People who do squats

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daydreams_of_pretty
daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, so I've been doing goblet squats when I do my strength training, but I've been thinking of doing squats everyday instead of every other day. Do I need a rest day between squats if I'm using weights? Does it matter if I'm using weights or not? I mean, should I only use the weights on days that I do strength training and just not use weights on the alternate days?

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  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    If you going with any level of intensity here, you won't be physically able to squat with an intensity the day after a squat session.

    I squat 2x a week, and it often takes me a day or two to recover from each session.
  • uconnwinsnc1
    uconnwinsnc1 Posts: 902 Member
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    Okay, so I've been doing goblet squats when I do my strength training, but I've been thinking of doing squats everyday instead of every other day. Do I need a rest day between squats if I'm using weights? Does it matter if I'm using weights or not? I mean, should I only use the weights on days that I do strength training and just not use weights on the alternate days?

    Muscle grows and gets stronger on days off. You don't get stronger during the exercise. Sure, you're young enough where your body can probably handle a workout every day but it wouldn't make you stronger.
  • Jschrolms
    Jschrolms Posts: 40 Member
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    The Key is you wanna smash out a real hard sesh and really feel it in your muscles and then eat the right foods and get great nutrition for your body to recover and grow. minimum time you should leave between doing a certain muscle is 48 hours. if you get to 48 hours and youre not to sore, then smash that muscle again!!! Always make sure youre getting the right nutrition to recover and grow properly!
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
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    Thanks!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I squat a LOT twice a week. My Monday session is usually Squat bench squat- or sometimes bench squat bench squat... and then again on Friday squat bench squat.

    it's brutal.

    I couldn't imagine doing it every day- it's to much- and totally not required.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,618 Member
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    If the thought of doing squat everyday will make your stronger and accelerate weight loss, the answer would be no. Just hit them HARD the day you do them. Personally now, I only train quads and hams once a week (same with all major body parts).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ElkOil
    ElkOil Posts: 7
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    A good rule is to not work the same muscle group two days in a row. Recovery is key because when you work muscles, you cause little tears in the tissue. The healing process is what builds muscle mass. So if you don't give them time to heal, you won't build muscle effectively.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
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    I didn't get the impression from the OP that she was asking about heavy, progressively loaded squats. If your just doing body weight or small dumbbell squats then you could go all day every day. That isn't strength training, that's endurance training. Two completely different types of training.
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
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    I didn't get the impression from the OP that she was asking about heavy, progressively loaded squats. If your just doing body weight or small dumbbell squats then you could go all day every day. That isn't strength training, that's endurance training. Two completely different types of training.

    I would consider my squats somewhere in between because I am progressively increasing my weight amounts (dumbbells and kettlebells for different sets), but I'm not at the level that most of you are. When I first started doing squats they were way more fun than the other strength training exercises (lunges are evil), but after spending some time on this site my squats now also suck (thanks a lot, lol).

    Anyway, I'm going to spend some time increasing the suck-factor some more so that I don't consider daily squats to be an option. Honestly, I think that part of the problem is that my legs are soooo much stronger than my arms. They always have been, even when I used to do conditioning workouts when I played tennis. I've been steadily increasing the amount of weight I can lift and use, so hopefully this won't be a problem for much longer.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I didn't get the impression from the OP that she was asking about heavy, progressively loaded squats. If your just doing body weight or small dumbbell squats then you could go all day every day. That isn't strength training, that's endurance training. Two completely different types of training.

    I got that impression also.

    Also soreness is not always a good indicator of an effective workout.

    There really is no benefit to doing them everyday. If you are trying to gain size or retain muscle it might be counter productive. 1-3 days per week would be enough depending on your program.

    If you are doing body weight or light weight high rep you could probably get away with it but it would only be for the endurance benefit and calorie burn. It wont do much for growth/retention or strength.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    It CAN be done. I did the smolov programme sometime last year to get my squat weight up but it was brutal! If you're still making progressive gains then, no, I don't think there's any need to do them more than once - three times a week.

    I do one heavy squat night and one lighter night (assistance for deadlifts)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I think that part of the problem is that my legs are soooo much stronger than my arms. They always have been,....

    and they always will be.

    You're upper body is something stupid like 30-40% of your body mass- the rest is all in your lower body and your mid/low trunk.

    You'll never be able to bench more than you can squat outside of medical conditions that give you a bionic arm/s or take away the use of your legs.
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
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    I think that part of the problem is that my legs are soooo much stronger than my arms. They always have been,....

    and they always will be.

    You're upper body is something stupid like 30-40% of your body mass- the rest is all in your lower body and your mid/low trunk.

    You'll never be able to bench more than you can squat outside of medical conditions that give you a bionic arm/s or take away the use of your legs.

    Oh, I didn't think that my arms would ever be as strong as my legs. I meant that when I first started adding weights to my squats it was a huge success if I managed to hold up one 25 dumbbell (with both hands) for the entire set. My legs weren't done, but my arms weren't having any more of it. I'm much stronger now, but I still can't hold up as much weight as I'd like to during my squats. I'm planning to get a weight bench soon and to transition to more barbell use, so maybe that will help.
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
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    I only do mine 2 times a week. You muscles need time to recover. 3 days rest is my normal for squats.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I think that part of the problem is that my legs are soooo much stronger than my arms. They always have been,....

    and they always will be.

    You're upper body is something stupid like 30-40% of your body mass- the rest is all in your lower body and your mid/low trunk.

    You'll never be able to bench more than you can squat outside of medical conditions that give you a bionic arm/s or take away the use of your legs.

    Oh, I didn't think that my arms would ever be as strong as my legs. I meant that when I first started adding weights to my squats it was a huge success if I managed to hold up one 25 dumbbell (with both hands) for the entire set. My legs weren't done, but my arms weren't having any more of it. I'm much stronger now, but I still can't hold up as much weight as I'd like to during my squats. I'm planning to get a weight bench soon and to transition to more barbell use, so maybe that will help.
    ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh got it.

    Try putting them on your shoulders- or do goblet squats- that should get you another couple tens of pounds.
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
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    I think that part of the problem is that my legs are soooo much stronger than my arms. They always have been,....

    and they always will be.

    You're upper body is something stupid like 30-40% of your body mass- the rest is all in your lower body and your mid/low trunk.

    You'll never be able to bench more than you can squat outside of medical conditions that give you a bionic arm/s or take away the use of your legs.

    Oh, I didn't think that my arms would ever be as strong as my legs. I meant that when I first started adding weights to my squats it was a huge success if I managed to hold up one 25 dumbbell (with both hands) for the entire set. My legs weren't done, but my arms weren't having any more of it. I'm much stronger now, but I still can't hold up as much weight as I'd like to during my squats. I'm planning to get a weight bench soon and to transition to more barbell use, so maybe that will help.
    ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh got it.

    Try putting them on your shoulders- or do goblet squats- that should get you another couple tens of pounds.

    I'll try resting them on my shoulders tonight (it's strength training day).

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