Leg Press Wide Stance
Also known as: Wide Stance Leg Press, Wide Leg Press, Sumo Leg Press
Track this exercise in SmartWorkout
Log sets, weights and progress for free, with no workout limits.
Description
Press the sled of a 45-degree leg press with your feet set wide and your toes turned out to train your quads and glutes without loading your spine. Most of the work lands on the front of your thighs, the glutes help out of the bottom, and many lifters feel a stretch along the inner thighs at full depth. Machine, seat and foot height match the regular leg press; only the width changes. Because your knees travel out, your thighs pass beside your ribs instead of into your belly, so most people sink deeper before the hips roll. Pick it if a hip-width stance feels cramped.
How to Perform
- Load the plates evenly on both sides of the sled, then sit all the way back with your hips down in the seat and your head on the pad.
- Place your feet flat at mid-height on the platform, clearly wider than your shoulders, each one near a side edge but fully on it.
- Turn your toes out about 15–30° so your feet point where your knees are going to travel.
- Press the sled off the stops, turn the safety handles out to free it, and hold the seat handles beside your hips.
- Bend your knees and let the sled come down over about two seconds, knees opening out in line with your toes.
- Stop at roughly 90° at the knee, or sooner if your tailbone starts to lift. Your thighs should pass beside your ribs.
- Drive back up through the whole foot with your heels down and knees pushed out, stopping just short of locking out.
- At the top of the final rep, turn the safety handles back in before you let the sled down onto them.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Sets of 10–15 reps suit most people here, often as the second leg exercise after squats or a regular leg press. Once all sets hit 15 at the same depth and foot position, add 10 kg (5 kg per side) and start again at 10. The empty sled weighs a different amount on every machine, so count the load the same way each time.
- Foot height is a separate dial. Higher on the platform bends your hips more and brings in more glutes; lower bends your knees more and loads the quads, as long as your heels stay down. "High and wide" is the usual glute setup.
- A pull in the groin or a pinch at the front of the hip means your feet are too wide or your toes aren't turned out enough. New to wide stances? Build depth over a few sessions before you go heavy.
- Substitutes: Leg Press with a hip-width stance if this one bothers your groin, Lever Horizontal Leg Press, and Sumo Squat With Smith or Sumo Squat once your hips like the position. To make this one harder without changing machines, pause for 2 seconds at the bottom.
Common Mistakes
- Knees caving in as you push out of the bottom. Keep them over your second or third toe all the way up, and drop the weight if they still drift.
- Toes pointing straight ahead with the feet this wide. The knees can't follow the feet, so the groin and the inside of the knee take the strain. Turn them out 15–30°.
- Feet hanging off the edges of the platform or rolling onto their inner edges. Bring them in until the whole foot stays flat at the bottom.
- Chasing depth until your tailbone curls off the pad. Stop just before the hips roll, or move your feet a little higher.
- Snapping the knees straight at the top. Stop a hair short of lockout so your legs stay loaded.
Recommended Exercises
Explore exercises related to Leg Press Wide Stance for legs training and similar movement patterns.
Choose a workout plan or create your own for free
Ready-made plans for every goal, a free plan creator, hundreds of exercises and an advanced workout journal: all in SmartWorkout.
