How to Target Muscle Groups With the Eagle Leg Press.

Ben Wilde - Director, International Education and Training

One area which often causes confusion or a lack of clarity at least, is the change created by moving the back-pad on the Eagle Leg Press. When you add the variety of foot placement options the area is ripe for misunderstanding. For many people the 'explanation' of this falls into the realm of opinion, personal preference and gym lore. At the CYBEX Institute for Exercise Science we actually measured the forces involved at the variety of back pad positions and foot placement options in a number of different subjects. While there are some individual differences which may be attributable to leg length differentials and limb mass (more on that later), there are some common trends in the force analysis which may help clear things up.

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What is the Articulating Carriage?

The articulating carriage is unique to the CYBEX Eagle Leg Press. Creating a line of force similar to a squat, allows more hip extension than other traditional leg press designs. This creates more hip extensor involvement, namely gluteus maximus and hamstrings. The hamstrings are particularly important as they stabilize the knee when activated. The CYBEX Eagle Leg Press therefore facilitates maximum results whilst minimizing the stresses associated with this movement. Furthermore, the articulating carriage permits plyometric movements, a type of explosive movement used to develop muscular power. Muscular power has applications in sport performance and real world conditioning.