If you want to make the front part of your thigh (rectus femoris) bigger, leg extensions work better than leg presses — after 12 weeks, leg extensions made it grow 12% more than leg presses did.

31

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

31

Community contributions welcome

31

Hypertrophic Effects of Single- versus Multi-Joint Exercise: A Direct Comparison Between Knee Extension and Leg Press.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2026 Feb 5

The study found that doing knee extensions made the rectus femoris muscle grow much more than doing leg presses — exactly what the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

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

Hypertrophic Effects of Single- versus Multi-Joint Exercise: A Direct Comparison Between Knee Extension and Leg Press.

Score: 31

DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003957

Similar Assertions

Doing leg presses and leg extensions for 12 weeks both make your main thigh muscles bigger about the same amount, but leg presses also make your butt and inner thigh muscles grow more, while leg extensions make the front part of your thigh (rectus femoris) grow much more.

31

0

87%

Doing leg presses and leg extensions for 12 weeks both make your main thigh muscles bigger in about the same way, but only leg extensions make the front part of your thigh (rectus femoris) grow significantly.

31

0

86%

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

48

0

86%

Doing leg extensions for 8 weeks makes the front thigh muscle bigger along its whole length more than doing squats, especially near the knee.

48

0

84%

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).

61

0

83%