A lighter warm-up exercise before heavier lifting gives the same muscle and strength gains as just doing the heavy lifting alone, even though you're doing less overall work.

A shorter, easier leg workout gives the same muscle and strength gains as a longer, harder one for beginners, even though you're doing less overall work.

For guys who don't usually work out, doing a special type of leg exercise first leads to bigger strength gains than regular training over 9 weeks, probably because it targets muscles more specifically and adds extra low-effort reps.

When guys who don't usually exercise try a special workout called pre-exhaustion training, they get 17% stronger in their legs—that's more than the 11% boost from regular workouts, probably because the special training targets the muscles more directly.

For men who don't exercise much, doing regular leg press workouts with three sets at a moderate weight helps reduce overall body fat and thigh fat more than a different workout method, probably because they do more total work.

Doing a special warm-up before lifting weights doesn't make you any stronger in chest, leg, or back exercises than just lifting weights normally during full-body workouts.