Leg Press safety....

[Ibanez]

I am starting to really get into Leg Press now, and I have noticed that on my last few reps of my working sets, the lower lumber region is getting shall we say 'sensitive' I try and watch my form especially so with leg press, as I am lifting heavier weights than most other exercises. In the interests of safety I am thinking of using a lifting belt when I do this exercise for greater support. Any thoughts, or has anyone else encountered similar experience on the lower back region?

[brettdogg]

yes i just recently experienced this where i strained my lower back doing legs. take a little time off like a week or two for legs and try not to strain it. then get the lifting belt for support with legs and back. and also try to do excercises for your lower back to build the area and try to tough it out. mine is feeling much better now.

[Ibanez]

Dang-Thats too bad :( I am just loving 'destroying' the quads with the leg press, but I would rather take a week off than be forced to take a much longer period off if I tried to push through anything, if my body is telling me something....

[brettdogg]

if your back is bothering you try an anti inflamatory. i have prednisone in the house but you need a prescription for that.

[brettdogg]

yeah i would just wait til it feels right then get the belt for support it helps alot

[Ibanez]

Back again...literally..lol. Ok so I dropped down in leg press to 410 lbs for legs yesterday, and the sensitivity was still evident. Definitely not painful, just noticeable. 220 lbs on leg extensions, 175 lbs on hamstrings and 235 lbs on calf raises produced no discomfort of feeling in the lower back, so I think the lifting belt could be a good idea.....
Cheers

[ghostwheel]

I had a conversation with my chiropractor about belts for lifting. Unfortunately he left me more confused. He said he KNOWS that belts really don't actually do any good, BUT mentally it gives you confidence in your strength. Then I asked him if he uses a belt and he said "YES". I asked him why does he use one if he knows it doesn't actually physically do any good. He just laughed and said something about the mind being important in lifting not just the muscles.

Now I have to figure out how to get a good pump in my brain! :lol:

[wedgylx]

the main thing with legg presses is to MAKE SURE your glutes are not leaving the seat! I notice i cheat toward the end of my sets and let my ass rise...thats when i notice back pain

[Ibanez]

I know what you mean Wedgy. When performing leg press, I try and force my butt and lower back into the angle of the seat firmly so I don't move it at all. While I may not be doing 2,000 lbs or the like, I am still doing enough to be dangerous with bad form, so I think I have the form spot on. I am doing a few warm up sets prior to working sets, but I have also increased my weight on the leg press by about 60 lbs in the past few weeks. The only thing I can think of is that the increase of that amount is such a short time could be a factor. I always train to near failure on leg press (kinda difficult to get a spotter for that one..lol) so I think I will back the weight off again and ease my way up into it once I start feeling not so strained by the weight....

[wedgylx]

also, you can use your hands to spot yourself on a forced rep as long as you dont arch your back

[snorkster]

Hi, new to this forum, but I've been trainiing for about 8 yrs now, and at one time lifted heavy espically legs, but as far as the lower back...so far I'm the only one in my family who HASN'T had back surgery my younger sister and two older brothers and my mother have all gone under the knife, amyway every time I do legs the next day I feel it iin my lower back , my doctor told me I do have a weak lower back so I stopped lifting heavy, I train legs twice a week, still feel it in the back but not like I used to.
Listen to your body! my doctor told me the fact that I train is helping my back
but it will always be my weak spot, so I train but I am careful about it