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Leg Extension and Curl Machines for Home Gyms: How to Choose
A leg extension and curl machine trains your quads and hamstrings from one seat. For a home gym, that’s two machines’ worth of leg work in one footprint. The right one depends on six things: whether you need a full machine or a bench attachment, weight stack or plates, seated or lying curl, the floor space you’ve got, how the machine is built and adjusts, and your budget.
This guide walks through each one, with real specs from the four options we sell.
What is a leg extension and curl machine?
A leg extension and curl machine is one station that does two isolation lifts: leg extensions for the quads and leg curls for the hamstrings. You switch between them by adjusting the pads, not by moving to another machine.
On a leg extension, you sit and straighten your knee against a roller pad. On a leg curl, you bend your knee against a pad, either seated or lying face down depending on the design. Our MAXUM LEC2 is a seated-curl version and the MAXUM LEC3 is a lying-curl version. Both are built as two machines in one frame.
Squats and Smith machine work put heavy demand on your legs, but they share the load with your hips and back. A leg extension and curl machine isolates the quads and hamstrings directly, which is why it pairs well with a rack or Smith machine.
Do you need a full machine, or will a bench attachment do?
If you already own a compatible MAXUM bench and train mostly on your own, a bench attachment covers leg extensions and curls for a fraction of the cost. If you want heavy, smooth, fast-switching leg work that several people in the house can use, a dedicated machine is worth the extra space and money.
Here’s the difference in practice:
- Bench attachment. The MAXUM AB5 Leg Extension Curl Attachment mounts on the AB5 Adjustable Bench, so you need that bench to use it. It loads plates on a 12″ weight horn, or connects to a functional trainer’s cable stack with the included extension cables. The MAXUM FID-400 Leg Extension/Curl Attachment fits the FID-400 bench, takes standard 1″ or Olympic 2″ plates, and has 6 height settings.
- Dedicated machine. The LEC2 and LEC3 each run a 265 lb weight stack on a cam and cable system. You change weight with a pin, not by loading plates, and the pads are built around the leg arm rather than bolted onto a bench.
The attachment’s limit is load and convenience. You’re stacking plates on a horn, and you’re converting your bench every time you want to press. The machine’s limit is footprint and price.
Weight stack or plate loaded: which is better at home?
A weight stack is faster to adjust and easier to progress in small steps. Plate loading is cheaper and uses plates you probably already own, but every weight change means loading and unloading.
The LEC2 and LEC3 both pair the 265 lb stack with two 2.5 lb micro stacks. That matters more than it sounds. On isolation lifts like these, a full plate jump on the stack can be the difference between finishing a set and missing it. Micro weights let you add 2.5 or 5 lb at a time.
Plate-loaded attachments make sense if you already have a rack of plates and you’re happy to change them between sets. The AB5 attachment also gives you a middle path: run it off a functional trainer’s cables, including the cable stacks on our Smith machine/functional trainer combos (the X3, SX2, S-150 and S-92), and you get stack-style pin changes without buying a second stack. You’ll still need the AB5 bench to mount it on.
Seated or lying leg curl: which should your machine have?
For building hamstring size, the seated leg curl has the edge in the study that compared the two directly. For most home lifters, either one works well, so pick the one you’ll actually use.
In a 12-week study by Maeo and colleagues (2021), 20 untrained adults trained one leg with seated leg curls and the other with lying leg curls. Hamstring muscle volume grew about 14% on the seated side versus about 9% on the lying side. The researchers linked the difference to training the hamstrings at a longer muscle length, because sitting bends the hip and stretches them.
That’s one study, and it doesn’t make the lying curl a bad lift. If you prefer lying curls, or you like how the LEC3’s V-shaped pads lock your torso in place, it’s a solid choice. If growth is the main goal and you’re undecided, the seated LEC2 is the one the evidence points to.
How much space does a leg extension and curl machine need?
Plan for a floor space of roughly 4 to 5 feet long by just under 4 feet wide, and just over 5 feet of height. Both dedicated machines stand 64″ tall, so ceiling height isn’t an issue in a typical basement.
The exact footprints, from the product pages:
- LEC2 (seated curl): 52″ long × 45″ wide × 64″ high. 545 lb assembled.
- LEC3 (lying curl): 57″ long × 43″ wide × 64″ high. 515 lb assembled.
Leave room to get on and off the seat and to reach the weight-stack pin, so add a couple of feet on the entry side. If you’re going with a bench attachment, the footprint is your bench’s, plus space for the attachment arm.
