This has been my preferred way to do unilateral leg extensions for some time now. I’ve made a few stories about them in the past, but I thought these deserved a post. You might like these better, you might not.. but hopefully some of y’all find this helpful. I feel less knee discomfort, it’s more stable, and it’s more comfortable. If you want to further increase stability, you can use a seatbelt to help pull the hips down. But, you should be actively pulling down with the handles anyway for the whole set. Don’t be one of those guys/gals who do their leg extensions with their hands on their head/body, you are severely limiting stability, reducing motor unit recruitment (less gains). Other tips (can be applied to bilateral variant): • Actively pull yourself down into the seat with the handles. It’s important to keep the working-side hip down to avoid excessive torque at the knee and hip. This will result in better stability, and will make it easier to standardize form. • Maintain a neutral foot position with it pointed up. A common misconception is that internal/external rotation will bias different parts of the quadricep. This isn’t accurate despite electromyography (EMG) research suggesting it to be. Whereas the vastus muscles (inner & outer quads) differ in their origin, they come down together surrounding the patellar tendon at the same insertion point. EMG isn’t measuring actual mechanical tension; thus it does not always reflect the hypertrophic potential of an exercise/technique. All the rotation will do is make the mechanics worse and cause more shearing forces on the knee. • Knee lined up with the machine’s axis of rotation (don’t sit too far forward/back). You’ll feel knee discomfort right away if your setup is off. Line it up with the pivot point to avoid unnecessary joint stress. • Don’t force full lockout if it causes knee pain. Stop just shy of lockout if going all the way up causes you discomfort. If it doesn’t, take advantage of that end range. For $1 a day, join my app for the best ongoing science-based hypertrophy training, coaching, and community to guarantee the fastest gains. 1:1 coaching available. @gym_pin Code: RY @macrofactorapp Code: RYJEWERS - @ryjewers