Your opinions on leg curl

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

So after talking to some conditionning coach, I come to the conclusion that leg curl are just an exercise of bobybuilding. Do you think it's useful to do this for a hockey player?

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I think for a hockey player there are other exercises you can do for your legs (Hamstrings) that would serve one better

That's what I think too, maybe some have different opinions.

[gman 0]

I think leg curls are dangerous on the knees and bad for the low back and are only good for body building. Deep squats, dead lifts, straight leg dead lifts, "good mornings", and exercises like that are better and safer and offer much more functional strength. Stick with deep squats and dead lifts.

[flaming_june 2]

i think its good for overall fitness to do them. soccer players have crazy quads for those free kicks and long balls, i think we still need them just for overall performance, no weak links anywhere.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

Kovy, are you talking about working the hamstrings (back) or the quadriceps (front)? Leg extensions work the quads, leg curls work the hamstrings. Personally, I would do leg isolation exercises to balance strength between the quads and hamstrings, or if one leg is stronger than the other.

[gman 0]

Lots of heavy deep squats and daedlifts will not leave any room for weak spots. You will be as balanced as your body can be. Couple these exercises with sprinting hills and your legs will be unbeatable.

[Project824 0]

While there is no direct use of hamstrings in skating motion (it's mostly quads and glutes), it's still important to work out the opposing muscles to gain balanced mass and strength. If you have an imbalanced musculature (ie huge powerful quads, but weak hamstrings), you leave yourself open to injury and poor posture. You need to have a balanced pull for each push.

Obviously for sport we concentrate on core muscles and the ones that directly improve performance on the ice, but it's still important to have balance to your workout.

[cause4alarm 6]

I was under the impression that strong hammies were particularly important for hockey players, slightly more so than quads, although obviously you can't have weak quads if you want play well. Maybe strong hamstrings are important for hitting.

Anyway, leg curls are isolation exercises, which should take a back seat to compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and lunges. I'd do them if I had a few minutes to kill and wanted to do a supplemental finishing set for my hamstrings.

[Trooper 8]

You don't need leg curls, any of the already mentioned closed-chain (feet on the floor, not floating) exercises are better.

The hamstrings are directly used in skating, but because of the fact that the knees are bent and forward of the toes, the quads are the dominant muscle. Hamstrings attach to the pelvis and are active in leg extension, so they shouldn't be ignored. Muscle imbalances can lead to injury and motion problems.

Just for comparison, a powerlifter, who sits back when squatting and whose knees don't track in front of his toes, uses the hamstrings more than the quads. It all depends on the motion and the angles the joints are in during the movement.

[BGM 0]

Are you talking about leg curls ? Those are the reverse ones that work the hamstrings. Or are you talking about leg extensions when you are facing forward that work the quads ? I would agree that squats and deadlifts are good but you need to have muscle balance all over as well--do the leg curls every once in awhile. Leg extensions can put strain on the patella--make sure you only go through the last 30 degree of motion if you do them.

[Jake 0]

What about a leg press? Are these good? What type of posture in these would best develop muscles to help skating?

[Trooper 8]

I would agree that squats and deadlifts are good but you need to have muscle balance all over as well--do the leg curls every once in awhile.

As mentioned before, stiff legged deadlifts and good mornings work the hamstrings, and they work them at the hip joint to straighten the leg as in skating as opposed to the knee joint to bend the lower leg. Athletes train movement, bodybuilders train muscles.

[Ogie 0]

Lots of good points here. One thing I would add; the hamstring, and more importantly, the balance of strength between the hamstring and the quad, is very important to the stability of the knee. Also, in a general sense, a leg extension(what he is calling a curl) is an isolation exercise. I think much more would be gained by someting like a squat, which would work much more than one muscle group. That being said, I don't think you will hurt your fitness by working your quads via a leg extension unless you're doing sick amounts of weight.

[biff44 0]

I think leg curls are dangerous on the knees and bad for the low back and are only good for body building. Deep squats, dead lifts, straight leg dead lifts, "good mornings", and exercises like that are better and safer and offer much more functional strength. Stick with deep squats and dead lifts.

I do not think leg curls put much stress on the knees. It is leg extensions that royally screw up your knees, especially if you go heavy (200+ lbs).

[Adam91 0]

Little off topic but will taking some kid of weight gainer combined with working out 3-5 times a week build solid muscle? and when I'm taking weight gainer should I continue to take Whey Powder?

[gman 0]

I think leg curls are dangerous on the knees and bad for the low back and are only good for body building.  Deep squats, dead lifts, straight leg dead lifts, "good mornings", and exercises like that are better and safer and offer much more functional strength.  Stick with deep squats and dead lifts.

I do not think leg curls put much stress on the knees. It is leg extensions that royally screw up your knees, especially if you go heavy (200+ lbs).

