If you do the same total number of reps and sets, fancy techniques like drop sets or rest-pause won’t make your muscles bigger than regular training—your muscles grow the same no matter how you structure the sets.

Even if you tweak your weightlifting routine—like lifting heavier, doing more reps, or resting longer—it won’t make your muscles grow bigger than a simple, steady progress plan, even if your body is making more muscle proteins.

If you do your workouts with either drop sets, rest-pause, or regular sets — but do the same total amount of work — your muscles grow about the same size in your thighs.

When you lift weights, how much total work you do matters more for getting stronger and bigger than whether you use heavy weights with few reps or light weights with many reps.

Even though rest-pause training helps you lift heavier, it doesn’t make your muscles bigger than regular training—meaning strength and muscle growth might be controlled by different things.

Using machines or bands that change how hard they feel as you move might make your muscles work more evenly during an exercise, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll grow bigger muscles faster than with regular weights—especially if you’re just starting out.