leg press is underrated in my opinion for increasing vert, cz ur purely working legs and hip extension contrary to popular belief...ie there's no back involvement

squats are sort of forms of good mornings, and work the lower back a lot

from my xp rotating the exercises every few weeks gives me the most explosive results

Leg press is so much easier than a squat that it is not funny. You will benefit much more from squatting than from leg pressing. Leg press if you want quad size by all means but don't expect great gains in athleticism.

__________________
Height 5'7 Reach approx 7'0
BW @ 23 Jul 08: 145lbs (>13%bf)
Re-training start: Jul 08 (post injury+3 mths rehab)

Vertical Training Forum:www.theverticalsummit.com

there's a article in the website that talks about leg press and squat.

Exercise Selection for Vertical Jump Training

bluegreyhound leg press still uses alot of hip muscles as well as quads...mixed with ham curls and deadlft variations its wicked...last night hit the rim with my wrist from 2 foot after 2 sessions of what i just described..highest ever

its way easier i think because theres no upper body involvement..so u isolate ur legs and pelvis more..so u can work at a higher intensity

I know that you can work the leg muscles with leg pressing. I just want to emphasise how much easier it is than squatting even if you just consider the hip and leg muscles alone. There are various reasons why this is so, but I think you know them. To give you an example of how much easier they are, before my injury, I maxed out with 3 reps of 140kg, just over 300lbs. I used to warm down after squatting with a couple sets of 10-15 of 300-350lbs in the leg press. Squatting is a better foundation for olympic lifts if you want to use them as a training tool. Squatting has better carryover to faster sprinting speed/acceleration too. If you want to get more technical, you may wish to consider the pros and cons of closed kinetic chain v open kinetic chain exercises.

One thing the leg press is useful for is working the quads to exhaustion in a relatively safe environment. Bodybuilders like using the leg press and smith machine in this respect due to the way they train and the volumes they use. One thing I want to point out is that you can injury yourself in a leg press machine - keep you but down on the set and back set into the pad. Lastly, not all leg press machines are equal. Some designs are better than others. I prefer the inclined one where you chuck on real weights/plates.

__________________
Height 5'7 Reach approx 7'0
BW @ 23 Jul 08: 145lbs (>13%bf)
Re-training start: Jul 08 (post injury+3 mths rehab)

Vertical Training Forum:www.theverticalsummit.com

yeahh im talking about the decline one and putting plates on them...u use higher weights surely because you're isolating your legs..squats include a lot of back work

You use higher weights for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is the angle of your body involved in the leg press movement. This gives you a significant mechanical advantage in itself. In theory, a 45 degree press (very common) will allow you to press almost 50% more weight than your best squat. In practice the difference is more than that because the squat involves smaller stabilising muscles as well (i.e. less isolation) as well as the muscles in the upper body.

One thing that people should not consider is the research that shows that the CNS is what stimulates muscle growth, not the muscle stress per se. The CNS recognises the load on overall musculature in the squat and the ensuing hormonal response results in greater protein syntheisis (i.e. bigger and strong muscles). The CNS also gets used to exerting force in a manner that is closer in reality to the athletic movement, meaning that there should be greater carryover to athletic sports. As I said before, leg press is a tool that is fine for bodybuilding purposes. For everyone else, just work on your squat. Bigger squat will mean bigger leg press numbers anyway.

__________________
Height 5'7 Reach approx 7'0
BW @ 23 Jul 08: 145lbs (>13%bf)
Re-training start: Jul 08 (post injury+3 mths rehab)

Vertical Training Forum:www.theverticalsummit.com

all very interesting. i dont think it matters if leg press is "easier" cos you can just put more weight on there to make it harder. this said, i think i should be doin squats as well. they probably are more effective.

either way, wateva i'm doin, i'm pushing it hard. i been doin hamstrings and quads and calves too, and i can feel my legs growing. the other day i tried a 2-foot standing dunk, and i actually kinda got it. then i tried a few more times but couldn't get it. all i need to do is keep this weight training up for 2/3 months. i've said that before and stopped. this time i gotta keep it going dammit.

this is my goal: turning myself into a 2-foot dunker, instead of 1 foot running dunker. cos my position (C) does not allow me any oppurtunities to get running dunks in games lol. i wanna get an offensive board, and then rise up and slam it home lol.

theres no reason to be near a leg press machine, if your an athelete. This is from Joe Defranco a top sports trainer.



The leg press machine and the word "athlete" shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence! The leg press is a waste of time for athletes. With all of the squat and deadlift variations out there, I can’t see why any athlete would even look at a leg press. Yet, it’s still one of the most popular pieces of equipment in the gym, but when I see an athlete on the leg press machine, I automatically think he's a lazy athlete.

And don’t tell me you’re doing leg presses instead of squats or deads because you have a bad back either. The leg press is much more damaging to the low-back compared to squats or deadlifts. Not to mention the fact that leg press strength has no carryover to the athletic field! Try putting the leg press machine on your back and see how many times you can squat it. Then it may be useful for athletes!


heres a link to his website you can learn a lot from the articles and the "ask joes". DeFranco's Training - The Pro-Maker An Interview with Joe DeFranco. Believe me hes not alone on this sprinters and other athletes like football players never use them.

BTW hes trained a bunch of athletes that have 35 plus vertical jumps.