Research
Mixed
Strength training induces selective hypertrophy in the quadriceps femoris of older women, with varying degrees of growth across different muscle heads (VL, VM, VI, RF) along the length of the femur.
Expect uneven muscle growth in your quads; some parts (like the vastus lateralis and medialis) may grow more than others (like the rectus femoris). This is normal and does not indicate ineffective training.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The increases in the CSA of the QF occurred throughout its length but differed selectively between the individual muscles.
Why this rating
High-resolution MRI allowed detailed regional analysis.
Source
Selective muscle hypertrophy, changes in EMG and force, and serum hormones during strength training in older women
Keijo Häkkinen et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 2001
DOI 10.1152/jappl.2001.91.2.569
rct · n=10Cited 368×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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