Even if one exercise uses more muscles, it doesn’t make the target muscle bigger than a simpler exercise if you train just as hard.
Scientific Claim
Total muscle mass recruited during a compound exercise does not determine the magnitude of hypertrophy in a target muscle when compared to an isolation exercise with matched training volume and effort.
Original Statement
“We do have other studies that tend to find similar hypertrophy between unilateral and bilateral training. What's more, as described previously at the House of Hypertrophy, we have a paper comparing glute max hypertrophy between back squats and hip thrusts. Back squats train a larger amount of muscle mass versus hip thrusts. Yet, the paper ultimately observes similar glute max hypertrophy between both exercises.”
Context Details
Domain
exercise
Population
human
Subject
Total muscle mass recruited during compound exercises
Action
does not determine
Target
magnitude of hypertrophy in target muscles compared to isolation exercises with matched volume and effort
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
Cluster sets and traditional sets elicit similar muscular hypertrophy: a volume and effort-matched study in resistance-trained individuals
Even though one exercise used more muscles overall, both exercises made the thigh muscles grow just as much when the total work and effort were the same — so using more muscles doesn’t automatically mean bigger target muscles.
Low-Load Resistance Training to Volitional Failure Induces Muscle Hypertrophy Similar to Volume-Matched, Velocity Fatigue
Even if you use a different way to work out with the same amount of effort and reps, your muscles grow just as much—so it’s not about how many muscles you use, but how hard and how much you work.