Allowing Muscle to Build

I am reaching for information on this, I feel this could make for a great discussion for those conditioning their dogs and trying to pack on some muscle definition.

I have been getting myself into shape (I know I am not a dog, but these things should apply to animals in the same manner). I have been weight training for quite some time, doing reps, increasing the weight accordingly, etc. Last week I was slacking because normally I go to the gym almost daily but last week I went only twice. I felt bad, like I was slacking and that I was losing out on some muscle by not working them as much as normal.

However, when I did get back to the gym I found that I had to increase my weights by a few pounds. I also took my second spin class (it feels like dying if you've never tried it) and I did WAY better than my first class ( at two weeks later). I actually was able to stay up on the bike with everyone else and held out the entire class which was 15 minutes longer than the first one.

I told my roommate how well I did even though I slacked off the last week. My roommate has been going to URI to become a registered dietician with a GPA of 3.98, I have learned SO MUCH from her and she explained to me that by slacking off for a few days I allowed my muslces to rebuild faster. I know there is a connection too because I can feel my muscles are larger, almost as if they built up over night, I could tell this simply by crossing my arms.

I put on some weight, which may be due to the fact I also slacked on my diet and ate a LOT of ham, potatoes and candy this Easter. It may be fat gain or it may be the muscle, or both. I am just sharing this because I didn't realize how it worked before and perhaps I am better off weight training every couple of days instead of daily. Apparantly allowing adequate time for the muscles to regenerate is more effective than working them too often. I am fairly new to this, still learning, so I am wondering if this could benefit many of those looking to bulk up thier dogs.

 

Yeah. Its the process of recovery where strength increases. Otherwise it would be best to work out every day. I can tell you from personal experence that the older you get the more necessary off time becomes.


Then there is the differences between building muscle and strength and increasing arobic conditioning. Those kind of work against each other to a degree.


I'd not sure how much of this transfers to dogs though. I think they have a more limited capacity to build muscle through exercise than humans do. I would however bet dollars to dougnuts that there have been dogmen who overconditoned their dogs quite a bit.

 

Without going into too much detail I will just say-yes you need days off to rebuild muscle. Working out doesnt make your muscles bigger by itself, in fact...it tears the muscle down more and more each rep. When you rest, the body rebuilds the muscle, and rebuilds its stronger than it was...this is how you gain muscle and strength. Now, for the body to be able to rebuild, you need the proper nutrients, and plenty of sleep. Sleep is the key factor in a body-building program..without sleep your body will not repair itself.

Working daily, does not allow the body time to rebuild,and thus, you are actually doing more harm than good! Everyone follows diffrent schedules but the basic set-up I have followed my entire life, along with my father (who was a champion body builder in his prime)..has been an "A" day, a "B" day, and a rest day third. I dont want to debate bodybuilding programs so to be as basic as possible..."A" day you work one set of muscles, "B" day you work the opposite. You NEVER work A-A, or B-B. Where you throw in the rest days are up to you, to keep it simple you could do a-b, rest, a-b, rest, etc. The rule I have always followed is "if your not working out 3 times a week, you might as well stop wasting your time" and also work until absolute failure (too extreme for most people) and load up on protein, creatine, and your calories, than sleep your ass off.

Does this relate to dogs? Yes and no. Dogs also need rest days, and diffrent schedules, however dogs do not have the capacity to build muscle over their genetics like humans do. In a conditioning program, you are more or less teaching the dogs body how to utilize what it already has to a peak during stress....your not really "bulking" them up, like body-builders. Finally, a dogs conditioning program needs to absolutely involve respiration and their ability to breath....this is not necessarily something body-builders must work. In fact, larger muscles=more oxygen needed to fuel them=getting winded quickly. Muscle also weighs more than fat, you need to remember this extra weight they are carrying around. This is why in a dog, you want to simply strengthen muscle they have, and not bulk it up so to speak. Its about finding the right balance between muscle strength/size/endurance.

 

I had a friend teaching me to weight pull my dog. Here is how i do it from what he trained me. Keep in mine this guy helping me train my dogs has a dog that is a XXII a/a Dog. He told me to start on monday Drag Weight. Break or day off on tuesday. Wednesday Increase the weight. Break on Thursday with day off. On the days off it is good to give the dogs a good walk . Friday increase the drag Weight some more. Give a break on friday with some walking and pull on the rail track on sunday and see how mutch the dog increases in streangth. Saturday is the day Off. This is the schedule that i am going by. For Drag weight I use Just plain old window weights on a heavy chain.

 

I wouldn't exactly say it weighs more. It's more dense, but remember, "a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat". It's nice to see that people on here just don't share the love for these dogs like I do, but also bodybuilding. I tend to workout each bodypart once a week myself. As soon as my dogs get old enough to start pulling some weight, which they almost are , I'll probably follow the day on, day off routine with walks on their off days. Sounds like it'd be pretty good.

 

LOL I guess your right. Caught me in a mis-type, thanks for pointing that out. Muscle is more dense than fat. Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

 

Ah, yes. But weighs more? A pound of feathers or a pound of gold?:confused: Math is soooooo confusing.

 

14Rock- I am pretty darn sure that dogs and humans DO indeed share genetic body styles. As in, some women, no matter how well they work out and diet will never have the body of a model (like me, ha ha ha) and some men, no matter how they work out and diet will stay slender, lean and not bulk up (though I'm sure some things would help). We like the dogs are also born with a certain body style, frame or whatever you want to call it. Like dogs I also believe that we are born with many mental drives that can be either enhanced or diluted through our upbringing. I believe there are a lot of studies that support this and through my own experience this seems to be true as well. Genetics are amazing and for those of you who have had children, it's really incredible to see how many characteristics of the parents the children are simply born with. So, I really do have to disagree with you on that. I even have a friend who is an older women, she is very slender, a stay at home mom, she eats constantly and eats lots of chocolate. She hardly exercises at all and I promise I am in better physical condition than her, of course I am fat compared to her. This has to be genetic, at least she claims to be born with a high metabolism which I do believe. She is like a greyhound and I am like a malamute!

One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day while one pound of fat burns only 2.