Leg raises in the simulator: is the criticism of this exercise justified? Seated leg extensions in a machine - features of the exercise Leg extension exercise machine that develops.

Good afternoon, happy hour, we are glad to see you with us! On the calendar 23 November, Wednesday, which means time for a technical note on. And today we will talk about leg extensions in the simulator.

After reading, you will learn everything about the muscle atlas, the benefits, the technique of performing the exercise, and we will also find out its degree of effectiveness and advisability of inclusion in your training program.

So, take your seats in the auditorium, let's start broadcasting.

Breeding legs in the simulator. What, why and why?

Do you know what exercise every self-respecting girl should start training her bottom with? But you don’t know :), but it’s called leg raises in the simulator. Why exactly from him? Let's find out now.

Every time a new potential fitness girl comes to the gym, she begins by performing movements familiar to her and admiring understandable exercise equipment. Most often, the list looks like this: hyperextension - to strengthen the back, lateral extension - to remove the sides, squats with a barbell on the shoulders - for rounded buttocks. Ladies, did I miss anything from your “gentleman’s” set? Why he is exactly like this is 100% difficult to say. But the fact that it occurs in most beginner girls is a fact.

And everything would be fine if not for one “but” - you should start your workout by working on the most problematic areas, and for most young ladies this is the inner/outer surface of the thigh. It is the hips that most often do not suit the fair sex, and it is no coincidence, because their inner/outer parts practically in no way receive targeted load in everyday life. Judge for yourself, a girl may have weak arms due to the presence of a small child (of constantly raising it), the calves are usually toned from constant walking, the buttocks are often in more than satisfactory condition, but the hips become a stumbling block and often “fall into disrepair” first of all. Therefore, it is best for girls to start (or save for last) start your lower training with hip exercises, and in particular leg raises in the machine. This is what we will talk about later in the text.

Note:
For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

Muscle atlas

The exercise belongs to the class of isolating exercises with a push type of force and has as its main goal working the muscles of the outer thigh.

The muscle ensemble includes the following units:

• targeted – abductors;
• synergists – gluteus maximus/medium/minimum, adductor magnus, piriformis, external obturator;
• antagonists – adductors, pectineus muscle;
• stabilizers – no significant ones.

A complete muscle atlas looks like this.

Advantages

By performing the leg raise exercise in the simulator, you can expect to receive the following benefits:

• isolated training of the abductors;
• inclusion of small femoral muscles that cannot be “hooked” with standard exercises;
• tightening and toning the muscles of the outer thigh (removing ripples, curd-like appearance);
• development of abductor muscle strength;
• improving running performance and reducing the risk of running injuries;
• improving blood circulation in the pelvic area.

Execution technique

Breeding the legs in the simulator is an exercise of entry-level complexity. The step-by-step execution technique is as follows.

Step #0.

Go to the leg raiser and set the required weight using the pad system. Take a seated position with your back firmly pressed against the machine and your legs positioned (inner thigh above knee) at the side rollers. Grab the handles and spread your legs slightly to the sides. This is your starting position.

Step #1.

Inhale and as you exhale, begin to powerfully “open” your legs, spreading them to the sides as far as possible. At the end point of the trajectory, pause for 1-2 accounts, making a peak reduction. Then slowly, while inhaling, begin to bring (close) your legs, returning to IP. Repeat the specified number of times.

In the picture version, all this disgrace looks like this.

In motion like this...

Variations

In addition to the classic version, there are several variations of the exercise, in particular:

• leaning back (at an upward angle);
• at an upward angle and with the buttocks lifted off the chair;

Secrets and subtleties

To get the most out of the exercise, follow these guidelines:

• throughout the entire movement, monitor the position of the body, it should be motionless;
• try to spread your legs to the sides as far as possible;
• Slowly and under control, bring your legs together and spread them powerfully to the sides;
• do not bring your legs together completely, but constantly maintain a small gap, maintaining tension in the muscles;
• at the end point of the trajectory, pause for 1-2 accounts and make peak reduction;
• Always hold the side handles with your hands;
• remember that the angle at the knee joint (when the foot is on the lower support) may be different and it depends on the design of a particular simulator;
• breathing technique: exhale – to force/spread the legs to the sides, inhale – to bring the legs together;
• numerical training parameters: number of approaches 4-5 , reps 20 .

We're done with the theoretical side, now let's look at some practical points.

Are leg raises an effective exercise for the outer thigh?

