Men who started with a longer tendon lever arm and could already activate their thigh muscles better tended to get stronger in eccentric movements after training — their starting point mattered.

People who naturally have a longer lever arm between their kneecap and knee joint tend to get stronger in eccentric movements (like lowering a weight) after training, likely because their anatomy gives them a mechanical advantage.

When untrained men get stronger during dynamic leg extensions, the biggest factor is how much they can turn on their thigh muscles — bigger muscles and fiber angles help a little, but turning on the muscles harder matters most.

When untrained men get stronger in a static leg press, the main reason is that their thigh muscle near the hip gets bigger and its fibers angle more, which helps push harder.

Lifting weights slowly (eccentric) or quickly (concentric) both make your quads stronger in about 10 weeks — and you don’t need to be sore or damaged to get stronger.

When untrained men get stronger during dynamic leg movements like standing up, the biggest factor is how much their thigh muscles fire, especially when combined with changes in the deep thigh muscle’s fiber angle and overall muscle size.