The Claim

In previously untrained healthy young men, 15 weeks of lower body resistance training is associated with a strong positive correlation between increases in quadriceps muscle volume and gains in knee extension strength, with correlation coefficients of 0.92 for isometric maximum voluntary torque and 0.89 for one-repetition maximum.

Source: Muscle Growth Is Very Strongly Correlated with Strength Gains after Lower Body Resistance Training: New Insight from Within-Participant Associations

What the research says

Supports is higher

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

Supports
67score
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 healthy young men who had not previously trained, 15 weeks of leg resistance training was associated with a strong relationship between increases in quadriceps muscle size and increases in knee extension strength.

See the scientific wording

In previously untrained healthy young men, 15 weeks of lower body resistance training results in a very strong positive association between increases in quadriceps muscle volume and gains in knee extension strength, with correlation coefficients of 0.92 for isometric maximum voluntary torque and 0.89 for one-repetition maximum, indicating that individuals who experience greater muscle growth also tend to experience greater strength gains.

Why this might work

When muscles are repeatedly stressed by lifting weights, they grow larger by adding more contractile proteins. This increase in muscle size means more protein filaments can pull together at the same time, making the muscle stronger. The bigger the muscle gets, the more force it can produce during a maximal effort.

Verified mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: Muscle Growth Is Very Strongly Correlated with Strength Gains after Lower Body Resistance Training: New Insight from Within-Participant Associations

    When young men who had never lifted weights before trained their legs for 15 weeks, those who grew the biggest thigh muscles also got the strongest at leg extensions — the muscle growth and strength gains went hand in hand very closely.

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

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