I only wrote that because I have injured my knees from leg curls. I have two friends who have done the same. One was an XC runner, the other a soccer player, so they were in better shape than me..... It was even on one of the better designed Nautilus machines. If you go to failure and then do some negatives you can absolutely injure yourself with the leg curl. It is a bummer of an injury too. If you hurt your quad you can limp and cheat while walking and going up and down stairs. With a rear knee injury you are screwed on stairs, up hills, downhills, walking through the mall, everything. Knock on wood, I have yet to injure myself doing squats, deads, SLDL's, front's or any of those lifts.

I do agree that leg extensions are terrible for your knees. They are great for body builders, but really serve little purpose for an athlete.

[markthedeadhead 0]

Little off topic but will taking some kid of weight gainer combined with working out 3-5 times a week build solid muscle? and when I'm taking weight gainer should I continue to take Whey Powder?

Maybe and yes. Weight gainer adds a ton of calories (and nutrients) to your diet. If you want to build only lean muscle and not gain any fat, you have to stay active even when weight training. If you want to gain mass, you don't do as much cardio. If you want lean muscle only, you have to run or bike. When weight training, you should always have a large source of protein, and whey powder is probably the best route. The rule of thumb is ingest 1g of protein for every lb. of body weight (2g+ per 1kg). Your body can't digest that much protein at a time either, so you must spread your servings over the course the day. So don't bother trying to get your day's worth of protein in one sitting because you can't take in more than 30g at once anyway.

[tsanga 0]

When weight training, you should always have a large source of protein, and whey powder is probably the best route. The rule of thumb is ingest 1g of protein for every lb. of body weight (2g+ per 1kg). Your body can't digest that much protein at a time either, so you must spread your servings over the course the day. So don't bother trying to get your day's worth of protein in one sitting because you can't take in more than 30g at once anyway.

Here we go again. I hate to perpetuate a myth sold by nutritional supplement companies.

See this post...

...and this post

[ktang 34]

Another reason to have strong hamstrings is for the prevention of hamstring pulls. If your quads are too strong relative to your hammies, you will be even more susceptible to hammy pulls.

[biff44 0]

I think leg curls are dangerous on the knees and bad for the low back and are only good for body building.  Deep squats, dead lifts, straight leg dead lifts, "good mornings", and exercises like that are better and safer and offer much more functional strength.  Stick with deep squats and dead lifts.

I do not think leg curls put much stress on the knees. It is leg extensions that royally screw up your knees, especially if you go heavy (200+ lbs).

I only wrote that because I have injured my knees from leg curls. I have two friends who have done the same. One was an XC runner, the other a soccer player, so they were in better shape than me..... It was even on one of the better designed Nautilus machines. If you go to failure and then do some negatives you can absolutely injure yourself with the leg curl. It is a bummer of an injury too. If you hurt your quad you can limp and cheat while walking and going up and down stairs. With a rear knee injury you are screwed on stairs, up hills, downhills, walking through the mall, everything. Knock on wood, I have yet to injure myself doing squats, deads, SLDL's, front's or any of those lifts.

I do agree that leg extensions are terrible for your knees. They are great for body builders, but really serve little purpose for an athlete.

Well, obviously you know better than me! I screwed up one of my knees really good on a leg extension machine once. Took me 2 years to get it back into shape! I was getting pretty cocky, was up to something like 230 lbs. Then one day after not lifting for a while I was on the machine lifting away and whamo! It was a combination of screwing up the tendons a little and abrading the cartilage. It makes a funny scraping sound now, but at least it works again.

[gman 0]

I screwed up one of my knees really good on a leg extension machine once. Took me 2 years to get it back into shape! I was getting pretty cocky, was up to something like 230 lbs. Then one day after not lifting for a while I was on the machine lifting away and whamo! It was a combination of screwing up the tendons a little and abrading the cartilage. It makes a funny scraping sound now, but at least it works again.

YUCK!!! Man I hate hearing stories like that. Did you have it cleaned out? What did you do to rehab it? How long were you out initially?? Glad you recovered, lots of folks never do.

[Trooper 8]

Little off topic but will taking some kid of weight gainer combined with working out 3-5 times a week build solid muscle? and when I'm taking weight gainer should I continue to take Whey Powder?

Eat food. Most people who take MRP don't eat enough real food. MRP bars are convenient to snack on but they should be only a supplement. Money is better spent elsewhere.

[Hockeyman9621 0]

So the final say would probably be, stay light with lots of reps on the leg curl.

[gman 0]

I gotta say the final word would be "don'tdo'em". The final few words would be "avoid them at all costs".

[Cavs019 708]

A little off topic, but deadlifting scares the crap out of me. My form is perfect, but I'm just afraid because my lower back is so fragile. Any input?