If you need rest days for muscle growth, then why...

trapped
trapped Posts: 17
in Fitness and Exercise
If you need rest days for muscle growth then why are there no rest days in the 30 Day Shred? I don't understand. Even in my health/kinesiology course we were taught that your muscles need rest for growth. Ummm, so why does Jillian want you to work the same muscle groups, intensely, day after day for 30 days? I don't get it. I want to try her program but am skeptical because of that. Thanks.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Honestly, Jillian will not jump out of the TV and slap you silly if you don't do it every day!
  • Tyggress73
    Tyggress73 Posts: 104 Member
    Personally, I think 30DS is more of a cardio program. You are not using very heavy weights (5lbs, I think?) and you are doing many, many repetitions at a fast pace. That is cardio. It is not meant to GROW muscles in the true sense of the term.

    True lifting, using weights heavy enough to actually tear down muscle fibers for growth, would require the rest days for repair.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    JM isn't going to build muscle anyway. As someone else said, 30DS is really more cardio than strength.
  • trapped
    trapped Posts: 17
    Personally, I think 30DS is more of a cardio program. You are not using very heavy weights (5lbs, I think?) and you are doing many, many repetitions at a fast pace. That is cardio. It is not meant to GROW muscles in the true sense of the term.

    True lifting, using weights heavy enough to actually tear down muscle fibers for growth, would require the rest days for repair.
    But if you are sore doesn't that mean you've at least done some muscle tearing? Serious question. Because lots of people say that they do get sore doing it.
  • Tyggress73
    Tyggress73 Posts: 104 Member
    Anytime you use your muscles day-in and day-out you are going to be sore until they get used to the routine.

    There is SOME benefit to your muscles from 30DS, but as I said prior, it's not enough of a strength routine to require the days off that true muscle growth would require.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    Personally, I think 30DS is more of a cardio program. You are not using very heavy weights (5lbs, I think?) and you are doing many, many repetitions at a fast pace. That is cardio. It is not meant to GROW muscles in the true sense of the term.

    True lifting, using weights heavy enough to actually tear down muscle fibers for growth, would require the rest days for repair.
    But if you are sore doesn't that mean you've at least done some muscle tearing? Serious question. Because lots of people say that they do get sore doing it.

    People get sore jogging, or weeding their garden, or any number of activities that if you don't do them all the time, are going to make you aware that you used some muscles in a way they are not used to being used. That's alot different than doing a heavy squat/deadlift workout that really does take several days to recover from. The heavier you lift, the more recovery time you'll need.
  • ktliu
    ktliu Posts: 334 Member
    I started heavy cardio for 70-120mins a day, it's been 40+ days non stop . you can do it. Only when you do heavy lifting, you might not want to deal with any work the next day. So I just use light weights, like 1,3,5 lbs dumbbells to add to the burn daily, I have no intention to stop until I reach my goal weight.. The cool thing about doing it every day, is that you can see the result. Things you couldn't do a week a go now is easy.
    Peace
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Jillian Michaels has actually said (somewhere... podcast maybe?) that you are supposed to take rest days with the 30DS. The whole "30 Days" = "30 Days consecutively" is more of an assumption that people make, based on a good marketing gimmick. They don't make it explicit that you should take rest days because it sells better as a 30 day transformation type thing.

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