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Strength exercises Β· Lower body

Leg extension

Difficulty Isolation movements

How to perform it

Seated machine, isolated knee extension against resistance. Targets the quads purely. Differs from the leg curl by the opposite direction of movement – you straighten the knee instead of bending it.

Equipment

  • Leg extension machineMachine

Muscles worked

Muscles and artwork credits
  • Rectus femoris
  • Vastus lateralis
  • Vastus medialis

Artwork: Ryan Graves, CC BY 4.0, modified

Related exercises

Find another variation and compare difficulty.

Family in the library

Leg extensions

Exercise family Β· pattern: Isolation movements

1 family Β· 1 variationDifficulty
  • Leg extensionCurrently viewing

Difficulty describes how demanding the execution is. It is not a recommended training order.