The Claim
Increasing weekly resistance training volume through progressive set additions over 12 weeks results in greater improvements in leg press one-repetition maximum and vastus lateralis cross-sectional area, and no greater gains in total lateral thigh muscle thickness, compared to a constant high-volume protocol in trained females with approximately 2 years of experience.
What the research says
Supports is higher
Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.
These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.
In trained women with about two years of lifting experience, gradually increasing the number of sets per week over 12 weeks leads to larger gains in leg press strength and muscle thickness of the vastus lateralis compared to maintaining a fixed high volume, but does not produce greater increases in overall thigh muscle thickness.
See the scientific wording
Increasing weekly resistance training volume through progressive set additions over 12 weeks leads to greater improvements in leg press one-repetition maximum and vastus lateralis cross-sectional area in trained females with approximately 2 years of experience, compared to a constant high-volume protocol, but does not result in greater gains in total lateral thigh muscle thickness.
Adding more sets over time keeps the muscles under longer and heavier loads, which forces more muscle fibers to work harder and grow bigger, especially in the main thigh muscle, without making the whole thigh area thicker because other muscles don't respond the same way.
What the research says
1 studyFor women who already lift weights, slowly adding more sets each week made their legs stronger and their main thigh muscle bigger than doing the same number of sets every week — but didn’t make the whole thigh thicker overall.
Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.