a few days ago i was racking up weights on the leg press machine but my gym teacher stopped me and told me that the leg press is bad for the joints and introduced me to the dead liftso im wondering:is the leg press really bad for the joints? (i was gonna leg press 3x my body weight,360 i weigh 120 lb, im dead serious! i cant gain weight for some reason :(,ps im not trying to brag))will the deadlift make a good substitution(for the leg press)?thanks!!
i assume you are talking about doing squats. It is a great exercise for the legs, but it can be hard on the lower back. The dead lift is used by powerlifters as it is said to stimulate muscle fibers in every part of the body including the legs. But use proper form because this lift is also hard on the lower back. A leg press machine minimizes back injury issues, but your coach is right. Heavy lifting is hard on the joints. As for weight gaining, that is a seperate issue.
Lol, that's weird, why would your school have that equipment if you can't use it. We have a leg press at our school and I use it all the time. I suppose it might have minor joint damage, but everything damages the joints! Going up stairs is bad for them, walking and running is bad for them. We can't avoid everything, that's why God gave us joints. Lol, were supposed to use them. : )
The leg press is perfectly safe. Just like with any machine or movement, they can all be dangerous if done improperly (using momentum or poor form with excessive weights). Additionally, I have no idea why he would use the dead lift as a substitute. 1. While the dead lift is an excellent exercise, it is much easier to perform incorrectly and therefore has an inherently larger chance to cause injury. 2. While the dead lift does work the legs. The primary muscles used are the back, shoulders and lats. The dead lift does not isolate the quads like the leg press and is more of an entire body movement where as the leg press is a pure leg movement.
