The 30 Day Guide: Dog Muscle Building Workouts
To build muscle on a dog, combine three things: regular cardio, strength work that gets a little harder each week, and a high-protein, calorie-dense diet that covers what those workouts burn. Add rest days, balance work and stretching, and most healthy adult dogs start to look and move stronger within a month. The 30-day plan below shows you exactly how to put it together.
Think of it the way people train. Doing only push-ups or only riding a bike won't make you fit all around. You need strength training, cardio, stretching and rest. A healthy dog needs the same mix. If the only exercise your dog gets is the occasional run, that's better than nothing, but it won't build muscle tone or core strength on its own.
Before You Start: Is Your Dog Ready?
Strength training is safe for most healthy adult dogs when you build up slowly. Check these first:
Readiness checklist
- Vet check. Ask your vet to look at joints, heart and weight before you add resistance work, especially for dogs that are older, overweight or have had injuries.
- Fully grown. Puppies can play, walk and learn skills, but hold off on weighted vests, weight pulls and heavy sled work until your vet confirms your dog's growth plates have closed. Large and giant breeds finish growing later than small breeds.
- Healthy weight. A thin dog needs to regain weight before hard training. See our guide to helping a rescue pitbull gain weight and muscle.
- Right gear. Use a proper pulling harness for any resistance work. Never attach weight or a sled to a collar.
- Weather. Bully breeds and short-nosed dogs overheat fast. Train in the cool part of the day and keep water close.
Before we go further, a quick note on fuel: if your dog needs more strength and energy from the bowl, a meat-based, high-protein food is the simplest place to start.
See what training and a high-protein diet can build: meet Hank the Tank.
FUEL YOUR DOG WITH BULLY MAX 30/20 HIGH-PROTEIN FOOD
Fuel strength and energy with meat-based nutrition, 30% protein, 20% fat, and 535 calories per cup.
Cardiovascular/Aerobic Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise includes anything that gets your dog's heart pumping. It's vitally important for every dog because it burns calories, strengthens the heart and lungs, and improves energy and endurance. It also builds the base fitness your dog needs before harder strength work.
Examples of aerobic exercise include:
- Flirt poles
- Treadmills
- Jenny mill / cat mill
- Sprints (with or without a weight vest)
- Jogging and running
- Swimming, which is easy on the joints
One thing to keep in mind is the type of surface you're on. Running on a harder surface may be OK once in a while, but over time it can be hard on the joints. So try to find softer surfaces like grass, dirt trails or rubber flooring whenever possible.
Resistance/Strength Exercise
Resistance training is like going to the gym and lifting weights. By training your dog's muscles against some opposing force, you help them grow bigger and stronger while strengthening bones, tendons and ligaments.
Examples of strength training include:
- Spring poles
- Weighted vests
- Elastic bands (bungee leash)
- Sled pulls and weight pulling (on the field or track)
- Hill and stair climbs
- "Doggy squats": repeated sit-to-stand with a treat as the lure
Strength training should always be done in a progressive manner. Never start your dog with an extremely difficult exercise or a weight they can't handle. Start light and increase the resistance gradually. This gives your dog's body time to grow stronger and adapt. For more ideas, see our list of dog muscle building exercises.
Dogs on a regular strength program burn a lot of calories. A calorie-dense performance food makes it easier to fuel those workouts without oversized meals.
Watch Emmanuel Faxio's JT set a world record with an 18,329-pound weight pull:
TRY BULLY MAX PRO SERIES 31/25 DOG FOOD
High-calorie performance nutrition with 31% protein, 25% fat, and 600 calories per cup for working and sport dogs.
Recommended training video:
The 30-Day Dog Muscle Building Workout Plan
This plan is for a healthy, fully grown dog that already walks daily. Times are totals for the day. Split them into shorter sessions with water and rest in between, and warm up with an easy walk first. If your dog is panting hard, lagging or limping, stop and scale back.
| Week | Goal | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Build a base | Brisk walk 30 min | Flirt pole 10 min | Balance work 10 min + walk | Sprints 10 min | Spring pole 10 min | Jog or swim 30 min | Rest |
| 2 | Add strength | Brisk walk 40 min | Flirt pole 15 min | Bungee leash 15 min | Hill or stair climbs 15 min | Spring pole 15 min | Jog or swim 40 min | Rest |
| 3 | Add light load | Walk with light vest 30 min | Flirt pole 20 min | Balance work 15 min + walk | Light sled or drag 10 min | Spring pole 20 min | Jog or swim 45 min | Rest |
| 4 | Progress | Walk with vest 40 min | Flirt pole 20 min | Sprints 15 min | Sled or weight pull 15 min | Spring pole 20 min | Jog or swim 60 min | Rest |
Start any weighted vest light and build up slowly. Keep sled and pull loads easy enough that your dog moves smoothly with good form. After day 30, keep the same structure and progress one thing at a time: a bit more time, a bit more load, or one more session.
