Having a leg press is one thing understanding what it does is another.
Tyler Hobson grew up outside Anchorage, Alaska. His experiences, education and his participation in competitive powerlifting led him to become the inventor of Pendulum Strength. He now lives in Conroe, Texas and continues to design the world’s finest exercise machines. Tyler explains, there are leg presses and then there is a Hip Press.
A leg press is much easier to teach form and function vs. complex free weight movements. For the coach there is an ease of accurately monitoring strength gains in a system of progressive overload. Because there is no need to balance the load, more energy and focus can be directed toward the muscles needed to move the weight increasing direct stimulation to the legs.
The Hip Press is a completely unique leg press. The bio-mechanically correct seat design with a specific strength curve allows activation of the hips and glute region beyond that of traditional leg presses.
Most leg presses get heavier and heavier as the weight is lowered making it difficult in the bottom position. This is a problem as this is the position which sequential timing of your musculature is extremely important.
The Hip Presses strength curve drops off considerably at the correct degree of movement, which allows the lifter to stretch the hips before engaging the hip flexors. Without this curve the hip flexors must stay engaged during the descent to protect the spine.
On a traditional leg press when the the load is excessive in the low position, the athlete will often try to lower the force by rotating his pelvis upwards. This movement instead causes compression of the lumbar spine. Exactly what he was trying to avoid. The athlete may say, “Hey coach that leg press bothers my back.”
The Pendulum Hip Press was designed to minimize spinal compression, reduce sheering forces on the knee and most critically, offer a safe and productive way to maximally develop the upper leg while increasing flexibility in the hips.
On the side of the hip press is an adjustable stopper which controls the depth of the movement (Set Extension Technology). This can be used to train the injured athletes who do not have full range of motion. Set extension technology can also be used to safely train athletes with poor flexibility or can be used for variable range training which can be very, very intense.
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