After doing a lot of leg exercises, guys feel less recovered the next day—even if their muscles look fine—because they just feel more tired.

Scientific Claim

Higher resistance training volume (21 sets) is associated with lower perceived recovery status (PRS) in trained males, indicating that greater workload may reduce subjective feelings of readiness to train again.

Original Statement

“PRS and RPE were significantly affected by training volume (p < 0.05), particularly in the 21-SETS condition, which induced higher RPE and lower PRS than the other conditions.”

From study:Don’t Sweat the Swelling: Exercise Volume’s Transient Effects in Trained Males

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

overstated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The term 'induced' incorrectly implies causation. PRS is a subjective measure influenced by many factors; the design cannot rule out confounding variables.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Don’t Sweat the Swelling: Exercise Volume’s Transient Effects in Trained Males

Cross-Sectional Study

Human

2026 Jan 21

The study found that doing more sets (21 vs. 7 or 14) made guys feel more tired and less ready to train again, even though their muscles weren’t actually damaged — so more work = feeling more drained.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Don’t Sweat the Swelling: Exercise Volume’s Transient Effects in Trained Males

Score: 31

DOI: 10.1055/a-2791-5145

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