Training adaptation happens between sessions, not during them. What we reach for to repair tissue, reduce inflammation, sleep deeper, and bounce back faster.
25–40g within 2 hours post-training. Leucine is the trigger.
28g per scoop from American grass-fed cows, zero artificial sweeteners. The fastest-absorbing protein post-training — spikes leucine and muscle protein synthesis within 30 minutes.
Slow-digesting casein for pre-bed recovery — drip-feeds amino acids over 6-8 hours while you sleep. Naturally filtered, no artificial colors or flavors.
20g of grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine collagen per serving. Type I and III peptides support connective tissue, joint, and skin recovery — the non-muscle half of training repair.
Training creates inflammation. These lower it to the level where adaptation can happen.
1280mg EPA+DHA per serving from wild-caught, sustainably sourced fish. The industry benchmark — every batch third-party tested for purity and oxidation.
50 Montmorency tart cherries per 8oz bottle. Clinically shown to reduce post-exercise muscle soreness and improve sleep quality. Ajay uses it on heavy-lower-body days.
Meriva curcumin — the only form shown in human trials to actually reach therapeutic blood levels. 29x better absorption than standard turmeric for post-training inflammation.
Deep sleep IS recovery. These downshift the nervous system so growth hormone and tissue repair can do their job.
Andrew Huberman’s formulation: magnesium L-threonate + apigenin + theanine. Built specifically for getting more time in deep and REM sleep, not just falling asleep faster.
200mg of patented Suntheanine per capsule. Takes the edge off stress within 30 minutes — useful for afternoon cortisol dips, pre-bed wind-down, or taming pre-workout jitters.
Over-trained or chronically stressed? These regulate cortisol so recovery can actually happen.
600mg of the patented KSM-66 extract — the most-studied ashwagandha form. Clinically shown to lower cortisol 27% and improve recovery from training in 8 weeks.
Standardized Siberian rhodiola extract. Where ashwagandha calms, rhodiola sharpens — useful on mornings after poor sleep when you still need to train or perform cognitively.
Sodium and potassium replace what sweat stole. Critical before sleep on heavy training days.
1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60mg magnesium per stick. Restores the electrolyte balance that makes both sleep and next-day recovery possible. No sugar, no junk.
Our Selection Criteria
Magnesium glycinate not oxide. Curcumin phytosome not raw turmeric. Collagen peptides not gelatin. For recovery, bioavailability is the whole game — cheap forms end up in your urine, not your tissue.
Recovery products often get taken on poor-sleep, high-stress days — exactly when your liver and kidneys are already taxed. We only list brands with independent purity and contaminant testing.
600mg KSM-66 ashwagandha, 1280mg omega-3 EPA+DHA, 200mg L-theanine, 400mg magnesium. Anything below threshold is supplement theater.
Especially for pre-bed supplements, we avoid anything that might disrupt sleep or load the detox system. Clean, minimal formulas only.
The Research
Peer-reviewed sources behind every category on this page.
The research here is general scientific evidence, not medical advice. Talk to a qualified practitioner before starting any supplement, especially if you're pregnant, nursing, or managing a medical condition.
Recovery is downstream of cortisol. The Handbook walks through the four signals that tell you your cortisol pattern is off, and what to change in training, sleep, and supplementation to fix it.
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