In fact, there are not many targeted exercises to “hook” the outer thigh, and leg raises are one of the latter. According to studies on the electrical activity of muscles, it is worth 2 -th place ( 72% ) after moving the leg to the side from the lower block ( 85% ) . Therefore, if your goal is to work out the outer thigh, then it makes sense to first visit the block and then the “adjustable” machine.

How to include the buttocks as much as possible in the leg raise exercise in the simulator?

Few young ladies know, but this simulator can be adapted for quite effective training of the gluteal muscles. To do this, change the tilt of the chair back (the greater the deviation back, the more the gluteus medius works, vertical position = gluteus maximus). If your goal is to remove dimples on your butt, then you should take the following position in the machine and perform all approaches/repetitions in this non-standard position.

Include this exercise at the beginning (or end) of your training program and soon you will notice how the problem area has ceased to be such.

Actually, we’re done with the substantive part, let’s move on to...

Afterword

Breeding legs in the simulator - more +1 to our collection of technical notes. Surely, until now you have avoided this exercise, but now that we have analyzed it in such detail and revealed its hidden “goodies”, it’s time to try it in the gym. Well, why are we sitting? :) let's blow and try!

That’s all for now, until Friday and the “new” series of articles.

PS: Do you have such a machine in your gym? Do you use it?

PPS: did the project help? Then leave a link to it in your social network status - plus 100 points towards karma are guaranteed :).

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.

Lord of the entire site and fitness trainer | more details >>

Genus. 1984 Trained since 1999 Trained since 2007. Candidate of Masters in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and South Russia according to AWPC. Champion of the Krasnodar region according to IPF. 1st category in weightlifting. 2-time winner of the Krasnodar Territory championship in t/a. Author of more than 700 articles on fitness and amateur athletics. Author and co-author of 5 books.

Why medals are given to articles:

Breeding legs in the simulator - video

Weight and reps for beginners

Load by muscle group

Description of the exercise

Main features

As usual, on Wednesdays we have a technical note, and today we will devote it to one extraordinary women’s exercise called abducting the legs in the simulator. Why extraordinary? You will learn about this towards the end of the article, so you will have to read to the end, no matter how much you want to. As the play progresses, we will get acquainted with the anatomical atlas, the technique of execution, as well as the benefits that this exercise can provide.

So, please everyone sit down, let's go.

Leg abduction in the simulator. What, why and why?

I don’t know if the guys in the gym noticed, but the girls (same as theirs/us) they have their favorite exercises and rocking machines that are closest to them and, so to speak, to their liking. One of these machines includes a simulator for bringing (spreading) the legs, designed to work out the inner/outer side of the thigh. This leg area is problematic for many women. (oops, there were girls, but now they are women, and this is in just two lines of writing :)), and therefore, at any convenient opportunity, representatives of the fair sex stick to the appropriate simulator. Whether this is right or not, we will try to figure it out further.

Note:

For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

Anatomical atlas

The main reason why ladies get stuck on the leg adduction machine is that it is designed to tighten the adductor muscles. (area between legs), make them more elastic, tougher and, as a result, relieve the woman of various “jelly” in this area. In other words, the inner surface of the thighs (adductors) is an aesthetically important area of ​​the legs for women; men are also not indifferent to it, and they want to see it toned and not sagging in their chosen ones.

The anatomical atlas of the muscles involved in the movement is the following picture:

Drive machine (this is the name of the simulator for reducing the muscles of the legs) primarily aimed at strengthening the three adductor muscles – the short, long and adductor major. The gracilis, pectineus and sartorius muscles are also activated. (the latter goes along the entire length of the thigh), the muscles of the iliotibial tract are tightened.

In general, it is worth saying that the adductor muscles are one of the relatively largest and longest muscles of the legs - this is a whole complex of muscles located deep on the inner surface of the thigh and groin. They are difficult to find, because... they are “buried” alive under other muscles, such as the quadriceps. However, you can be sure that you use these muscles when climbing stairs, climbing hills, and standing up.

Due to the fact that the adductor muscles are practically not involved in everyday life, they are very weak and therefore special attention must be paid to their training.

Advantages

When performing leg abduction in the simulator, you have the right to count on:

• strengthening the muscles of the inner thigh;
• tightening (lifting) of the adductor muscles;
• better shape of the “interpeduncle” (smooth/smooth lines of the inner thighs);
• stronger leg hugs in bed, when the partner’s hips are grasped;
• increasing core stability (balance) during movement;
• improvement of gait and posture;
• reducing injuries associated with hip muscle weakness.

