Optimum amount to be leg pressing

[DWx]

Amongst other things I'm doing leg presses to increase my ability to jump. But I don't really know what sort of weights to lift or how many reps. Is it better to do fewer reps but a heaver weight or should I be doing lighter weights but more of? The max I can lift is about 1.5x my body weight but most I can do of that is 5 reps. Any help is much appreciated.

[white owl]

I would think lighter more rips.

[akedm]

Looking around the web quickly I've not picked up a lot of information except that there's a general agreement that the weight should be kept low and that you should in one way or another practice jumping.

By that I mean exercises that involve the jumping motion. Like I said I didnt find a lot out there in this short amount of time, but Deep Knee Bends, Deep Knee Bend Jumps, Jumping Rope, and Situps.

I also noticed the sites generally went with a lot of reps even if you cant do them at first, work up to it.

[Kuma]

I think you'd be a lot better off doing regular squats instead. When I got a back injury years ago, at the time I was squatting 285 for a set of 20. Since I could leg press after some recovery (it didn't bother my back at all and I wanted to keep working my legs), I got to doing it a lot. Worked up to 800 for reps in short order. I finally got back to being able to squat again and could barely do 225 for a set of 5.

[sperki]

If you want to jump, jump. This will probably sound kind of silly, but it's called specificity of training. And it means you train to do what you want to do. If I wanted to be a better swimmer I would swim. While there would be some benefit to running I would see the largest and quickest gains from actually swimming. The same principal is true here. There are lots of different exercises, but what you need to do is some sort of explosive leg movement. Find a box or stool that is an appropriate height for you (probably 15"-22" to start), stand about a foot away from it, and jump, with both legs, onto the platform. Quickly jump off and without pause spring back onto the platform. Repeat for about 20 repetitions. This will also get your heart rate up.

To work one leg at a time put one foot (toe) on a platform that is 12"-20" high and about 2' behind you. Then drop into a lunge position and explode up with your front leg so that foot actually leaves the ground. Again 20 reps is a good starting point. Don't forget to work both legs!

Squats / leg presses will help, but the explosive exercises will translate more directly into a higher vertical than a slow controlled lift.

Good luck!

[bushido_man96]

I agree with sperki on the jump training. Find you some good plyometric exercises, and set up a program for yourself.

Also, I would keep up the weight training, but I would train with high weight and low reps to build strength. The more weight you press, the more muscle fiber you recruit. I think this, in conjunction with the plyometrics, will help your gains.

When you do start plyometrics, make sure to give yourself around 72 hours rest between sessions, for full recovery.

[DWx]

Thanks for the info guys. I am doing other stuff besides the presses but I'm limited to what's at the gym and what I can do in my room at college. I'm doing stuff like tuck jumps, tuck jump burpees and jumping to the ceiling as well as skipping (drives the person who lives below me nuts ). Will definitely have a go at what sperki said.

[bushido_man96]

That sounds like you're started in the right direction, DWx. It should serve you well.

[hx35543]

Leg presses will increase the raw power needed for jumping by developing the slow twitch muscle fibers. The box jumping will develop the fast twitch fibers for explosiveness. You need both in order to get a better jump.

[Throwdown0850]

8-10 reps for hypertrophy and strength, also activates more muscle fibers as opposed to 12+ reps which would more cut you out than anything, but will also add a little strength I suppose.