If body builders need rest days between training the same muscle group, why are construction workers like scaffolders generally so well built and so strong?

Question

If rest days are required between working the same muscle group how do these guys get so big? A scaffolder can’t rest his lats or deltoids and is working at least five days a week. Sometimes seven. How does this work?

In: 25

Answer 1

Isolated explosive strength vs general enduring strength.

Both require adequate sleep, however in my experience the fatigue associated with general enduring strength is much more easy to adapt to.

However with isolating muscles and using their explosive strength with the specific purpose of building mass, one must never adapt. Either you’re pushing personal limits or changing how the muscle is worked. The lack of adaptation means a relatively constant level of fatigue.

When I was the in the military and constantly running, lifting, or doing calisthenics it was always something different or always requiring more of myself. The fatigue I felt in day 1 of boot camp was no different than my last PT session 6 years later. It was familiar but I would argue *not* less.

However when I worked on a trails/wilderness crew for the Forest Service for a few summers the fatigue became both familiar *and* less because it was generally the same output requirement day on day (with the exception of outlier days that lasted longer or were abnormally hotter).