💪 Muscle soreness & recovery

Repair happens in the kitchen and in bed, not in the gym. Every entry below has the amount, the timing, who should skip it, and an honest evidence grade: Strong means consistent trials, Moderate a real but modest effect, Modest small or mixed trials, Traditional long use and thin evidence.

ProteinStrong

0.7–1 g per pound of goal body weight a day; 25–40 g in the meal after training. Nothing else on this list works without it.

We carry itPerfectAmino (BodyHealth) when protein runs low — at the Cryogenix front desk in Palm Harbor.

Sleep 7–9 hoursStrong

Growth hormone and repair happen here.

Creatine monohydrateStrong

3–5 g every day, no loading, any time. The best-studied supplement in sport: strength, recovery, even brain fog when short on sleep. Expect 1–3 lb of water in the muscle the first weeks; that is not fat.

Skip ifKidney disease: doctor first.

We carry itPerfectAmino Creatine (BodyHealth) — at the Cryogenix front desk in Palm Harbor.

Active recoveryModerate

20-minute walk or easy bike the day after. Moves blood through sore tissue.

Tart cherry around hard sessionsModerate

8 oz twice a day. Cuts soreness and strength loss after brutal workouts.

Cold after hard sessionsModerate

For soreness, yes. Not right after lifting if the goal is muscle growth: cold blunts the growth signal for a few hours. Do it before, or on rest days.

In the studioWhole-body cryo — rest days, or before training on a lifting day

CompressionModest

20–30 minutes. Modest for next-day soreness, feels great.

In the studioBOA compression

Oxygen and blood flow to damaged tissueModerate

The deep-recovery tool during a hard block.

In the studioHBOT, 3–5× a week during a hard block

Foam rollingModest

10 minutes. Less sore tomorrow, no change to strength.

Collagen + vitamin CModest

10–15 g collagen with vitamin C, 30–60 minutes before training. Tendon and ligament repair in small trials.

Ezra · your coach

Want this read against your day, not a page?

Ezra is the coach in the CRx Coach app. She knows how you slept, what you ate and what hurts, and she brings the right one of these up at the right moment. Two weeks free, no card.

Start my free 2 weeks →

The rules Ezra keeps

Sleep, food, movement, water and the studio come before any supplement. Supplements are last on every list.
Never above label amounts. Never "double up."
On medication? Name the interaction every time, or say "check with your pharmacist."
Pregnant, breastfeeding, kidney or liver disease, bleeding disorder, surgery coming up: doctor first.
No cure, treat or "boost" language. "May help," "supports," "many people find."
Red flags are not remedy territory: chest pain, the worst headache of your life, blood in stool, unexplained weight loss, low mood for two weeks, thoughts of self-harm. Those go to your doctor (988 for a crisis).

More: Sleep · Headache & migraine · Inflammation & joint pain · Cravings, appetite & metabolism · Hormone health · Stress & mood · Digestion & bloating · Energy & focus · Immunity & getting over it faster