Execution technique

This is one of the simplest exercises in which it is almost impossible to make a mistake. Adduction itself means moving a part of the body (in this case legs) towards the center of the body. When you sit on the machine, the movement consists of overcoming resistance as you bring your thighs, which are initially spaced apart, closer together.

The simulator itself looks like this and can be found in gyms, starting with the “middle hand”:

The step-by-step execution technique looks like this.

Step #0.

Go to the machine and set the required weight. Then adjust the width of the saddle so that you feel a slight stretch in the adductors when your hips are on the soft pads (side platforms-rollers). Keep your back straight and pressed firmly against the back of the machine. Grab the handrails below with your hands, and bend your legs at the knee to an angle 90 degrees or a little more. Open your legs, spreading them to the level of the set width of the machine. This is the starting position.

Step #1.

Inhale, and as you exhale, begin to squeeze your thighs under control. Keep your legs straight, keeping your knees over your feet. At the end point of the trajectory, pull your hips towards each other as much as possible and hold for 1-2 accounts.

Step #2.

Slowly, as you inhale, begin to spread the rollers and stop them in a slightly “under-extended” position to constantly maintain tension in the trained muscle. Repeat the specified number of times.

In the picture version, all this disgrace looks like this:

To get the most benefit from the exercise, follow the tips below:

• do not plop the weight down, returning it to the IP;
• slowly spread your legs slightly without bringing them to the starting position;
• in between approaches, stretch the adductor muscles, using, for example, the Lotus pose while sitting and pressing your hands on your knees;
• during exercise, do not move your body and do not slide your buttocks on the seat of the exercise machine;
• use the exercise as an auxiliary (finishing exercise) when training the adductor muscles and place it at the end of the workout after completing the main volume;
• if you feel that in the last approach you can no longer perform the exercise to its full amplitude, use a quick series of shortened repetitions.

Leg curls: is it effective for burning inner thigh fat?

If you ask the girls who are “stuck” on the leg adduction machine: what do you want to achieve with the help of the adductor machine, then most of them will answer - I want the inside of my thighs to lose weight. However, you should understand that this will never happen, because... the machine is designed to strengthen the adductor muscles, and not to burn fat - these are two different types of tissue, and strengthening the muscles will in no way lead to a decrease in the fat covering them. Even if you burn calories during exercise, you may not be able to reduce fat in a specific area. (separately) areas.

Conclusion: The leg curl machine is not designed for slimming your thighs, and it is not capable of making them slim.

Leg curls in the simulator: is it worth the bother?

Often, when choosing a simulator for training a specific muscle, people are guided by its design and narrowness. For example, if the simulator is for abducting the legs, then it should pump up the corresponding area, the inner surface of the thigh. For the most part this is true, i.e. The isolation machine is aimed at working only one muscle group.

However, as for the adductor simulator, despite its popularity among young ladies, it does not allow achieving the final goals, in particular, reducing the hips (and as a result of slender legs) in women and weight gain in men (if they have a skinny thigh).

And the whole point here is that the target region is actually (inner/outer thigh) works in coordination with the rest of the body. In addition, the movement in this simulator is not functional. (unnatural for the body), i.e. not used anywhere outside the hall. Progress in weight comes quite quickly, but the higher it is, the more it strains the spine. The kneecap will also not thank you for the ever-increasing load.

Thus, it turns out that no matter how you use the leg adduction machine, it most likely will not change your composite composition of the legs, for these purposes it is a useless tool. And it's all about the biomechanics of movement. The design of the exercise machine itself is sedentary, so the thigh muscles do not work in any way in this position. It often happens that people come to the gym after a hard, sedentary day (let's say an office employee) in order to disperse the blood and tone the muscles. And, oddly enough, they choose themselves (or on the advice of a trainer) seated exercise machine for muscle training. This is not true. Exercises that require balance and use free weights and weighted walking/standing should be selected. In particular, the legs can be replaced with cross lunges or leg abductions on a block - they allow you to achieve significantly better “tuning” of the legs.

Note:

What has been said should not be taken as a complete failure of the adductor simulator to work the corresponding muscles, no. It can be used as an auxiliary exercise to the main ones. (or rehabilitation in case of injury) and include it at the end of the workout, but working only with it will not give any progress in improving the shape of your legs, remember this and do not fall for the machine as exclusive for training the muscles of the inner thigh.

