Alternative Exercises to the Leg Press: What to Try

The leg press is an excellent exercise for the quads and glutes, but what if you don’t have access to the machine? In this case, stick around because we are discussing seven alternatives that are just as good.

Key Takeaways

Leg presses are a machine compound movement that provides a fantastic overload for the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. They are safe for beginners and great for advanced lifters who want to train closer to failure.

Good leg press alternatives have a similar movement pattern and safety profile, train the same muscles, have excellent overloading potential, and are relatively easy to learn.

The best machine-based leg press alternatives are the belt squat, hack squat, and Smith machine squat. Free-weight alternatives include the Bulgarian, landmine, and split squats. Sissy squats are one of the best bodyweight leg press alternatives.

Leg Press Overview

The leg press is a machine-based compound exercise that primarily trains the quadriceps through knee extension (straightening of the legs). It also involves the glutes, hamstrings, and adductors to a degree.

To do a leg press, sit inside a leg press machine, place your feet on the platform, unrack it (typically with safety latches to your sides), and repeatedly press the platform away from yourself. 

Depending on foot placement, the exercise can be more hip or knee-dominant. Using a wider stance and placing your feet higher on the platform leads to more hip flexion and extension and better posterior chain activation.

In contrast, having your feet closer together and lower on the platform leads to greater knee flexion, which emphasizes the quadriceps more. 

The two types of leg press machines you’re likely to find in most gyms are the following:

• Standard (angled) one where you sit down and press the platform up and away from you
  
  
• Horizontal, where the platform and seat are aligned, and you push yourself away from the platform in a horizontal line

Consider a pair of knee sleeves or knee wraps (such as those by Gymreapers) for maximum safety when going heavy on the leg press.

What Makes A Good Leg Press Alternative?

Good leg press alternatives should have the following characteristics:

Similar Movement Pattern

The leg press primarily revolves around knee extension––straightening of the legs. It also involves a degree of hip and ankle flexion and extension. In other words, the leg press is a triple extension movement. 

Proper range of motion involves bending the knees to or beyond 90° and straightening them fully to achieve peak quadriceps contraction.

Good exercise alternatives achieve triple extension (of the ankles, knees, and hips) through a similar movement pattern and range of motion.

Same Muscles Targeted

Leg presses primarily target the quadriceps but also involve the hamstrings, glutes, and adductors. Depending on foot placement, you can shift the focus toward the front (quadriceps) or back (hamstrings and glutes). 

A good leg press alternative will similarly train these muscles––extra points for any exercise where trainees can modify their technique to shift the emphasis toward the posterior chain or quadriceps.

Similar Overall Safety

The leg press is often praised for its safety, reduced need for stability, and predictable movement pattern. 

Leg presses are a fantastic movement for trainees of all levels because the primary requirement is to assume the proper position inside the machine and press the platform away while engaging the quadriceps. 

So, good alternatives will have some of the same characteristics and ideally be machine-based to reduce the need for stability while training the legs.

Good Overloading Potential

Leg presses are one of the best exercises for loading weight and promoting excellent mechanical tension and metabolic stress. Lifters can push this exercise closer to failure safely to encourage leg hypertrophy.

A good leg press alternative will also allow for some decent overload, even if it’s not at the level of leg presses.

Easy to Learn

As mentioned, leg presses are great for trainees of all levels, especially newbies. The learning curve is not as steep as some exercises like the barbell back squat.

So, when considering a replacement for the leg press, we must consider how beginner-friendly the alternative is and whether trainees can start doing it effectively with a few practice sets.

7 Leg Press Alternatives To Try

The seven best leg press alternatives are:

1. Sissy Squat

How To:

• Stand next to a sturdy object, such as a squat rack.
  
  
• Grab the object with one hand for balance, stand tall, and have your feet roughly shoulder-width apart.
  
  
• Inhale and lean back as you bend your knees; this will cause your heels to lift off the floor and your knees to move in front of your toes.
  
  
• Lean back and bend your knees as much as your strength allows. You should feel a stretch in your quadriceps at the bottom position.
  
  
• Extend your knees and bring your upper body forward. Breathe out at the top.

2. Belt Squat

How To:

• Add the weight you want to the belt squat machine. Start light to get used to the movement before progressing to your “working weight”.
  
  
• Grab the belt and wrap it around your lower back.
  
  
• Hook the rings on both ends of the belt to the carabiner on the machine.
  
  
• Place your feet hip-width or wider, then stand tall.
  
  
• Unrack the weight with the machine’s lever.
  
  
• Retract your shoulders, inhale, and engage your abs.
  
  
• Slowly squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor and pause.
  
  
• Press through your heels to stand back up as you exhale.

3. Machine Hack Squat

How To:

• Add the appropriate weight to the machine. Start with empty sleeves to get a good feel for the exercise before loading your “working weight”.
  
