When adults who already work out tried a special rest-pause weightlifting method for 6 weeks, their thigh muscles grew 11% thicker, while those doing regular weightlifting only saw 1% growth.

In adults who already train regularly, doing resistance exercises with very low or moderate effort left in reserve for five weeks does not lead to measurable muscle growth in the thigh, even though they get stronger.

For people who already work out, taking short breaks during leg exercises leads to much better muscle stamina—27% better—than doing sets without breaks, which only improves by 8% after 6 weeks.

Whether you use rest-pause, drop sets, or regular sets, as long as you do the same total amount of work, your thigh muscles grow about the same size after 8 weeks of training.

When people who already lift weights do drop sets or rest-pause sets instead of regular sets—while doing the same total amount of work—they don’t get bigger thigh muscles any faster or more than with normal training.

If you're a guy who already lifts weights, doing lower-body workouts for 8 weeks will build leg muscle — and it doesn't matter if you do your usual number of sets or increase them by 30% or even 60%.