This may come as a surprise, but muscle doesn’t grow in the gym. You can follow the best training program in the world, but if you don’t recover properly, your progress will stall—and injury is just around the corner.

Proper nutrition and some light activity are important for recovery, but quality sleep trumps them all.

There’s a right and wrong way to do everything, and muscle growth is no exception. You need to eat right, move right, think right, poop right, and sleep right if you want to maximize results.

Recovery deserves just as much attention as your workouts. When you balance hard training with smart rest, that’s when your body truly begins to grow.

Enter the Deset Week

To help with this recovery-growth cycle, I recommend altering your training volume every third week. I call this a “deset” week (as opposed to a deload), where you reduce the number of sets you perform but keep the intensity high.

Here’s a breakdown of a typical program for intermediate to advanced lifters:

• A) Primary exercises: 4–10 sets
• B) Assistance exercises: 3–4 sets
• C) Remedial exercises: 2–3 sets

During a deset week, you scale it back:

• A) Primary: 3 sets
• B) Assistance: 2 sets
• C) Remedial: 1 set

Workouts shrink from an hour to just 30–40 minutes, giving your body a well-deserved breather. It’s not just about rest—it’s strategic recovery that sets the stage for your next big gains.

You’ll feel it, too. Nagging injuries start to fade, your energy shoots up, and you’ll lift heavier the following week. Even your Oura Ring readiness and sleep scores will show the benefits—often hitting peak levels during a deset week.

Bottom Line:

A deset week does the body good. By reducing volume every third week—without dropping intensity—you’ll boost recovery, prevent injury, and come back stronger. Incorporate it into your training cycle and watch your performance and progress soar.