Building muscle

Kelsey

Kelsey

I saw Axel’s brother (from another litter) last night who is turning 4 years old in the spring (axel turns 3 in December) He’s gorgeous, and very very fit. I noticed just how much more muscle he has on him compared to Axel. Now, he lives on an acreage and basically lives outside all day long, so he is constantly out and about for about 12 hours a day roaming the property and playing with the horses. So it would make sense that he is very fit considering how incredibly active he is.

That being said, I want to build Axel’s hind leg muscles up. Any tips?

I live in a neighbourhood with a decent amount of hills but it’s all on leash as it’s on the sidewalk beside a busy road. So we have being doing this walk twice a day for a total of an hour and a half a day, but it’s only been one week so too soon to see if it’s working I imagine😛 Just past the busy road there is a wooded area with a steep incline hill that I thought maybe a couple times a week I can suck it up and convince myself a bear won’t eat me and I can let him off leash and we can go up and down it several times, would that help?

Also have a flat area in a wooded area that we can play fetch a few times and then just walk off leash, but like I said it’s flat so I’m not sure if that will help much with my goal?
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Walking is just as good as running when doing hill repeats. Keep in mind that walking uphill works the back end and walking downhill the front. Walking down also has greater impact, so it's best to avoid steep descents where possible.

They definitely do wonders for muscle, as Shadow will attest to:


Swimming or (even better) walking in water is great for building muscle.

Anything that gets the dog's weight onto the back legs will build muscle on the hind quarters, so just having him stand up on you, or with front feet on a wall or a stool will help build muscle. You can also ask for repeated sits and stands with his front feet on a platform. Adding a bit of instability (eg a cushion) will help build his core, too.

Be careful you don't over-focus on his rear end and create an imbalance. There should be good muscle distribution all over his body - see how Shadow has a well-muscled shoulder and chest as well as butt :D

Not at the moment, mind! He's lost his summer fluff but hasn't yet packed his muscle back on. Bring on the mountains!!
 
Snowy

Snowy

Interesting topic and one that I've been working on for the last few weeks. It started when I read an article about exercise needs for a Lab.

The article explained that simply walking long distances wasn't quite enough to burn up the energy and build muscle. I knew that already, and we already had a decent mix of walking and running in our daily exercise.... But it did make me stop and think a bit more about trying to further increase the level of "lunatic, all-out sprinting exercise" that our boy was getting.

The thing is to find something that brings that high level of activity, and for us it is a Kong rubber frisbee. When running after the frisbee, our boy sprints about 50% faster than when he's going to retrieve a dummy. And he then follows this up with a few minutes of running around on his own. I think he enjoys the different ways the frisbee can be gripped, squashed, bent, and flapped/shaken around. After a while, he brings the frisbee back for another throw. Repeated sessions of 20 mins (not every day) of this type of exercise have give super results.

He's not exactly the Arnold of the Labrador world, but he is certainly in much better shape than before the new regime.Boy - Copy.jpg
 
kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
Yes , I`m with the uphill for back end muscles ethos . When we homed Nelly , her rear end muscles were frankly shocking , also her joints . Now we cant really alter her joints but our Vet advised a conservative management , also advised uphill walking . Over the past year, she had changed shape completely , now has defined muscles and doesn't limp x
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

As @snowbunny said, walking or running through water; walking uphill; repeated standing from sitting with front feet on a cushion... all will help build muscle in the hindquarters.

Several people have also suggested jogging or cycling with Merlin in order to build up his muscles, but I don't think I am going to be doing either.
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Thank you everyone for the great advice, as always! I will add in some sit and stand exercises to our routine. How much exactly should he do in one session for it to benefit him? And how many times a week?

We will also continue our uphill walking and try the super steep one in the wooded area a couple times a week. Snow will be in the forecast soon enough which will also help beef him up a bit too I imagine.

I’m thinking I should take some before and after pictures🤔
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Also, in regards to swimming. The lake temperature right now is 12 degrees Celsius and the air temperature is 8 degrees. I have been worried it’s too chilly for him to swim but am I worrying for nothing? He doesn’t have a thick coat like a show lab but it’s also not a super thin coat either...
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
When I was trail running with Brogan he had the most amazing legs, especially his backside. We'd usually only go once a week, but on hills and for a few hours at a go. It made an enormous difference in how he looked! He was neutered very young so in general didn't pack on muscle, but doing the trails did it for him. :)

Come to think of it, my backside looked better back in those days too. :unsure:
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Emily_Babbelhund said:
When I was trail running with Brogan he had the most amazing legs, especially his backside. We'd usually only go once a week, but on hills and for a few hours at a go. It made an enormous difference in how he looked! He was neutered very young so in general didn't pack on muscle, but doing the trails did it for him. :)

Come to think of it, my backside looked better back in those days too. :unsure:
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Good to know!
Haha I keep thinking the benefits I’ll get as well 😁
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

I don't just do uphill walking I do slow walking. I try to get them to engage the back end and walk using all the muscles by slowing them right down when they move quickly they often use the front end more and it leads them to be ulover developed on the front and under in the back.
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Kelsey&Axel said:
Also, in regards to swimming. The lake temperature right now is 12 degrees Celsius and the air temperature is 8 degrees. I have been worried it’s too chilly for him to swim but am I worrying for nothing? He doesn’t have a thick coat like a show lab but it’s also not a super thin coat either...
Click to expand...
He'll be fine swimming at that temperature, but I would dry him off and put a toweling coat on him afterwards. I know it seems a bit soppy for a labrador... but it's not nice for them to sit around cold and wet, and not good for their health either. He can easily have a quick dip at that temperature, and as long as he is moving around afterwards and you dry him off properly when you get home or to the car, it'll be fine.
 
Loraseal

Loraseal

Location
The Hague, The Netherlands
We live in Holland so no hill walks! I have found little hills in the woods to help Hunter strengthen has back legs. He has 4 short walks all day and has some muscle tone. We are working on his back legs and running in the shallows of the sea is also good and he loves it!! My OH is a nutter and also swims in the cold sea. Hunter joins him so ]I used my OH as a good temperature gauge for Hunter!
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

I climbed a small cliff face today, I'm incredibly scared of heights and wobbly but I did it. It was a very step sheer climb. I had to have a sit down at the top. Rory and my oh pranced to the top I do d it on hands and knees at on point. I thought going up was having d but then I realised I'd got to come down.IMG_20181102_142435.jpg
 
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