You do get stronger when your recovering from the stress you placed on your body in the gym. Strength training is simply a stimulus we apply to our bodies and hopefully we respond well to this stimulus.
Stress + Recovery = Adaptation is a law that applies universally when it comes to growth - you want your grass to grow optimally then it needs the right amount of water and sunlight along with time to let growth happen. If you give the grass too much water and not enough sun the soil becomes diluted and growth is compromised, if there is too much sun and not enough water the grass becomes dry and dies.
When it comes to training in order to get a positive result in the gym we need to make sure the training stimulus we apply is managed (Stress), we also need to be doing the things outside of the gym that will allow us to respond positively in the gym - adequate sleep, good food habits, stress management and happiness - (Recovery), it’s all about managing these and ensuring we have the right amounts of each to keep moving forwards (Adaptation).
If you’d like to know more about this and how you can optimise your training and lifestyle to look and feel how you would like to feel free to message me! Here to help.