When untrained men do a specific type of weight training called pre-exhaustion, some parts of their thigh muscles grow more than others—the lower front part grows 44% thicker and the upper outer part grows 32% thicker.

A specific type of weight training makes leg muscles grow unevenly, with some parts growing much more than others, because different parts of the muscle get worked harder during the exercise.

Muscles don’t grow evenly—when you train your thigh, the top and middle parts of the front muscle grow more than the bottom, and the side muscle grows the same everywhere.

This study only looked at the front and side of the thigh—so we don’t know if doing more sets helps your front thigh or hamstrings grow more.

Doing leg extensions with drop sets (going to failure, then lowering the weight and going again) makes the front part of your thigh muscle grow more than doing regular sets, but only in the upper and middle parts—not the bottom or the side muscles.

Not all thigh muscles respond the same way — one part might grow a bit better with stopping short, while another grows a bit better with pushing to failure.