The TrimDog Exercise Belt was created out of necessity to help my dog Lily loose weight without having to increase the frequency or duration of the walks. Without adjusting those two variables I knew the only way to stimulate the desired response was to increase the intensity. I stumbled across an article entitled: “The Effect of Weighted Vest Walking on Metabolic Responses and Ground Reaction Forces” that was conducted by The American College of Sports Medicine in 2006. This study concluded that using a weighted vest can increase the metabolic cost, relative exercise intensity, and loading of the skeletal system during walking. EUREKA! Simply by adding a small amount of weight I could increase the intensity of her walks; therefore increasing the total weekly workload necessary to induce the desired training effect. In this case, the training effect was to burn more calories each walk to lose more weight.
The TrimDog exercise belt is designed to distribute the weight safely through the chest girdle in the same manner as a harness. The weights are applied firmly to the dog to eliminate constant impact and jarring. They are also located safely away from the hip joints and appendages to allow unimpeded walking. The belt is applied to the back and is placed slightly towards the rear to allow for normal respiration.
Determining how much weight to use for each size dog was an interesting dilemma. Dogs are domesticated animals and do not have the opportunity to work their muscles outside of walking, running, and jumping on the furniture. People on the other hand, constantly engage different muscles by picking up their dog, taking out the trash, or carrying groceries. Testing revealed you can increase the load carried per dog by just 1-2% in addition to their bodyweight and create a substantial training effect. The stimulus created was large enough to engage the prime mover muscles of the hips, legs, and chest. This new stimulus will promote muscle tone and growth when carried out in conjunction with a healthy diet. The more muscle your dog possesses the higher its metabolism and the more efficient they will be in burning fat. Six ounces of weight for a small dog weighing under twenty pounds is equal to 2 and ½ percent of their total bodyweight. This small increase in total load while walking has resulted in excellent weight loss results on all dogs who have used the system with no adverse effects.
The TrimDog exercise belt is designed to distribute the weight safely through the chest girdle in the same manner as a harness. The weights are applied firmly to the dog to eliminate constant impact and jarring. They are also located safely away from the hip joints and appendages to allow unimpeded walking. The belt is applied to the back and is placed slightly towards the rear to allow for normal respiration.
Determining how much weight to use for each size dog was an interesting dilemma. Dogs are domesticated animals and do not have the opportunity to work their muscles outside of walking, running, and jumping on the furniture. People on the other hand, constantly engage different muscles by picking up their dog, taking out the trash, or carrying groceries. Testing revealed you can increase the load carried per dog by just 1-2% in addition to their bodyweight and create a substantial training effect. The stimulus created was large enough to engage the prime mover muscles of the hips, legs, and chest. This new stimulus will promote muscle tone and growth when carried out in conjunction with a healthy diet. The more muscle your dog possesses the higher its metabolism and the more efficient they will be in burning fat. Six ounces of weight for a small dog weighing under twenty pounds is equal to 2 and ½ percent of their total bodyweight. This small increase in total load while walking has resulted in excellent weight loss results on all dogs who have used the system with no adverse effects.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment