I have been lamenting about my deficient leg press abilities. I know that my leg strength is uneven but what I did not know was by how much. I thought the leg press machine could provide me with concrete data. I called my sister and asked her if I could use her home gym. When I arrived, she showed me how the equipment and the weight plates worked. She has a Body Solid home gym. She went back upstairs and left me to work out. I did a few warm up sets and started to increase the weight. I was disappointed and confused by the results.
Over the next few weeks, I worked on increasing the weight of my leg press. I even consulted my PT with the results. It was a good conversation but I could not help feeling as if she was a bit concerned. I had no idea what I was able to leg press prior to ACLr. The last time I used a leg press was my senior year in high school. I signed up for the track team because there was not a girl's softball team. I was terrible. I started as a triple jumper and was also assigned to throw shot put. The coach was just trying to fill the spots so he sent me to the weight room.
I searched the Internet to find out what people are able to leg press. I found that Madeline Albright could leg press 400 pounds and that Pat Robertson could leg press 2,000 pounds. Many weight lifting sites would argue the value of a leg press as compared to a squat. There is a leg press test that evaluates athletes lower body strength. Finally, I researched leg press machines and how they work. For those familiar with gym equipment, you can start laughing now at my naivete. I made an interesting discovery. Some home gym leg press machines work on a 2:1 ratio. I immediately called my sister and asked her if her leg press was a 2:1 ratio. She did not know but she gave me the make and model of her machine. I quickly discovered that my 60 lb single leg press was actually 120 lbs. Thank goodness!
Over the next few weeks, I worked on increasing the weight of my leg press. I even consulted my PT with the results. It was a good conversation but I could not help feeling as if she was a bit concerned. I had no idea what I was able to leg press prior to ACLr. The last time I used a leg press was my senior year in high school. I signed up for the track team because there was not a girl's softball team. I was terrible. I started as a triple jumper and was also assigned to throw shot put. The coach was just trying to fill the spots so he sent me to the weight room.
I searched the Internet to find out what people are able to leg press. I found that Madeline Albright could leg press 400 pounds and that Pat Robertson could leg press 2,000 pounds. Many weight lifting sites would argue the value of a leg press as compared to a squat. There is a leg press test that evaluates athletes lower body strength. Finally, I researched leg press machines and how they work. For those familiar with gym equipment, you can start laughing now at my naivete. I made an interesting discovery. Some home gym leg press machines work on a 2:1 ratio. I immediately called my sister and asked her if her leg press was a 2:1 ratio. She did not know but she gave me the make and model of her machine. I quickly discovered that my 60 lb single leg press was actually 120 lbs. Thank goodness!