Leg Presses WON’T Build Your Glutes!

The leg press is a popular gym leg exercise that many use in an attempt to build up their glutes. The problem is, this lower body exercise will not do a good job for getting bigger glutes. Here’s why. It starts with a discusion about the function of the glute muscles.

We know that they are most responsible for hip extension. This means that they take the straight leg from a position in front of the body to a position behind the body. Now there is a difference between even the functions of the different glute muscles. The glute maximus is responsible for bringing the leg straight back while the glute medius will do so while externally rotating the hip.

The development of both of these glute muscles is important if you want to have rounder glutes.

That said, when you look at the range of motion that occurs during a leg press you will see that it is very incomplete for targeting the glutes. It starts from a position of about 145 degrees of hip flexion and finishes without ever getting to hip extension, or even a neutral hip position for that matter.

Now while some will want you to believe that the stretch position is the only portion of the range of motion that matters for development, this is just plain uninformed. Full rangeo of motion training is still superior for the multiple benefits it provides over partial ROM training when you look beyond the limited scope of just hypertrophy. When we talk about leg training we definitely want to be sure that we do not forego function in the pursuit of size.

Now some will tell you that if you simply shift your foot placement higher up on the leg press platform that you will get better hip and glute recruitment. This is true. When it comes to quad development, you will definitely be better served to have your feet lower on the platform. Getting your feet higher however will shift the focus more to the posterior chain muscles.

The issue is, this still doesn’t address the limited range of motion that occurs for the glutes and hip muscle on this exercise. In fact, it may actually make it even worse.

If you want to build bigger glutes then you would be much better served doing exercises like the hip buck or barbell hip thrusts. The cable pullthrough is another great exercise for hitting the glutes. If you want to take advantage of the stretch range of motion more then performing an exercise like the barbell RDL would also be a viable option.

The extreme degree of posterior pelvic tilt is also another negative factor in the case against leg presses for building glutes. If the exercise might eventually lead to pain and discomfort in the SI joint, then once again, it may not be the best option for you to build your glutes with. There are simply better options like the ones listed above.

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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).