There is a similar machine at my gym (silly I know) that I've been using for a while. It is intended to strengthen the glutes. Instead of pushing the lever with the foot, the model I use have the back of my thigh/knee push against a roll to lift the weight. There is even a helpful little diagram on the machine showing how to use it.
I've been struggling with this all winter. I could barely lift 10lb and that was tough! Meanwhile, every women at the gym, fit or not, are pushing at least 50lb with ease. I know my glutes are weak but this is ridiculous!
I talked about this with JaS and coach SZ. Neither of them had a clue either. Today, I had a breakthrough and finally unlocked the secret to use this machine. Apparently, the "helpful little diagram" is not so helpful after all. I bent my knee at 90 angle as directed by the diagram to squeeze the roll between the back of my thigh and calf. That unnecessary muscle contraction essentially locked up so much of the rest of my legs that I could hardly lift anything. As soon as I relax my leg to just slightly bend my knee, I immediately engage my glutes effectively to lift much heavier weight with ease. OMG, I feel like an idiot.
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