Think of olympic lifters. Pyyros Dimas, a guy who isn't "huge" (compared to say football players or body builders) won a Gold for the clean and jerk at 215 kgs (474 lbs) in the 85kg weight class (187 lbs). There is something else going on there besides muscle mass when a <187 lb guy can throw up almost 500 pounds completely over his head from the ground.

Here's a good article on the impact of your neural pathways on strength:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170710091652.h...

from the article:

> Jenkins found evidence that the nervous system activates more of those motor neurons -- or excites them more frequently -- when subjected to high-load training. That increased excitation could account for the greater strength gains despite comparable growth in muscle mass.

Adrenaline does wonders for the excitation-induced stimulation of the skeletal muscle system