Shopping Cart
There are no more items in your cart
TL;DR: a muscle takes 24 to 48 hours to recover after a normal workout, and 48 to 72 hours after a very hard strength session. To recover well: a cool-down and gentle stretching, 7 to 9 hours of sleep, protein and carbohydrate within the next hour, water and no training the same muscle group two days running. Supplements fill gaps in the diet, they do not replace rest. Sharp pain or swelling that does not settle: see a doctor.
Most of us put our attention on the workout and little on what comes after. Yet muscle recovery is when the body repairs tissue and adapts to the effort. This guide covers how long a muscle takes to recover, what to do when the session ends, how much to sleep, what to eat and which supplements make sense.
What muscle recovery is and how long it lasts
What is sports recovery?
It is everything you do after effort so the body can repair tissue and perform again: rest, sleep, food, hydration and gentle movement. It is also called post-workout recovery. It is the part of the process in which the muscle adapts to the work you have asked of it.
How long does muscle take to recover?
Between 24 and 48 hours after a normal workout. After a very hard strength session, with a lot of volume or new exercises, it can take 48 to 72 hours. It depends on intensity, your level, how much you sleep and how you eat. Soreness is not a measure of how good a workout was.
Can you train the same muscle two days in a row?
In strength or weight training, it is not advisable. A muscle needs at least 24-48 hours to repair, and loading it again sooner usually means worse performance and a higher risk of injury. The usual approach is to alternate groups: legs one day, upper body the next. Gentle cardio can be repeated.
Recovery starts before the session. A good warm-up, with light cardio and mobility for the joints you are about to use, prepares the muscle and lowers the risk of injury. Preparation matters, but a well warmed-up workout that is badly recovered from performs worse in the next session.
What to do right after training
What you do in the first minutes after the session sets up recovery. Nothing complicated is needed, just finish the workout gradually.
- Cool-down: 5-10 minutes of light cardio so your heart rate comes down gradually.
- Gentle stretching of the muscles you worked, without forcing.
- Active recovery over the following days: walking, swimming or cycling at an easy pace. Gentle movement improves circulation, which is how nutrients reach the muscle.
- A massage or a foam roller can also help your muscles feel looser.
How do you recover your muscles after training?
Slow down with a few minutes of light cardio, stretch without forcing, drink water and eat protein with carbohydrate within the next hour. Sleep enough that night and, the day after, move gently or rest. No trick replaces that sequence.
Sleeping and resting
How many hours should you sleep to recover from training?
Between 7 and 9 hours for an adult. In deep sleep the body releases growth hormone and repairs tissue, and sleeping too little worsens performance and the next day's recovery. If you train hard and sleep under seven hours, sleep is the first thing to adjust.
Rest days are training too: without them the muscle does not adapt, and the accumulated tiredness ends in a plateau or an injury.
Eating and hydrating
What should you have after training?
A meal or a shake with protein and carbohydrate within the next hour, and water. Carbohydrate replaces the energy you spent and protein supplies the raw material to repair the muscle. There is no need to avoid fat: it is simply not the priority.
For examples of meals by goal, see what to eat after training. Keep drinking through the rest of the day too: after sweating a lot, replacing fluid is part of recovery.
Supplements for muscle recovery
Which supplements help muscle recovery?
None replaces sleep and food. The ones with backing for covering needs are protein, which contributes to growth and maintenance of muscle mass, magnesium and vitamin B6, which contribute to reducing tiredness and fatigue, and zinc, which contributes to normal protein synthesis.
At JustLoading, protein powder is the easiest to fit in after training: the vanilla whey gives 23.4 g of protein per 30 g, with 121 kcal. Glutamine has no authorised health claim for recovery, so nothing is promised for it; what is known about it is in the article on glutamine. JustLoading's is 5 g in 200-250 ml of water.
Does magnesium help muscle recovery?
It contributes to the normal function of muscles and to reducing tiredness and fatigue. It does not speed up recovery or remove soreness, but it covers a real need if your diet is low in nuts, pulses or wholegrain cereals. If you are short, you will notice it in your tiredness, not in one day's performance.
JustLoading's ZMA combines magnesium bisglycinate, zinc bisglycinate and vitamin B6. One capsule a day, with a main meal, provides 93.8 mg of magnesium (25 % of the reference daily intake), 10 mg of zinc (100 %) and 1.4 mg of vitamin B6 (100 %). How they work together before bed is explained in the article on zinc and magnesium before bed.
If you prefer a set, the Pack Your Recovery brings together a 400 g chocolate whey, All-in-One (creatine, electrolytes, magnesium and collagen), 100 % peanut butter, a 240 g tangerine-flavour BCAA and a stracciatella protein bar. It does not include ZMA or glutamine.
How to speed up muscle recovery
How can you speed up muscle recovery?
There is no shortcut. What counts most is sleeping well, eating enough protein and carbohydrate, staying hydrated and raising loads gradually. Include easy days in the week and respect your rest days. A supplement can fill a gap in the diet, but it does not shorten the time muscle needs.
Sharp pain, inflammation that does not settle or a swollen joint calls for a physiotherapist or doctor, not more rest. And if extreme pain and very dark urine appear after a very hard new workout, go to accident and emergency.
