The truth is that you HAVE TO rest muscle if you are a body builder as you need to give the muscle time to repair its self and grow (the whole point of the exercise) http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/behar2.htm.

Regardless, your comparisons are of individuals at the very pinnacle of their careers and performance. They are very extreme cases. For most people this level of performance is unachievable. And that’s OK.