Leg Press Bad?

Is there any reason why I shouldn't be doing 45 Degree plate loading leg presses? I saw that they shouldn't be done, but couldn't find an explanation why.

Unless given good reason, I'm going to continue to alternate them with squats.. THey've been working great for me, and I'm realizing that no matter how much weight I keep adding, I can keep up with them!

Thanks,

As long as you're using a good foot position and not lifting your hips up and rounding your lower back at the bottom, I don't see a problem with them (ie- use good form).

Ari

There's your reason right there.

-Scott Johnson 'Always with the excuses for small legs. People like you are why they only open the top half of caskets.' -Tommy Bowen

They're good enough for pro bodybuilders like Dorian Yates. So it's nonsense to make a blanket claim that leg presses are a 'bad' exercise. Whether or not they're a good exercise for *you* depends on your goals.

The fact that you can move a lot of weight with them doesn't make it a better exercise, and it doesn't mean they're working great for you, though they certainly appear to be 'working great for' your ego.

Well I just started doing them, and my form is solid, so that's why I mentioned it

It just that it very quickly gets impossible to add sufficient weight. There's a guy at my gym, probably 6' 1', 220lbs, low bf%, who puts every plate he can on the machine, plus 4-5 extra 45's on the top.

He can squat about 250 for a triple.

-Scott Johnson 'Always with the excuses for small legs. People like you are why they only open the top half of caskets.' -Tommy Bowen