5 Best Home Gyms with a Leg Press Station

Working out at home is becoming the best choice for those who are on a tight schedule. When time is your most valuable asset, investing in a home gym might be a much better solution than getting a gym membership at your nearest facility.

However, the question is whether a multi-station home gym is enough to allow you to build strong leg muscles?

Often, it’s not. But, there’s an exception.

Adding a leg press station to a home gym will make that system fully capable of building the lower body strength and mass you’re after. This is especially true if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop option.

Today we’ll show you our top picks for the 5 best home gyms with leg press station, talk about each model in detail and give you the spec rundown. Later, we’ll talk more about these types of rigs in general, what to look for, what to expect and more. By the time you’re done with this guide, you should have a full picture of how these machines work and how they can help you with your fitness journey.

Best Home Gym with Leg Press Station At a Glance

Should You Get a Home Gym with Leg Press Station?

The quick answer to that question is: If you have the space and money for a one, and you’re not expecting to to be pressing very heavy weights, then yes you should get a multi-station home gym with leg press.

Here’s the longer answer…

Multi-station home gyms are very handy machines. In fact, a good multi-gym was the centerpiece of my first garage gym. It’s what helped me develop my love for strength training. Unfortunately, most multi-gyms only include a leg/knee extension station. Extensions are great and all, but they’re an isolation exercise that exclusively targets the quadriceps. The leg press is a multi-joint exercise that targets the quadriceps (just as strongly as knee extensions) as well as the hamstrings, gluteals, and gastrocnemius (calf muscles). It’s a much more efficient exercise.

Getting a home gym with leg press attachment means you’ll have access to this effective and efficient leg exercise, that is used the world over for developing strong, muscular lower bodies. But, they have drawbacks.

Disadvantages of These Machines

First, leg press attachments for multi-gyms are usually large and necessitate quite a lot of room in your home or garage gym.

Second, they tend to be expensive (because they’re large, and generally more complex than other stations). So, you need to know that you’ll be dishing out considerably more cash for the machine or having to buy the leg press attachment separately.

Finally, multi-gyms are designed for basic strength training, and rarely have particularly heavy weight stacks. The heaviest is around 300 lbs. But, the leg press is an exercise that most people can go relatively heavy on, precisely because so many muscles are being employed. The point here is that a home gym with leg press station won’t be suitable for you if you’re already strong, or are planning to get very strong.

What Are Some Other Options?

Here are some alternatives:

1. Get a standalone leg press machine, or a hack squat machine. These are also very expensive, and take up a lot of room themselves, but you can usually go very heavy on them. They only develop the legs though, so you still need a machine or something else for your upper body strength development.
2. Get a more affordable vertical leg press machine. These take up less room and are less expensive, but you have to be under the machine to use it, which is inherently more dangerous, and you need weight plates, which are another expense. They’re also only for leg development. No upper body exercises.
3. Just use the knee extension station on a normal home gym. You can do extensions and hamstring curls (by standing and facing towards the weight stack) for your quads and hamstrings, and then find other exercises for building your glutes and calves. This is less efficient, but will save you money and space. Plus, you’ll have all the other stations for your upper body.
4. Get a free weight set up. Ideally you’ll have a barbell, weight plates or bumpers, a power rack or squat rack, and possibly even some dumbbells. It’s a fair amount of equipment, but the possibilities for developing muscle and strength in your whole body are essentially endless. Plus, you can get some good cheap stuff online so it doesn’t have to cost any more money than a home gym with leg press would.

The Best Home Gyms with Leg Press Stations

#1. Body-Solid Multi-Station Selectorized Gym

At the very top of the list, is the EXM3000LPS from Body-Solid. This exceptional home gym system is packed with 7 workout stations, each targeting a different part of your body. As a result, you are getting a proven, whole-body exercise is one machine. Keep in mind that this isn’t a small rig by any means. Having to set aside more room for this machine is one of the tradeoffs for having access to so many unique stations.

Body Solid has used proper tubing for this build. You are looking at a rather robust setup that inspires confidence across the board. On top of that, each station is comfortable. This is thanks to the abundance of DuraFirm pads which have proven to be more than adequate.

As far as weight goes, this machine brings a dual 210lbs weight stack that you can reach easily to make adjustments from just about any of the 7 workout stations. Speaking of which, stations include a leg press station, pec station, a low row station, lat station and more. The machine does take some time to fully assemble but is otherwise very user-friendly.

The Good

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#2. Bodycraft Galena Pro Home Gym with Leg Press

Our next pick comes from Bodycraft and goes by the name of Galena Pro. This home gym offers a more compact choice compared to the model we’ve just talked about. With that said, the Galena Pro retains the majority of the functionality as its much larger competition.

We can attribute this to the more substantial use of cables and pulleys. Although a simpler mechanical link between each workout station and the weight stack makes up for a more robust setup, complex cable rigs can be every bit as durable if you treat them right.

This model comes with a dual function pec station, lat station, lower cable station, leg curl station, chest press and more. The whole rig is fitted with a 150 lb. weight stack that can be upgraded with the 50 lb. add-on. The overall build quality is quite decent. Tubing used to build the frame features quality materials, fit and finish. The padding on the seats and backrests is firm but comfortable, making your time on the machine that much easier.

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#3. Fitness Factory EXM1 Home Gym with Leg Press

Fitness Factory’s EXM1 feels like a breath of fresh air compared to most other models on the market. Seeing a beautifully crafted hunk of red metal makes all of the black, grey and white home gyms look bland. However, looks don’t build muscle. Is this machine up to the task? How does it stack up against the competition? The EXM1 home gym has proven to be one of the most compact models on the market.

When compact is the name of the game, that usually means that some features are missing. In the case of this home gym, you are not getting some of the tertiary stations. However, you do get the chest press, high, mid and low pulley station as well as leg developer with the addition of a great leg press station.

