Sled Vertical Leg Press

Description

How to Do Sled Vertical Leg Press

1. 1
   Setup

   Lie on your back on the sled machine with your head resting comfortably against the pad and your lower back pressed firmly into the backrest.

2. 2
   Setup

   Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the sled platform, ensuring your heels are flat and your toes are slightly pointed outwards or straight ahead.

3. 3
   Setup

   Extend your legs to unlatch the safety pins, then slowly lower the sled until your knees are deeply bent and your thighs are close to your chest, maintaining lower back contact.

4. 4

   Exhale as you powerfully push the sled upwards by extending your hips and knees, driving through your heels until your legs are almost fully extended, but do not lock your knees.

5. 5

   Inhale as you slowly and with control lower the sled back down to the starting position, allowing your knees to bend deeply while keeping tension in your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Tips

• Vary your foot placement: A higher foot placement emphasizes the glutes and hamstrings, while a lower placement focuses more on the quadriceps.
• Control the eccentric phase: Slowly lowering the weight helps maximize muscle engagement and prevents injury by maintaining tension throughout the movement.
• Keep your lower back pressed into the pad throughout the entire exercise to protect your spine and ensure proper muscle activation.
• Drive through your heels to better engage your glutes and hamstrings, rather than pushing predominantly through your toes, which can put undue stress on your knees.

Common Mistakes

• ×Rounding the lower back off the pad: Ensure your lower back remains pressed firmly against the pad by not lowering the sled too far, which can lead to spinal injury.
• ×Locking out your knees at the top: Stop just short of full knee extension to keep constant tension on the leg muscles and protect your knee joints from hyperextension.
• ×Using momentum to lift the weight: Focus on a controlled, consistent tempo during both the pushing and lowering phases to maximize muscle engagement and reduce injury risk.