Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

45-Degree Leg Press: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The 45-degree leg press pushes a weighted sled away with your legs while your back is supported. It lets you train the quads and glutes hard without the balance or lower-back demands of a squat.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Secondary muscles
Hamstrings , Calves , Quads
Equipment
Sled Machine
Level · type
Beginner · Compound

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Demonstration of the 45-degree leg press
Front view: muscles worked by the 45-degree leg press. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings, calves and quads.
Back view: muscles worked by the 45-degree leg press. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings, calves and quads.
Primary Secondary

How to do the 45-degree leg press

  1. Step 1: Adjust the seat and footplate of the sled machine to a comfortable position.
  2. Step 2: Sit on the sled machine with your back against the backrest and your feet shoulder-width apart on the footplate.
  3. Step 3: Grip the handles on the sides of the seat for stability.
  4. Step 4: Push the footplate away from your body by extending your legs, keeping your heels on the footplate.
  5. Step 5: Continue pushing until your legs are almost fully extended, but without locking your knees.
  6. Step 6: Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, then slowly lower the footplate back towards your body by bending your knees.
  7. Step 7: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Form cues

  • Sit with your lower back and hips flat on the pad and your feet shoulder width in the middle of the platform.
  • Release the safeties and lower the sled until your knees reach about 90 degrees or a little deeper.
  • Keep your lower back on the pad; stop before your hips curl up.
  • Press through the whole foot without locking your knees out hard at the top.

Common 45-degree leg press mistakes

  • Going so deep that the hips lift off the seat.

    Fix: Find the depth where your back stays flat and stop there.

  • Snapping the knees into lockout.

    Fix: Stop just short of full lockout and keep tension on the legs.

  • Loading more plates than you can move through a full range.

    Fix: Use a weight you can lower to the same depth every rep.

Sets, reps and programming

Use it after squats or as your main quad exercise for 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps. Feet higher on the platform shifts the work toward the glutes and hamstrings; lower shifts it toward the quads.

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the 45-degree leg press by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Variations and progressions

45-Degree Leg Press alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

45-Degree Leg Press FAQs

Is the leg press as good as squats?

For building leg muscle, a hard leg press is a good substitute. Squats add more core, back and balance demand, which matters if you want to improve your squat itself.

Where should I put my feet on the leg press?

Shoulder width in the middle of the platform for general leg work. Higher and wider brings in more glutes and adductors; lower and narrower biases the quads.

More glutes exercises

See the best glute exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset; cues, mistakes, programming and FAQs are written by FitStack.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.