How Many Reps On Leg Press? Find The Perfect Range

The leg press might be the single most effective machine in the gym. It’s also one of the most versatile, which means you’ve got plenty of options, and one of the biggest “dials” you can turn is your rep range.

The leg press is an awesome lower-body builder no matter what rep scheme you choose, but some rep setups make a lot more sense than others. If you’ve ever wondered how many reps you should use on the leg press, this guide will clear it up.

The Leg Press

The leg press machines are designed to mimic a squat pattern while giving you a ton of stability and back support.

Most leg press setups use a sled that rides along a track into a fixed seat. Commonly, the track is set around 45 degrees, and the machine is plate-loaded, but there are plenty of variations. Regardless of the model, the goal stays the same: load your legs through a squat-like movement while keeping your torso supported.

You perform the exercise seated, with your feet planted on the sled. That setup gives you a lot of stability, and because your back is supported, you can focus entirely on driving with your legs instead of worrying about bracing and spinal position the way you would in a squat.

Put simply, most lifters can leg press significantly more weight than they can back squat.

Another big perk is variety. By changing leg press foot placements, you can shift emphasis to different muscles while still training the same core movement pattern.

The Best Way To Use The Leg Press

Before we get into the rep ranges, it helps to talk about the “job” the leg press does best. Different exercises shine in different roles. Some are great for low-rep strength work, some are better for higher-rep volume, and some are best used for muscle growth rather than max effort strength.

There’s always overlap and nothing is absolute, but if you want to get the most out of the leg press, this is where it fits best for most lifters.

The Leg Press Is An Accessory Movement

Within a training session, exercises usually fall into broad buckets:

Primary
Accessory
Isolation

In most programs, the leg press is an accessory movement. That means it supports the main lift of the day, which is often the back squat.

Used that way, the leg press helps you build more leg volume, train the squat pattern with less technical demand, or hammer weak points that your squat might miss. It’s also a great way to keep training your legs hard after you’ve already taxed your back and core with squats.

When people compare leg press vs back squat, a common approach is to squat heavier and use the leg press for more volume because it supports the back and lets you push hard without as much systemic fatigue.

Foot placement is another reason the leg press works well as an accessory. You can shift emphasis while keeping the same basic movement. For example:

High foot placement for hamstrings
Low foot placement for quadriceps
Wider foot placement for glutes

An Alternative Exercise For Those With Injuries Or Mobility Issues

The back squat is a powerhouse lower-body lift, but it’s not always the right tool for every lifter at every stage. Squats can be technical and they demand a decent baseline of mobility and control. Some people simply can’t squat comfortably or safely due to past injuries, current pain, or limited mobility.

That’s where the leg press earns its reputation as one of the best squat alternatives. With built-in back support and a more stable setup, it’s often safer and easier to load, especially when you want to train hard without stressing the lower back.

It can also be a great bridge for newer lifters: learn basic squat mechanics with very light loads, then use the leg press to progressively overload the legs while you build confidence and skill.

Increase Volume

When we use the leg press, we usually treat it like a volume tool. That means we’ll lean into:

High sets
High reps
Both

In practice, that often looks like one of these approaches:

3+ sets of 15+ reps
5+ sets of 6-10 reps

There’s nuance depending on the lifter, but here’s why this approach works so well for the leg press:

With heavy sled loads, it can take multiple warm-up sets to reach your true working weight, and loading multiple plates takes time. Using more sets makes that ramp-up count.
Because there’s less stress on the back and core, you can often tolerate more leg volume without accumulating as much overall fatigue.
Compared to other compound lower-body lifts, the leg press generally creates a lower level of CNS fatigue, which makes it easier to push volume and recover.

How Many Reps Should You Use On The Leg Press?

So once you’ve got the leg press in your program, the obvious question is: how many reps should you actually do? The great part about the leg press is that it’s flexible. You can use a wide range of reps depending on your goal and still get results.

Below, we’ll break down rep ranges by goal first, then we’ll cover a few standout rep schemes that are worth trying.

Strength (4-6 Reps)

If you want to emphasize strength on the leg press, the 4-6 rep range is usually the sweet spot. It’s heavy enough to challenge you, but not so heavy that your form has to fall apart to move the load.

The biggest problem with ultra-heavy leg press reps is that “bad reps” are easy to hide. Hips can lift off the pad, depth can shrink, and knees can drift into uncomfortable positions. You might move the sled, but the quality isn’t there and the injury risk creeps up.

Muscle Growth (8-15 Reps)

For hypertrophy, your mission is simple: accumulate quality volume. The most reliable driver of muscle growth is progressively doing more work over time. A moderate rep range makes that easier because you can push close to failure without the setup turning into a grindy, form-breaking max effort.

While many lifters think of “moderate reps” as 6-12, the legs often respond extremely well to the upper end of that range and slightly beyond it. That’s why 8-15 is a practical target for a lot of leg press work.¹

Ultra-High (20+ Reps)

If you’ve never done true 20+ rep leg press sets, you’re about to learn something about yourself. High-rep sets can be a serious shock to the system and a great way to drive a lot of hard work with lighter loads.

The problem with 20+ reps on many other leg movements is fatigue. As the set drags on, form can break down, and that’s when risk goes up. If we’re going to use ultra-high reps, the leg press is one of the best choices because the machine supports you and helps keep the movement controlled even when your legs are cooked.