Build quality-wise, this thing is on point. You’re looking at proper tubing, great welds all around, great padding and 160 lbs. of pure iron sitting in a weight stack behind you. The only thing that’s missing here is a weight stack shroud.

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#4. Body-Solid Fusion F500-FLP Home Gym with Leg Press

Body Solid’s array of home gyms reveals some of the true gems of the market. We’ve already shown you one, but the Fusion F500-FLP is in a league of its own. This model was built around the idea of space-saving but without compromising the performance side of the equation.

One glance at the F500-FLP tells you that whoever designed this thing was all about functionality and performance. There is a distinct lack of unnecessary components that might catch you by surprise. What you do get are the core workout stations with the addition of a standalone leg press station.

In other words, you’re looking at a lat pulldown station, chest press, leg extensions station and an articulating arm station that can facilitate a wide variety of exercises. What really makes this model stand out is the fact that you are getting a 310 lbs. stack. That is at least 100 lbs. more than what the average competitor has to offer. When combined with the 2:1 ratio on the leg press station, those 310 lbs. quickly turn into staggering 620 lbs. of weight.

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#5. Body-Solid Powerline Home Gym with Leg Press

Our last pick for this list also comes from Body-Solid, but this time around we’re talking about a model that is meant for those looking for optimal bang-for-buck value. Body Solid’s Powerline Home Gym is actually a combination of two of their successful models – the P2X home gym and PLPX leg press station.

As far as functionality goes, you are getting a solid selection of workout stations in a package that is well within the realm of compact home gyms. The overall build quality is on point. However, you might notice messy welds here or there, which detracts nothing from the reliability of the frame. Fortunately, messy welds don’t mean weak welds.

As far as the workout stations go, you’ll have the usual selection of chest press, leg extension station, lat pull down, and low pulley system among others. This Powerline home gym comes with a 160 lbs. weight stack, which is more or less an average for this price range. The leg press station features the 2:1 pulley system which means that those 160 lbs. double up, giving you a decent amount of resistance to work with.

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Choosing the Right Home Gym with Leg Press

Finding the right home gym comes down to a few important factors. However, before we get to those, you should do your best to define a budget you’re willing to invest in one.

Just like it is the case with most other complex fitness equipment, knowing what price range you’re operating in can simplify your shopping process immensely. With that out of the way, let’s discuss some of the most important factors you should focus on.

Workout Stations

This one is quite obvious. Even though most modern home gyms come with more or less similar core workout stations, there are outliers in both directions. Some gyms actually have fewer stations than you’d expect, while others bring several more than average.

Knowing which exercises are important for your fitness plan can help in this regard. Also, keep in mind that more workout stations also mean a larger footprint on average. At the end of the day, it all comes down to finding the right balance.

Size

Home gyms are often times massive pieces of equipment. With all those workout stations, weight stacks, and subframes, they simply require a decent amount of room. However, there are still compact and not so compact home gyms out there.

While the number and type of workout stations matter in this regard, it’s not always true that fewer workout stations mean a smaller machine. It actually comes down to the original design and what the manufacturer wanted to achieve.

When selecting a home gym, make sure that you are accounting for at least a few feet in every direction. This is the space you’ll be using to walk around the machine. Often overlooked, this space is absolutely important.

Weight Stacks

Next up are weight stacks. As you can tell from our list above, there are various options available. Most weight stacks range between 150-300lbs. We strongly recommend that you get as much weight as possible so that your machine provides plenty of room for your strength to grow into.

Home gyms are a large investment for most users and you’ll do well to ensure that your investment continues to provide value for as long as possible.

Aside from weight itself, having a weight stack shroud is highly recommended as it reduces any unnecessary risks and keeps the whole machine looking tidy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Now that we know a thing or two about home gyms in general, let’s address some of the most frequently asked questions regarding leg presses. Since these devices are not often found as part of home gym setups, new and experienced users aren’t as informed regarding their efficiency and performance.

Are leg presses as good as squats?

Everyone knows that a weighted squat is the king of weightlifting exercises. This compound movement has been at the core of just about every split routine from the moment barbells were invented. As a compound movement, squats activate quads, hamstrings, and glutes primarily with a lesser effect on other muscle groups. The question that often gets asked is whether leg presses are a good substitute for squats?

The real answer is a solid ‘maybe’, and here’s why. Squats and leg presses are complementary exercises. In other words, they hit the same muscles but with a slightly different effect. Leg presses are great at isolating the muscle groups we’ve mentioned and allowing you to really hit them hard with isolation workouts. That is why most people are often able to press more weight than they can squat.

However, squats are better in the sense that they require you to activate your core as well. There is a strong current in the weightlifting community that categorizes squats as a full-body exercise, and for a good reason. In essence, leg presses can be as good as squats in terms of leg muscle development, but these two exercises get you there using slightly different routes.

Will leg presses make your legs bigger?

Absolutely! Leg presses are a great way to develop strong and massive leg muscles. Your glutes, hamstrings, and quads are being isolated in this machine, thus allowing you to add more weight and reap better results. Just keep in mind that it is quite easy to go overboard with leg presses because of the illusion of safety.

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is to take on more weight than they can handle. As long as you’re realistic regarding your abilities, and you take a gradual approach to adding weight to the leg press, you should be golden.

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Well, there you have it: The best home gyms with leg press station.

Our goal for this guide was to put together a list of models that will help you build the strength and muscle mass you’re after, especially in your legs. As you can tell, some of them are expensive, others are reasonably priced, but they’re all worth the investment.

The key is to figure out what your expectations are and to get a machine that best fits your needs. The models listed above are absolute winners that have proven track records of good performance. All you have to do is pick one that best matches your needs.