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.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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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.

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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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