The weight is the part people underestimate. The LEC2 ships at 595 lb packed and the LEC3 at 565 lb. One LEC2 owner’s review recommends opening the crate where you can spread out, and moving everything into the room before you build, not after. Another owner called getting it into the house and down the stairs a two- or three-person job. Plan the route to your basement before delivery day.
What should you check in the build and adjustments?
Check four things: that your knee lines up with the machine’s pivot, that the roller and starting position adjust to your legs, that the cam gives a smooth resistance curve, and that the frame is built for heavy, repeated use. A machine that doesn’t fit your knee will feel wrong no matter how strong the frame is.
- Knee-to-pivot alignment. Your knee joint should sit in line with the axis the leg arm rotates on. The LEC2 has a quick-adjusting backrest for exactly this, so lifters of different heights can line up properly. The LEC3 doesn’t have a backrest adjustment. Instead, its V-shaped pads hold your torso and legs in place for lying curls, so if you’re especially tall or short, call us to check the fit before you order.
- Roller and range-of-motion adjustment. Look for an ankle roller that adjusts to leg length and a pre-stretch setting on the leg arm, so you can choose where each rep starts. Both LEC machines have both.
- Resistance curve. A cam shapes the resistance to match how your strength changes through the rep. The LEC2 and LEC3 use a variable-resistance cam with nylon-coated aircraft-grade cables and aluminum pulleys.
- Frame. Both run a 2″ × 4″ 11-gauge steel frame. That’s commercial-gym thickness, and it’s why the machines weigh over 500 lb.
How much does a leg extension and curl machine cost in Canada?
In our range, you’re looking at about $600 to $750 for a bench plus attachment, or $2,250 to $2,500 for a dedicated combo machine. The gap buys you a weight stack, a cam, and a frame built only for leg work.
| Option | Type | Leg curl position | Resistance | Size | Price (CAD) | Best for |
| FID-400 attachment + FID-400 bench | Bench attachment | On the bench | Standard 1″ or Olympic 2″ plates | Bench footprint | $100 + $500 bench | Lowest cost, plate owners |
| AB5 attachment + AB5 bench | Bench attachment | On the bench | Plates on 12″ horn, or functional trainer cables | Bench footprint | $200 + $550 bench | AB5 bench owners; optional cable use with a functional trainer or Smith/functional trainer combo |
| MAXUM LEC2 | Dedicated machine | Seated | 265 lb stack + 2 × 2.5 lb micro stacks | 52″ × 45″ × 64″ | $2,500 ($2,250 on sale) | Hamstring growth, shared home gyms |
| MAXUM LEC3 | Dedicated machine | Lying | 265 lb stack + 2 × 2.5 lb micro stacks | 57″ × 43″ × 64″ | $2,500 ($2,250 on sale) | Lifters who prefer lying curls |
Prices change, so check the product page before you buy. Shipping is free across Canada on orders over $500, with some exceptions, and 0% financing is available at 3, 6 and 12 month terms.
What does the warranty cover?
MAXUM-branded strength machines, weight benches and bench attachments, including the AB5 and FID-400 leg extension/curl attachments, carry a lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship and materials under normal residential use. It doesn’t cover normal wear and tear.
A few more conditions from the warranty page: the warranty applies in Canada, to the original purchaser only, and is only valid if the product is assembled according to the instructions included with it. In most cases, a claim just needs a photo or video of the defective part. If a part does have to come back to us, you prepay the shipping.
Which one should you buy?
Buy the LEC2 if you want a dedicated machine and hamstring growth is a priority. Buy the LEC3 if you prefer lying curls. Buy the AB5 attachment if you want leg isolation without another big machine. It mounts on the AB5 Adjustable Bench, so add the bench if you don’t already have one. It works with plates on its own, and if you also have a MAXUM functional trainer or Smith machine/functional trainer combo, you can run it off the cables instead.
The FID-400 attachment is the lowest-cost way in, and it’s a fit if you already own the FID-400 bench and a set of plates. Check that it matches your bench before you buy, because attachments are sized to specific benches.
The LEC2 and LEC3 are in our Lower Body Training range, and both attachments are with our weight benches. If your setup is built around cables, our functional trainers pair naturally with the AB5 attachment.
Ready to add leg isolation to your home gym? Shop Lower Body Training or call our team at 1-877-449-6565, Monday to Saturday, 10 to 6 EST.
About the author: Written by the MAXUM Fitness Team, the in-house team behind MAXUM Fitness in North York, Ontario. Questions about fit, footprint or which machine suits your setup? Get in touch.
