Compact Leg Sled & Toe Press
The new and wildly improved ATX® Compact Leg Press offers improved stability, wider footplate, higher weight load capacity, even smoother movement while retaining the same compact footprint!
ATX® Compact Leg Press ATX-CLP-700 Key Features
Compact Leg Press
The best range of motion of any compact leg sled on the market.
Donkey Calf Raise
Perform weighted donkey calf raises with full range of motion on the bottom cutout section of the footplate.
Carriage
The carriage operates on 8 x Rollers which are built into the frame of the carriage.
Rollers are manufactured out of special UMHW Nylon.
Each roller runs on dual bearings with an additional needle roller sleeve.
Carriage weight – 36 kg.
Extra Wide Footplate
745 mm wide and 400 mm deep.
Base Plate 5-Way Adjustable
The base footplate can be adjusted in 5 different positions
Resistance Band Pegs
Change the resistance curve with built in resistance band pegs.
To increase the resistance at the top of the movement loop the band around the front band peg.
To decrease the resistance at the bottom of the movement loop of the band around the rear band peg.
40 mm Solid Steel Shaft
The guiderails are manufactured out of solid 40 mm thick steel.
And are coated in HARD Chrome.
Auto Start Mechanism
To start the lift, simply press off the footplate and the spring loaded locking lever will disengage.
To Lock the carriage in, pull the lever down and slowly descend until it locks onto the locking pins.
The ATX® Compact Leg Press has been one of the most popular leg training stations ever produced by ATX®. Not only because it is more compact. The leg press exercise itself is hard to beat.
This is the THIRD revision of the ATX® Compact Leg Sled. This time German Engineers split the backrest pad in half, to take the pressure off your lumbar vertebra.
They have also added a big red knob to the locking handle, eliminating unnecessary confusion when trying to start the exercise.
The movement itself is far more natural. Being very similar to your regular squats, your body is upright. As opposed to being upside down on a 45 degree leg press.
The combined positioning/angle of both the seat and footplate enables you to isolate the quads. The Compact Leg Press also enables you to go deeper – your quads don’t hit your mid section.
Sam's Review
The ATX-CLP-700 would easily be the favourite leg machine here. In my opinion the movement is more comfortable – your body is approximately angled at (overlay shots of me on leg sled vs 45 degree leg press) 30 degrees vs 45 degrees on a leg press machine. It also feels more natural in that you are upright instead of seated.
I am not the only person that shares this feeling.
Lee Priest has had many years experience training on these machines and has a similar view.
BACKGROUND
This new version of the Compact Leg Press is the result of years of development.
It’s origin can be traced back to the old Powertec Compact Leg Sled.
These were great machines and I loved them so much that I have even kept one. It still works great and is the reason I have kept it. But the quality and features of the ATX machine leave it for dead.
The issue with the early Powertec machines was always the rollers. The early models had rubber coated steel rollers. Eventually the rubber would wear off and you would be running steel on steel.
Then they moved to a thin nylon roller. These were an improvement but the outer edges would split after prolonged heavy use.
Then in 2008 Powertec started using a thicker roller that solved these issues.
ATX previously distribute Powertec in Europe. They had a falling out and ATX made the Megatec range which filled the gaps that Powertec left. The Megatec CLP-350 introduced thicker guide rails and further revised rollers.
The rollers on this machine are a completely new design and made from a much more durable material They are same as what are on the BPR-790
It is the use of this new technology and materials that give ATX the edge.
The rollers now feature both roller and needle bearings. They rotate on a bushed sleeve versus just a bolt. These small and incremental improvements keep stacking up to deliver the smoothest movement ever.
The rollers now feature both roller and needle bearings (pull a roller out and take photo). They rotate on a bushed sleeve versus just a bolt. These small and incremental improvements keep stacking up to deliver the smoothest movement ever.
The other criticism that people had with these machines was that you could not load enough weight. This has been addressed by the latest weight horn design. You no longer need nylon sleeves. The machine now comes standard with these massive chromed Olympic sleeves. They are also angled so that you no longer need to use collars.
There are other aspects that I will discuss later, but my point is that this machine of 20 years of real world development.
BUILD
The ATX-CLP-700 has so many improvements over these earlier models. The most obvious being the new backrest design. Older models featured an adjustable pad. Personally I would rarely adjust the backrest, instead you would adjust the footplate. By getting rid of this feature you get a more solid machine. The dual pads are slightly angled which locks you into place when pushing heavier weights.
