The Claim

In resistance-trained individuals, changes in muscle thickness measured via ultrasound at the midpoint of the rectus femoris are not strongly correlated with changes in thigh lean tissue mass measured by DXA.

Source: Cluster sets and traditional sets elicit similar muscular hypertrophy: a volume and effort-matched study in resistance-trained individuals

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
59score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Correlation
1 study reviewed
In plain English

In people who train with weights, increases in muscle thickness seen on ultrasound do not closely match changes in lean tissue mass measured by DXA scans, indicating these two methods detect different aspects of muscle change.

See the scientific wording

In resistance-trained individuals, muscle thickness increases measured via ultrasound at the midpoint of the rectus femoris are not strongly correlated with changes in thigh lean tissue mass measured by DXA, suggesting these two metrics may capture different aspects of muscle adaptation.

Why this might work

When muscles grow from training, some parts get thicker faster than others, and the total lean mass in the whole leg doesn't always match how thick one spot looks on ultrasound because the growth isn't spread evenly.

Supported mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: Cluster sets and traditional sets elicit similar muscular hypertrophy: a volume and effort-matched study in resistance-trained individuals

    When people who already lift weights train harder, their muscles get thicker (seen on ultrasound) and their legs get more lean mass (seen on DXA), but the two don’t increase at the same rate — meaning they’re measuring different things.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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