Strength · Winding down
Winding down, and actually recovering
Recovery is where training gets absorbed. It is also where most of the marketing is, so this page is as much about what to ignore.
What this trains
This page is about sleep, nutrition, training load and the nervous system.
- Nothing — this page is about the other 22 hours
The lifts
- 01Sleep7–9 hours, consistent times
The single largest recovery variable, and the one with the strongest evidence behind it.
- 02Protein across the day1.6–2.2 g/kg, split over 3–4 meals
Total daily intake matters most; the timing arguments are a rounding error next to it.
- 03Deload weekEvery 4–8 weeks, ~50% volume
Planned, not earned. Waiting until you need one means you already needed one.
- 04Easy movement20–40 min, conversational
Walking counts. The goal is blood flow, not another training stimulus.
What this page can't tell you: Persistent fatigue that rest does not fix is a medical question, not a programming one.
Other regions
Posturethe upper back, the spinal erectors and the deep abdominal wallDesk workthe hip flexors, the glutes, the upper back and the neck extensorsHipsthe glutes, the abductors, the adductors and the deep external rotatorsHamstringsthe back of the thigh — biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosusBack and spinethe spinal erectors, the lats, the deep trunk and the muscles that resist rotationNeck and shouldersthe rotator cuff, the scapular stabilisers and the neck