If you want to grow the front part of your thigh muscle (rectus femoris), doing leg extensions might work better than doing leg presses.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Exercise Selection Differentially Influences Lower Body Regional Muscle Development

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Exercise Selection Differentially Influences Lower Body Regional Muscle Development

Score: 61

DOI: 10.1007/s42978-024-00299-4

Similar Assertions

If you want to grow the outer part of your thigh (vastus lateralis), leg presses might be more effective than leg extensions.

91%

Doing leg extensions (kicking your leg out while sitting) makes the front thigh muscle right above your knee grow more than doing leg presses (pushing a heavy platform with both legs).

82%

Different leg exercises make different parts of your thigh muscles bigger — leg extensions grow the front part, squats grow the lower outer part.

81%

Doing leg extensions makes the front thigh muscle bigger along its whole length more than doing squats, especially near the knee.

80%

Doing leg extensions with drop sets (going to failure, then lowering the weight and going again) makes the front part of your thigh muscle grow more than doing regular sets, but only in the upper and middle parts—not the bottom or the side muscles.

79%