Just keep in mind: 20+ reps is intense. Use it as a tool, not the default setting every week.

What's The Best Rep Range For The Leg Press?

You can use a lot of different rep ranges on the leg press and still grow. But if we had to pick the “best” way to use it most of the time, it’s this:

In our opinion, the leg press is best used in the 10-20 rep range. That’s a wide window, but it lines up with how most lifters actually get the most from the machine: lots of quality volume, hard sets, and consistent progression.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how we typically distribute leg press work in programs:

4-6 reps: 10-20%
6-10 reps: 20-30%
10-20 reps: 50-60%
20+ reps: 10%

Most of the time, we’re chasing volume and clean reps, and we’ll occasionally dip into lower reps with heavier weight. Under normal circumstances, you squat heavier and use the leg press to support that work.

Can You Perform 1RM On Leg Press?

Some movements make sense for a true 1RM. Others don’t. In our opinion, the leg press is firmly in the “doesn’t make much sense” category for a couple of reasons:

The leg press isn’t a primary lift in most programs
Machines vary a lot, so the number doesn’t translate well from gym to gym
It’s very easy to use sloppy form to “force” a bigger number

Heavy leg pressing is fine, but a true 100% max effort attempt usually adds risk without adding much payoff. To be blunt: no one cares about your 1RM leg press, and even if they did, the machine differences make it a meaningless flex.

So yes, train the leg press heavy when it fits your plan, but avoid attempting a true 1RM.

Best Rep Schemes To Use On Leg Press

Now that you’ve got a better feel for which rep ranges fit which goals, let’s talk about some specific rep schemes that work especially well on the leg press.

Leg press programming is often simpler than squat or bench programming, since you’ll commonly use straight sets with the same reps across each working set. That’s not always the case, but it’s the common pattern.

And yes, you can absolutely use basic setups like:

4 sets x 8 reps
5 sets x 5 reps
3 sets x 15 reps

Those can work great. But below are a few schemes that stand out because they’re a little more structured and give you a different stimulus without needing a complicated plan.

12/10/8/6/4 Ramp Up Sets

This is a classic ramp up set approach: five sets where the weight increases as the reps drop. We like it because it covers multiple intensity zones in one simple progression.

It also fits the reality of the leg press. Sometimes it takes several “warm-up” jumps to get to the load you actually want, especially if you’re stacking plates. This scheme turns that ramp into productive working sets instead of just filler.

The key difference is intent. In this format, each set is pushed hard, usually close to failure, rather than stopping early like you would on traditional warm-up sets (where you might only work to around an RPE 6-7).

Don’t stress if the exact reps aren’t perfect the first time. It can be tricky to nail every jump in load. If you hit your “8 rep” weight and realize you had more in the tank, take the reps, then adjust next session and make a note.

A simple way to frame it: five ramped sets of increasing weight, each landing around an RPE 8-9.

German Volume Training (GVT)

EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute) is a simple way to pack a ton of work into a short window. You start a clock, perform your reps at the top of each minute, then rest for whatever time is left before the next minute starts.

German Volume Training (GVT) uses that structure for 10 sets of 10 reps. That’s 100 total reps in 10 minutes, which is a massive dose of volume. Here’s how it can look:

Minute 1 (0:00-0:59): You perform 10 reps, which takes 25. Therefore, you rest for 35s.
Minute 2 (1:00-1:59): You begin your 2nd set of 10. It takes 28s, which gives you 32s of rest.
Minute 3 (2:00-2:59): You begin your 3rd set of 10. It takes 30s, giving you 30s of rest.
Continue for 10 minutes

GVT works especially well on the leg press because it’s one of the fastest ways to rack up serious leg volume while staying in a stable, supported position.

5 Sets X 10 Reps EMOM

If full GVT sounds a little savage, 5 sets of 10 reps EMOM is the scaled version. You still get a fast hit of volume, but it’s easier to recover from and easier to program more frequently.

Fifty quality reps doesn’t sound dramatic until you’re halfway through minute four and your legs start negotiating with you.

3 Sets X 20 Reps

3 sets of 20 is an ultra-high rep punch in the face. The first time you try it, keep the weight light, no more than about 50% of what you’d use for a heavy set. You may even want to start with 2 sets your first time to see how you respond.

Some advanced lifters use 20-rep sets on barbell squats, but that can get messy fast as fatigue builds. The leg press gives you more support and stability, which makes it a safer place to push through when your legs are absolutely on fire.

Get The Leg Press Program In Your Rotation

At this point, you should have a clear idea of how to use the leg press based on your goals, and a few rep schemes you can plug in right away. The truth is, plenty of rep ranges can work, as long as you train hard and stay consistent.

More importantly, the leg press can help support your other lower-body lifts by adding leg volume without beating up your back.

Progressive overload is the one common variable you always want in the background. Add weight, add reps, add a set, or clean up your form week to week. Whether you’re repping 8 or grinding through 20, if you’re improving over time, you’re giving your legs a reason to grow.

Check out more resources on everything related to reps:

References

Schoenfeld, Brad J. “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 24, no. 10, Oct. 2010, pp. 2857–72, journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2010/10000/The_Mechanisms_of_Muscle_Hypertrophy_and_Their.40.aspxLike.

How Many Reps On Leg Press? Find The Perfect Range

Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S