The weight carriage also has received a major makeover. Aside for from the pulleys, the housings are much more solid and cleaner looking. The start stop mechanism is spring loaded. So you simply lift off and the mechanism disengages. When you finish your set you lock it back into position.
The locking mechanism is made from much thicker plate steel that is chrome plated versus painted on the earlier models. On the sides you will also see chromed band begs. So even if the oversized weight horns are not enough, you can throw on some resistance bands.
Moving down the footplate, it is massive so you can use a really wide stance. You can adjust the angle at the front with newly redesigned ATX knob. This is another example of the development of these machines – the yellow t-pins on the old Powertec machines did the job if you treated them properly. But they could come loose or even crack if you overtightened them – these new ATX knobs are as good as you will find on a high end commercial machine.
The cut away section at the bottom of the footplate is where you do calf raises.
GREAT FOR EVERYONE
Now the ATX Compact Leg Press is great for everyone. Because you are on a 30 degree angle versus 45 degrees, you can push more weight than a leg press. So the guys that boast about 4,000kg leg presses will scoff at these machines. However if you are a disciple of Lee Priest, you will understand that there is more to weight training than just grunting up the weight with poor form.
If you train with the proper technique and focus on isolating the muscle, this machine is great for serious trainers.
Especially those that are into high rep leg work. Doing high rep squats, even on a leverage machine and your back will seize up. On a leg press you feel like your thighs are restricting your breathing. On the sled you are upright, and your back is supported.
So it is great for hypertrophy, but if you want to do low rep and max weight I wouldn’t recommend this for you.
For everyone else this is the best all round leg machine option in my opinion. By this I mean, if you need a leg extension – a leg extension will be best. But if you are looking for a machine that will train all your legs – like a leg press, hack squat, belt squat, leverage squat – the compact leg press would be what I would choose. There are several reasons.
COMPACT
For starters, it is more compact. It is only 185cm versus 210cm compared to the ATX-BPR-650 45 degree leg press machine. Might not sound like much of a space saving, but even in our gym here it makes a fair difference. As mentioned previously I actually prefer this exercise over the leg press. So I am not really sacrificing anything for this space.
REHAB
These leg sleds are great if you are recovering from an injury. My physio has the old Powertec Leg Sled like mine. So, when I had a few knee issues, I did a lot of rehab work on this machine. You could do the same work on a leg press. Trust me when you have buggered knee doing on this is a lot easier than getting into a leg press.
GREAT FOR BEGINNERS
If you are someone you are going to train with are just starting out, this is the perfect leg machine. Being upright it is just a little more intuitive for a beginner. A 45-degree leg press is good too. But having the carriage coming down can be a little daunting. Plus some of the start/stop mechanisms can be a bit tricky.
Plus the more relaxed angle makes it easier to go deeper without sacrificing form.
EVEN BETTER FOR VETERANS
In my younger days I may have opted for a leverage squat machine.
They are excellent for loading up the quads, while taking the load off the knees and back. However you still have the weight on your shoulders and you are using your back. The compact leg press significantly reduces the load off the back. And given my knee issues, I can tell you this is much easier on my knees.
When you reach the point I have – it is all about preservation – then this is the machine for you. I still train consistently and with intensity. But to keep doing this long term you have to be smart. The harder you train the longer it takes to recover. By using the compact leg press and taking the load off my knees and back, I can really focus on my quads.
If I do heavy squatting, my body feels sore for days. Which is ok if you wait to recover. But I really enjoy training, especially for clearing my head, so I would rather do this exercise these days.
Even if you are a heavy squatter, this machine is a great complimentary exercise. If you added some light sets on the compact leg press after some squats, you could really finish off the quads. Or it is a great warm up exercise.
FINAL WORD
Now there are a lot of machines out there that look similar to this machine.
Trust me they are the not the same. Factories that are producing these knock offs have simply not gone through the same development work. Anything under $1,000 is junk – it will either break down or you won’t enjoy using it.
At the moment we are selling this machine for just under $1,900. I know for some people an extra $900 is a lot of money. Which is even more the reason why you shouldn’t spend $1,000 on one of these junk machines. You are throwing your money away.
Doing lunges will be better and cheaper.
My Powertec machine would be close to 15 years old. That was a great machine. This ATX-CLP-700 is far superior to that machine in so many aspects. Although it is not cheap for a leg sled, you are getting a battle tested machine that is a lot cheaper than a 45 degree leg press.
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