide or close feet placement is up to you. What is more important is you find the exercises that you feel target your legs the best. It is OK if you modify some of Scott's programs. They are intended as framworks from which you can further tailor to meet your individual needs.

John