Squats Have A Couple Of Key Advantages Over Leg Presses
When you think of leg workouts, what moves come to mind? Let me guess: Exercises like squats and leg presses. And rightly so!
Squats are perhaps the quintessential lower-body exercise, challenging both your strength and balance—and easy to do at the gym or at home with anything from a kettlebell to a barbell, or no equipment at all.
Leg presses meanwhile, are a fast-track to feeling strong AF (just ask J.Lo), making them a gym-goer's dream. All you have to do is load up the plates and push, push, push to feel like your workout was a success.
Though squats and leg presses certainly have their differences, they both help you build lower-body strength, which is a must for everything from lugging heavy groceries up the stairs to keeping up with your running habit injury-free.
That said, there's plenty of leg press vs. squat debate out there. Can you swap your squats for leg presses and reap the same benefits? Is the machine move safer than squatting?
We've done the, ahem, heavy lifting for you, and reached out to trainers in order to answer some common FAQs (and clear up any confusion) about these two moves.
The Differences Between Squats And Leg Presses
Squats and leg presses might both be leg-day staples, but they're far from identical exercises. "Squats are a full-body compound movement," says Lauren Kanski, CPT, RYT, WH advisor and founder of The K Method. That means that, in addition to your legs, they involve your core, hips, and upper body, too, in order to stabilize your bod while you move up and down.
Meanwhile, "leg presses isolate the legs (quads and hamstrings) a lot more, since you are in a seated position," she explains.
How To Squat—And Which Muscles Squats Work
There's a reason the squat is a major part of most workout programs: "It's probably our most-used movement pattern throughout the day," says Kanski.
To perform a squat: Start standing with feet hip-width distance apart, or just wider. Inhale and bend at knees and hips to lower seat towards floor, while keeping chest as upright as possible. When thighs are about parallel to floor (or you reach the end of the range of motion that feels comfortable for you), exhale and push through feet to stand back up.
This classic movement primarily lights up your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and core stabilizer muscles, Kanski explains. Holding weights also increases the involvement of your upper body.
How To Leg Press—And Which Muscles Leg Presses Work
Since leg presses require some serious machinery, they're only really a staple of gym workouts. And, in contrast to squats, you begin with your knees bent and drive your legs out, Kanski says.
To perform a leg press: Start seated in an appropriately loaded leg press machine with feet flat on the sled platform about hip-width distance apart, or just wider. The sled should be at the bottom of the track, so knees are bent. Gripping the machine handles, brace core and push through feet to extend legs until straight, but not locked out, without lifting back or butt up out of the seat. Then, slowly and with control, bend at knees to lower sled back to starting position.
Since leg presses are performed in a seated position, your core and hips don't work in the same way they do in a squat, explains Kanski. As a result, your legs alone fire up.
The Pros Of Leg Presses
If you really want to target your quads, you can usually handle more weight on the leg press machine than you could in a squat, Kanski says. Plus, thanks to the safety bars that prevent an out-of-control leg press sled from crashing down on you, you can use the machine without a squatter, which is a plus if you want to do leg day sans a gym buddy to spot you.
The leg press machine is also pretty beginner-friendly, making it great for leg day newbies, adds trainer Tatiana Firpo, CPT. Plus, it's a great option for anyone with an injury that might affect their ability to squat, like a tweaky back.
The Cons Of Leg Presses
While leg presses have their perks, they're not exactly a functional exercise, meaning they don't mimic the types of movements you make in everyday life. "When in nature are we in a seated position, driving a large weight up with our legs?" Kanski posits.
Plus, if you want as much strength-building, calorie-burning bang for your buck, a leg press can't offer the same benefits of, say, a full-body squat-to-press, Firpo adds.
Of course, you also need a well-equipped gym in order to do leg presses, so they're not exactly home workout-friendly.
How To Switch Up Your Leg Presses
With these pros and cons in mind, there are a few leg press variations you can try to bank more benefits from the machine.
"One way you can mix up the leg press is with tempo," says Firpo. "You can move quicker on the extension, then slow it down on the way back." Try extending your legs to the count of two and lowering the sled back down to the count of four.
Another way to spice things up: adjusting your foot position. For example, "you can turn your toes outward a bit to target your inner thighs," Firpo suggests.
How To Use The Leg Press Machine Safely
Though the leg press may be easier to nail than the squat, that doesn't mean it's foolproof.
First things first: "Don’t lock your knees out at the end of your press," says Kanski. "This can be hard on your joints."
And, "even though you can generally lift more weight with a press, be careful to not overload your muscles," Firpo adds. If you can't do a few solid reps with your butt and back firmly planted in the seat, ease off.
The Pros Of Squats
The biggest benefit of the squat is one that bears repeating: "It’s a movement pattern that we use multiple times throughout the day—as we get out of bed, get up from dinner the table, and get in and out of our cars," says Kanski.
A strong core is a MUST for quality squats. Check out this bodyweight abs workout:
Unlike leg presses, squats "require more than one muscle group to activate, burning more calories, and proving more effective in building overall strength," Firpo adds.
And since you perform squats standing up, they also improve your coordination, balance, and overall physical performance, she says.
The Cons Of Squats
Though squats offer more potential payoff, they also come with some challenges. "Squats require a certain amount of mobility in your hips, ankles, and knees," Firpo says. "If you're tight in certain areas or have muscle imbalances, or some muscles compensating for others, it can be hard to perform a squat correctly."
Basically, they're a lot easier to do improperly than leg presses. "Form is crucial and there’s a lot of room for error," Kanski says. For this reason, it's important to nail bodyweight squats before adding—and to progress your load slowly.
How To Switch Up Your Squats
If you can do basic squats in your sleep, a few tweaks can offer slightly different perks.
"I really like sumo squats and jump squats," says Firpo. Sumo squats, which you perform with a wide stance and toes turned slightly outward, fire up your inner-thigh muscles, a.k.a. adductors. Jump squats, in which you explode up off the floor from your squat position, meanwhile, burn major calories and develop your power.
How To Squat Safely
Kanski recommends incorporating movements like glute bridges and forearm planks into your dynamic warmup to prep your body to perform squats safely with proper form. Then, when you squat, Firpo recommends keeping the following cues in mind:
straight spine
active core
weight split evenly between feet, and back in heels
Finally, keep in mind that loading your squats in different ways may affect you differently. "A back squat may feel very different than a front or goblet squat," Kanski says. "Figure out what feels best for you and start there."
When To Opt For Leg Presses vs. Squats
Now that you're a leg press vs. squat expert, know this: both exercises have a proper time and place in your workout routine.
"If you want more of a full body movement, know your form is correct, or have no limitations, go for a squat," says Firpo. "If you want to isolate your quad muscle or keep pressure off your spine, though, go for a leg press."
You can even incorporate both moves into the same workout. "I view the leg press as an accessory lift to the squat," Kanski says. "They go really well together." To truly blast your quads, hit the leg press machine after squatting.
The bottom line: Both leg presses and squats have a place in your lower-body workouts. While squats involve more muscles and test your balance, leg presses isolate your legs and allow you to lift heavier loads.
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