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

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 front part of your thigh muscle (rectus femoris), doing leg extensions might work better than doing leg presses.

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Pushing a heavy leg press machine makes the outer part of your thigh muscle grow more than doing leg extensions, because it puts more overall stress on that part of the muscle.

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Doing a lot more leg workouts—over 50 sets a week—doesn’t make your thigh muscles grow bigger than doing 20–40 sets a week, even if you train for 12 weeks.

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The type of leg exercise you do — whether it’s a leg press, leg extension, or calf raise — can change which part of your leg muscles grow bigger, and you can see the difference in just 8 weeks.

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If you're new to working out, doing leg presses twice a week might build more leg muscle in less time than just doing knee extensions, because leg presses work more muscles at once — like your quads, butt, and inner thighs.

79%