KungFooGoo
Gangster
I'd listen to Oni. He has 29" legs while weighing les then 65kg.
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Leg extensions redundant?
- Thread starter canned tuna
- Start date
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- Tags
- extensions leg redundant
Fadi
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No, they are not redundant. Leg extensions are like squats, simply another tool amongst many other tools for a bodybuilder to choose from. Saying (asking or suggesting) that the leg extension exercise is dangerous for one's knees is no different than saying squats is bad or dangerous exercise for one's knees. Let me explain, and my words are based on experience rather than on some studies.
I've heard long time ago now (30 years) that squatting below parallel was very dangerous and detrimental for the health of the knees. How many on here have heard or were told the same? Now I'm hearing that leg extension are likewise; bad for the knees! Is there any truth with regards to these statements concerning both squats and leg extensions? The answer is a resounding YES! So am I now contradicting myself? No. And the reason the answer is no is because the main issue here is not the exercise, but rather the way one chooses to execute it. So the problem is not intrinsic to the exercise but rather extrinsic of it. In other words, the problem is to be found outside of the exercise instead within it.
Granted that some leg extension machines are built wrong, one can still use them to one’s advantage for as long as one eliminates the fault built within. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the way some leg extension machines have the leg/foot padding sitting slightly back at the starting position, causing the knees to be placed over and above your toes (instead of your mid-foot as in squats).
Wrong: (beyond 90-degree angle) = undue stress on knees
Furthermore, starting from this wrong position which is beyond the 90-degree angle, places unnecessary stress on your knees. So start the exercise from a 90-degree angle that is formed between your upper and lower leg and insure (if the machine is wrongly built) that you stop your rep as soon as you hit that 90-degree angle before you go for another rep.
Right: (90-degree angle) no stress on knees.
Fadi.