Recovery Demands tunes how quickly Xert expects you to recover, shaping your Training Status colors and the intensity you’re recommended. Move it right for more recovery and left for less, especially if the default pattern doesn’t match how you actually feel.
Definition
Recovery Demands is a setting that controls how much recovery Xert assumes you need between training sessions. Increasing Recovery Demands makes Xert more conservative (e.g. more recovery). Decreasing it makes Xert more aggressive (e.g. less recovery).
What It Means
Xert estimates recovery needs from your activity data and uses this to determine your readiness (Training Status) and daily recommendations. Recovery Demands lets you tune that recovery model if the default pattern doesn’t match your real-world experience.
- Move the slider right if you need more recovery (more Yellow/Red days, fewer hard sessions).
- Move the slider left if you recover quickly and want less recovery (more aggressive training).
When Should I Adjust Recovery Demands?
Common reasons include:
- Returning from injury or illness: increase Recovery Demands so Xert is more conservative while you rebuild.
- Accounting for age / slower recovery: increase Recovery Demands if you generally need more time between harder sessions or you don't feel like you recover the way you used to.
- You’re comfortable with more aggressive training: decrease Recovery Demands (carefully) if you consistently feel ready and want fewer recovery days.
It's important to note that Recovery Demands will directly affect how sustainable higher Improvement Rates feel: more recovery demands may require a lower IR, while faster recovery can support more aggressive IR choices or Forecast AI plans.
⚠️ Caution: Reducing Recovery Demands too far can increase the risk of overreaching or burnout.
Where You’ll See It
- Profile Settings > General Tab > Program Settings (Recovery Demands slider)
- Reflected indirectly in your Training Status in the Today Page & Fitness Planner
Common Misunderstandings
-
Recovery Demands is not the same as Freshness Feedback.
- Recovery Demands affects your overall recovery modeling across your entire training history.
- Freshness Feedback is a temporary adjustment that influences current training recommendations.
- If Training Status shows you’re fresh but you feel tired, you may be missing strain — Unrecorded training (e.g., strength training, other sports, life stress) won’t be captured unless it appears in your activity data, which can make you feel more fatigued than the model suggests.
- Recovery Demands has a wide usable range for most athletes — If you can’t make it match your recovery even at the extremes, contact support so we can help.
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