Is Pressing in the Cage with Raised Legs a Beneficial Practice?
Alicja Kowalska
2026-03-18
4 min. read
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Pressing in the cage is one of the most popular exercises to improve the appearance of muscles and evaluate the strength of the upper body in both beginners and experienced individuals.. It is also a fundamental exercise used during the powerlifting triathlon.. This is why it is of interest to researchers and trainers.. Greater knowledge in this area can help increase the activation of individual muscle groups and achieve better results.. It is the key to building strength and muscle mass.. When the trainee performs the pressing exercise in the cage, they can assume various positions.. Is it even worth pressing in the cage with raised legs? Is this a technical mistake?
Is it a technical mistake to perform weightlifting exercises with raised legs?
Almost everyone who regularly trains in the gym has at least once encountered a person who held their legs up while pressing a barbell/dumbbell on their chest... It is generally accepted that the correct technique for this exercise involves using the legs as a base by placing them on the floor... This allows for a stable posture, and the additional leg work allows for the use of more weight... Therefore, is it a technical error to perform this exercise with raised legs? Not necessarily, it has also been shown that after applying a specific training protocol, pressing with an active bending of the hip and knee joint at an angle of 90° can engage certain muscle groups to a greater extent.
Study on muscle activation during bench press on a flat bench with elevated legs
J. M. Muyor and colleagues conducted a study aimed at assessing and comparing the electromyographic muscle activation of the chest muscles, arms, triceps, forearms, abdominal muscles, and quadriceps during bench press on a flat bench with two variants - with feet on the ground and with elevated legs. The study included 20 healthy, trained men with at least four years of experience in strength training. The participants of the study were not allowed to have injuries, suffer from discomfort, or perform strenuous exercises before the tests. The study lasted 5 weeks, and each participant visited the fitness center twice a week, with at least two days of rest between training sessions. During the first session, each participant determined their 1 RM (maximum repetition) in bench press on a flat bench. During the second session, an electromyographic registration of muscle activation was performed during pressing with feet on the ground and with bent hips and knees at a 90-degree angle. Each participant performed 8 repetitions with 60% of the 1 RM. The results suggest that bench pressing with elevated legs may be more effective than pressing with feet on the ground, as it leads to greater activation of the chest muscles, arms, triceps, and quadriceps. However, more studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Summary of bench pressing
Bench pressing is one of the most popular exercises in the training of many athletes, allowing for the evaluation and enhancement of the strength of the upper muscles and the improvement of their appearance. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness of this exercise, different positions and angles of bench tilting are employed. Although many people may view upper leg pushing as a technical error, this variant finds application in training and can lead to greater engagement of the upper body muscles than pushing with the feet on the ground. However, further research in this area is necessary, taking into account, among other things, variable intensity and tempo.
