Why have rest days when we have plans like the 30 day squat challenge?

[KingJessie]

I don't mean the pussy's version of squat challenge. I'm talking about the one by that guy (forgot his name) where you gradually squat to your one rep max. Every single day.
All my life, I've been told to allow at least a day or two for a muscle group to repair after being worked. Apparently, if you don't let it rest it won't grow.
I feel like I could handle squatting to my max every day. Maybe every second day and then just do light weights for endurance on the other days.
What do you think? Will I actually hinder my growth by doing this? Should I only squat twice a week?

[aamy811]

If your looking for muscle growth I don't think the squat challenge is that effective. Body weight exercise build leaner, smaller, more slow twitch muscle.
But heavy weight build larger more fast twitch muscle.
Also I think if your truly pushing your body to the max then it needs rest. When working mayor muscle groups to the max it takes approximately 48 hours to completely heal the muscle. So I do think you need a rest.

[Climber]

It all depends on the load you put on the muscle. If you train heavy, so your muscle goes completely sore and into exhaustion, you need at least one rest day to allow it to recover. Otherwise you have muscle breakdown. Gentle training however, like low intensity cardio, or standard muscle training, you can do every day. People who work in construction also put a load on their muscles every day, but they don't go to exhaustion.

[Dtegesd123]

I'm doing the squats everyday for 90 days challenge. It hurts but not as much as when I was doing 3exercises x 3 sets for legs. I usually only do 2 sets a day. on like day 45 and increasing weight each and everyday by around 2.5 lbs :)

[Not_Helping]

Technically you don't actually need rest days. It's not to truly allow "growth" per se but to prevent muscular fatigue. You can actually work out daily and be just fine but if you're beginner you can hurt yourself.

[KingJessie]

That's what I think. I wouldn't be ready to work to my max everyday. Because I'm a girl and I'm also trying to shape rather than just grow, I would probably do super light weights, then work in the 12 rep range on the second, and then go super heavy the next. Or, get to the one rep max on that day by doing 10 sets like 10,10,8,8,6,6,4,4,2,1.

[TachiSkye]

When pushing your body to do something which you haven't done before, your body can get tired and worn out. You need to allow your body to heal and rest up, that is why you should always have a rest day. Having a rest day can even improve you results.
--Hope This Helps

[Anonymous]

Your body isn't meant to be under an extreme amount of pressure for long periods of time. That's why you rest

[KingJessie]

True, but do you think there's a method in the madness? Would the body be forced to speed up recovery time due to always being under stress? I really want to go harder, because I hardly get DOMS anymore. Even when I overload like crazy. But I also don't want to be doing all that work if my muscles won't grow.