I think a reasonable question has arisen: why are such, medium-low efficiency, exercise machines installed in the gyms? The answer is that if they did not exist, fitness centers would discourage most of their female clientele from visiting them. Coupled with the fact that women are afraid of free weights and becoming too big and muscular, it is easier for them to choose a light load for themselves.

So ladies, when it comes to improving the shape of your inner thighs, use the adductor machine wisely and don’t focus on it alone.

Actually, I’ve reported everything I wanted, now let’s summarize.

Afterword

Today we dealt with the exercise of bringing the legs together in the simulator. I'm sure now you know how to find this unnecessary pile of iron How to properly use the machine and how to operate it correctly.

That's all for you, slender hips, ladies!

PS. Do you use this exercise in your training program? Will you now?

P.P.S. Did the project help? Then leave a link to it in your social network status - plus 100 points towards karma, guaranteed.

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.

Leg raises while sitting in the exercise machine

Seated leg raises are an exercise for the gluteal muscles and hip abductors. Almost everyone performs this movement, but the effectiveness varies greatly. The point is that it is an isolation movement and has little formative potential for those who don't do the base. It is not possible to gain significant muscle mass and volume with this movement alone.

Purpose of the exercises

In fitness, it is used to isolate the gluteal muscle group to work out this part of the body. In strength disciplines it is used as an auxiliary for warming up and increasing the range of motion in the hip joint, but is used quite rarely. In modern powerlifting, functional squats with a rubber ring, and variations of the regular squat with connected knees, are more often used.

Working muscles

The entire gluteal muscle group, as well as the hip abductors. When performing the reverse squat version of the exercise, the hip flexors and extensors are also involved.

Technique

This exercise has several technical variations.

Classic

You need to sit on the machine bench, set the desired resistance weight, and rest your back against the backrest. The stomach is tucked, the legs rest against the pads of the exercise machine in a flattened state. As you exhale, you need to spread your legs to the sides and bring them back, not allowing the force of inertia to make the reverse movement too fast.

Leaning forward

Promotes greater engagement of the gluteus medius muscle. After sitting down and resting your feet on the pads of the machine, you bend forward and grab the machine itself with your hands so that the tilt is maintained throughout the entire movement. Next, with exhalation, accentuated dilation, with inhalation, reduction. It is necessary to select such a depth of inclination and amplitude so as not to feel discomfort in the hip joint.

With a squat

You should perform the exercise with your feet on the leg supports, but facing the back of the machine. With the legs spread, a squat is also performed, that is, bending at the knee and hip joint, then the reverse movement is performed

There is also a standing leg raise machine; it is often used in home workouts and weight loss training, but its effectiveness is less high due to the low resistance of the pedals.

Raising your legs in the simulator can be replaced with a similar movement with rubber, then you simply tie your knees with a rubber shock absorber and sit on the bench.

It is worth noting that leg raises are performed at the end of the workout, in a “pump” mode for 15-20 repetitions, or in drop sets of 10 repetitions with one weight, and cannot serve as the main exercise in women’s training of legs and buttocks. The number of approaches is determined individually, usually from 3 to 5.

Learn how to round out your side buttocks, remove protruding hip bones and create beautiful curves. Tips for proper execution and visual video.

Description of the exercise

The exercise can be done together with, spread your legs as wide as possible, in the final phase of the movement you need to make a second delay to achieve maximum muscle contraction and bring it to. You can also slightly tilt your body forward, this will give your muscles even more stress.

Muscles trained

The emphasis is on the middle load, while at the same time the large buttock is partially included in the work.

Execution technique

1. There are 2 types of simulators for performing, where the legs are bent at the knees almost 90 degrees and where they are slightly bent, that is, the position of the legs is like at an appointment with a gynecologist. The second option is better, as it allows you to spread your legs a little wider, and then everyone has their own sensations.

2. Leg extensions should be performed with a powerful starting movement, but not through a jerk. The reduction is carried out smoothly without throwing the weight, while the one you set must be on the weight all the time, do not allow the muscles to relax.

3. This is an isolated exercise, so it will be good to do it after or.

4. This exercise is not created for records, you need to choose a weight with which you perform at least 10-12 repetitions, at the end the muscles should burn, if this does not happen, then you are either doing it wrong, or the weight is not chosen correctly.

5. If you turn your socks outward during fly-ups, your buttocks will receive additional stress.

6. Feel the muscles you are training; without this, training is useless and loses its meaning.