  
• Position your butt, back, and shoulders against the two pads.
  
  
• Place your feet on the platform and assume a comfortable squatting stance - for example, feet roughly shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing slightly out.
  
  
• Press up to extend your legs, and use the handles to your sides to unrack the weight.
  
  
• Inhale, engage your abs and squat down as much as you can while keeping your back and butt against the pad.
  
  
• Pause briefly at the bottom and push through your heels to return to the top as you exhale.

4. Smith Machine Squat

How To:

• Set the bar at collarbone height and add the weight you want.
  
  
• Grab the bar evenly and position it on your upper traps.
  
  
• Position your feet a few inches in front of your body and the bar and plant them flat with your toes pointing slightly out.
  
  
• Puff your chest up, inhale, and stand tall to extend your knees and unrack the bar.
  
  
• Take another breath and slowly squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  
  
• Pause briefly and push back to the top as you exhale.

Since the bar rests on your upper back, there is more spinal loading, so using a lifting belt (such as this one from Gymreapers) to increase intra-abdominal pressure can promote safety and improve your performance.

5. Bulgarian Split Squat

How To:

• Prepare a flat gym bench, plyo box, or chair.
  
  
• Face away from the object of choice and stand roughly two feet away.
  
  
• With a dumbbell in each hand, bring your left foot back and place it on the object.
  
  
• Retract your shoulders, engage your abs, and look a few feet in front of you.
  
  
• Inhale and descend by bending your front knee. At the bottom, your front knee should be roughly over your toes or slightly in front of them. Experiment to find your ideal stance.
  
  
• Go down until your back knee is close to the floor, pause momentarily, and press through the whole front foot to push back to the top as you exhale.
  
  
• Once you finish training one side, switch feet and do the same number of reps for your other leg.

6. Landmine Squat

How To:

• Place one end of a barbell inside a landmine attachment and stand in front of the opposite end.
  
  
• Lean forward and grab the barbell sleeve with both hands, raising it to your chest. Hold it firmly with both hands to ensure it is secure.
  
  
• Position your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing slightly out.
  
  
• Puff your chest up, inhale, and engage your abs.
  
  
• Slowly squat as low as possible or until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  
  
• Pause briefly and push back to the top as you exhale.

7. Front Elevated Foot Split Squat

 

How To:

• Place a large, flat weight plate on the floor.
  
  
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and step on the plate with both feet.
  
  
• Bring one leg back and place the ball of that foot on the floor for balance, assuming a high-lunge position. Experiment with the stance width to see what feels most comfortable.
  
  
• Retract your shoulders, inhale, and engage your abs.
  
  
• Descend by bending your front knee and lowering down as much as possible.
  
  
• Pause briefly and press through your front foot to move back to the top as you exhale.
  
  
• Once finished, switch foot positions and do the same number of reps for the other side.

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Building A Lower Body Workout With Leg Press Alternatives

The following are three sample workouts incorporating a leg press alternative to show you how to structure effective lower-body workouts using the exercises described above.

Bodyweight Leg Press Alternative Example
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Period
Barbell Back Squat	4	8-10	2 mins
Dumbbell Lunge	4	10-12 (per side)	2 mins
Lying Hamstring Curl	3	12-15	1.5 mins
Sissy Squat	3	Close to failure	1.5 mins
Standing Machine Calf Raise	3	12-15	1.5 mins

This first example adds a bodyweight leg press alternative to a traditional lower-body gym workout. 

I’ve added it closer to the end of the workout because the goal is to do sissy squats without additional weight. As such, by generating some fatigue from the previous movements, we can get a good challenge from this exercise without doing too many reps per set.

That said, if you’re not that advanced and bodyweight sissy squats feel challenging enough, you can do them as a second movement right after barbell squats.

Dumbbell Leg Press Alternative Example
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Period
Bulgarian Split Squat	4	10-12 (per leg)	2 mins
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	3	12-15	2 mins
Leg Extension	3	12-15	1.5 mins
Glute Kickback Machine	3	12-15 (per leg)	1.5 mins
Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise	3	15-20	1.5 mins

In the second example, we have a dumbbell leg press alternative in the form of Bulgarian split squats. 

Since the movement is challenging enough, and you can overload it with heavier dumbbells, I’ve added it as the day's first exercise. 

Machine Leg Press Alternative Example
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Period
Barbell Back Squat	4	8-10	2 mins
Hack Squat Machine	4	10-12	2 mins
Lying Hamstring Curl	3	12-15	1.5 mins
Single-Leg Glute Bridge	3	12-15 (per side)	1.5 mins
Seated Calf Raise Machine	3	12-15	1.5 mins

In the last example, we have another traditional gym session with a machine leg press alternative: hack squats. 

This is perhaps one of the closest alternatives to the traditional leg press because it’s done on a machine, the overload potential is incredible, and you train the same muscles through a similar range of motion.