your legs are your foundation
Legs – you use them every day but chances are you rarely think about all the muscle groups that go into walking, running, bending or kneeling. The good news is we think about them a lot which is why we’ve put together an outstanding selection of equipment for almost any type of lower body workout you can imagine. Come by and take a closer look!
linear hack squat machine
Most likely you already know what a squat exercise is, but you may not be as sure about a “hack squat”. The hack squat is similar to a leg press but instead of being seated, you’re in more of a standing position and the weights are placed above your shoulders. A linear hack squat machine is even more specific as it’s designed to train a movement that isn’t offered by typical hack squats.
In general, hack squats work your entire lower body from your calves, hamstrings, quad muscles to your glutes and even your core. Hack squats are also a great place for beginners before they advance to full on squats standing up with a barbell across their shoulders.
Learn more about hack squats here .
Our Linear Hack Squat machine from Hammer Strength features linear bearings on guide rides to provide extremely smooth motion along with racking handles that flip in and out easily so you can set your desired start and stop position.
iso-lateral leg extension
Leg extensions or leg lifts as they are also known as, focus specifically on your quadricep muscles.
Hammer Strength adds the iso-lateral component in this machine. With separate bars for holding weight on each side, you can engage independent diverging and converging motions for equal strength development and muscle stimulation in each leg.
In English, that means you can work each leg independently even if you are lifting both together at the same time. All you have to do is select how many plates you want to load.
seated calf
Ah the calf muscle, often overlooked but one of the first muscles you often feel after walking, running, biking, hiking, climbing stairs and more. It’s also a difficult muscle to develop, but when you are ready, we have a machine that’s dedicated solely to your soleus and gastrocnemius muscles.
The seated calf machine from Hammer Strength lets load your plates and then features a release handle when you’re ready to make those calves sing.
seated leg press – insignia series
This seated leg press machine from Life Fitness is ideal for novices, but still guaranteed to give even experts a great workout of your quads and glutes.
When used properly – and make sure you checkout the video below – this machine transmits force through your hips, eliminating spinal compression.
The upright seat position is fully cushioned from your head to your bottom and allows you to set your start/stop height. The end result is a natural feel along with smooth movement.
seated leg curl – insignia series
Most machines that focus on hamstring development require you to lie in a face down position. This may not be possible for everyone, so Life Fitness brings us a machine that allows you to isolate your hamstrings while remaining in a comfortably seated position.
In the case of this machine, the leg curls are performed in a downward motion while replicating the body’ natural strength curve throughout the entire range of motion.
The padded leg bar is adjustable to accommodate various leg lengths and the dual grips give you a comfortable position to keep your arms in while you crank away on your reps.
leg extension – insignia series
For the seated leg curl machine covered above, you move your legs downward. Leg extensions instead, call for an upward or lifting movement that focuses on the four muscles that make up your quadriceps. If your hamstrings are the yin, then your quads are the yang when it comes to your leg muscles. It’s always good to strengthen both.
This selectorized machine is part of the Insignia series so ease of use, comfort and flexibility are built into it by design from Life Fitness. The seatback is set at a 100-degree angle for added comfort while contracting your quads. The height of the leg lifting bar and the range of motion are also independently adjustable.
ground base squat lunge machine
Experts may easily recognize what a ground base squat lunge machine is for, but even so, there’s a lot to this machine. While squats are considered a lower body exercise, a lunge squat machine can also work upper body elements simultaneously. The term “ground base” means you start your lifting routine from the ground and lift upward whereas traditional squats carry the weight on a barbell across your shoulders and then you move downward.
This is a plate loaded machine from Hammer Strength and comes with two different loading points to place your weight. It also features two different handle positions so you can focus on various strength curves.
seated leg press – hammer strength
The seated leg press gives you a complete workout of your upper legs, meaning your front muscles (quads) and the back side of those your quads. This machine can even work all the way up to your glutes. The added benefit of a seated leg press is it reduces compression on your lower back compared to barbell squats.
This machine from Hammer Strength is selectorized meaning the weight is already on board, you just use pin placement to select how much you want to lift.
Hamstring curl – hammer strength
The machine is called a leg curl, but it could just as easily be called a hamstring curl because of the way you move your leg while lifting from a prone position on your stomach while grasping the two handles below your shoulders.
This machine from Hammer Strength is selectorized and comes with five different starting positions and features a divergent angle between the hip and chest pads. This helps minimize lower back stress during your lift.
linear leg press – hammer strength
This plate-loaded machine from Hammer Strength can look intimidating for many people, but the mechanics behind it provide a smooth feel that keeps your reps feeling neutral through the linear bearings no matter what your level of expertise.
The Linear Leg Press comes with an adjustable back rest and also features a flip-in, flip-out mechanism that serves as a brake before you start your press, so you flip out to release and as a stop or flip in, when you are finished.
v-squat – hammer strength
The V-Squat machine from Hammer Strength is designed to give you a natural squatting motion. It employs a standard counterbalance for lower starting resistance and with its curved arc motion it reduces knee and back strain.
The machine’s design makes it easier to lift without the need for a spotter. Also, the release handle on the right allows you to adjust your position on the platform for ideal positioning before you perform your reps.
Glute/ham Developer – Legend fitness
This machine from Legend Fitness is part of their Pro Series, meaning it’s industrial strength, metal plated and includes heavy duty polymer padding and wear guards all sitting on a fully welded frame.
It comes with a 32-inch wide seating pad and offer a step up plate for easy mounting and dismounting. It also has an easily adjustable footplate with eight linear positions to accommodate all sizes.
Unlike a plate-loaded or selectorized machine, there’s no weight to add or select. You just use your own body weight. However, it also offers dual anchor points if you attach resistance bands for even more variety.
kneeling leg curl – hammer strength
Developing hamstring muscles is notoroiously difficult. The most common workout equipment has you lying on your stomach and then doing leg curls. This method works well, but it may not be everyone, especially if you have lower back issues.
Hammer Strength has come out with a machine that allows you to stay upright and was designed to mimic natural human movement. You’ll actually place yourself into a kneeling position. This creates a divergent angle between your help and the chest pads on the machine to help reduce tension in your lower back.
And like nearly all our plate loaded machines at BIM Fitness, this one is isolateral with separate “weight horns” as Hammer Strength calls them so you can develop strength equally for either leg or adjust for each leg independently if need be.