Additional Ways to Improve Your Dog's Mental Health & Physique
Balance Training
Balance training isn't as well-known as strength training or cardio, but it can be very important in improving your dog's core strength and coordination. And the more balanced and coordinated your dog is, the lower their chances of getting injured.
So how do you put your dog through balance training? The most common method uses a balance disc, an inflatable tool. Your dog stands with 2 feet on the ground and 2 feet on the disc, and has to fight against the natural "wobble" to keep their balance.
Just make sure to target all 4 legs, including both the front and hind limbs, during your balance training sessions.
Stretching
Get in the habit of helping your dog warm up and stretch for a few minutes before every exercise session. This gets your dog in the mood for exercise while warming up their muscles, which helps performance and reduces injuries.
The type of stretch should depend on the exercise that follows. And remember to let your dog warm up a little before stretching. It's not a good idea to over-stretch cold muscles.
You can also stretch at the end of a session. At that point your dog's muscles are warm, so they can get into a deeper stretch.
Skills, Drills, & Games
The last step in giving your dog a great all-around workout is to train the final part of their body: the brain.
By training your dog's ability to focus and solve problems, you give them a mental workout that keeps them sharp and obedient while building a good relationship with you.
There are many drills and games you can run through with your dog, from cone drills to line drills to games where your dog figures out how to get a treat out of a bottle or other container. On top of being good for your dog, they can also be loads of fun.
Rest Days
Muscle grows during recovery, not during the workout. Keep at least one full rest day a week, and don't run hard strength sessions on back-to-back days. Rest also lowers the risk of strains and torn ligaments.
Tailor These Exercises to Fit Your Dog
Every dog is different and has different exercise needs. Vary these exercises based on your dog. If your dog has trouble with stamina and tires easily, they may need more cardio. If your dog is lean and needs to bulk up a little, focus more on strength training and make sure they are eating enough to cover the extra work.
It may sound like a lot of work, but it's worth it when you see how energetic, happy and full of life your dog becomes. And you might even get a little exercise yourself.
High Protein Dog Food for Muscle Building: The Diet Side
Workouts only work if the bowl keeps up. The best dog food for building muscle is a meat-based, high protein dog food with enough calories to cover training: Bully Max 30/20 High Protein (30% protein, 535 kcal per cup) for most dogs, or PRO Series 31/25 high calorie dog food for hard-working sport dogs. Without the right diet, your dog can't build muscle or recover from hard training. Exercise breaks muscle down. Protein and calories build it back stronger. For a deeper look, read our guide on how to build muscle on a dog with food.
The food side of this plan is covered in our muscle building dog food guide: 30/20 High Protein, 30% protein and 535 calories per cup, fed to match training load.
- Feed enough calories. A dog training most days burns more than a couch dog. Use our dog food calculator as a starting point, then weigh your dog every week or two and adjust.
- Choose a meat-based, high-protein food. Protein supplies the amino acids muscle is built from. A calorie-dense food means your dog gets the fuel without a huge bowl.
- Split the day into two meals. Feed half of the daily amount in the morning and half in the evening, and avoid feeding a big meal right before or after hard exercise.
- Add supplements if you want extra support. Many owners add a muscle supplement or a daily health chew. Follow the label directions for your dog's weight.
- Water at all times. Plenty of cool, clean drinking water should be available all day, and especially around workouts.
A simple daily routine many owners use: Meal 1 is half of your dog's daily Bully Max 30/20 High Protein Dog Food with a Bully Max 9-in-1 Vitality Chew. Meal 2 is the other half of their food with Bully Max Muscle Builder tablets, given as directed on the label.
Here are the Muscle Builder tablets from Meal 2, for anyone following this plan.
Hear what dog owners say about Bully Max Muscle Builder in this short review:
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Daily tablets that support muscle growth, strength, and recovery in active dogs. Easy to give with your dog's evening meal.
FAQ
How can I build muscle on my dog naturally?
Combine progressive exercise (cardio plus strength work like spring poles, hill climbs and bungee work) with a high-protein, calorie-dense diet and enough rest. No shortcuts are needed. Consistency over weeks and months is what builds muscle.
How long does it take to build muscle on a dog?
Many dogs look tighter and move better within a few weeks of steady training and good food. Real, visible muscle takes months, and genetics play a big part in how muscular a dog can get.
How do I make my pitbull more muscular?
Pit bulls and American Bullies respond well to the plan above, especially flirt pole, spring pole and weight pull work. Keep sessions short in hot weather, build load slowly, and feed a high-protein food with enough calories to cover training. Our rescue pitbull weight and muscle guide has a pit-specific plan.
Can puppies do strength training?
Puppies should play, walk, explore and learn skills, but skip weighted vests, weight pulls and other heavy resistance until your vet confirms they are done growing. Too much load on growing joints can cause injuries.
Start Your Dog's 30 Days
Pick a start date, print the plan, and weigh your dog on day one so you can track progress. Fuel the work with a high-protein, calorie-dense food like Bully Max 30/20, or PRO Series 31/25 for dogs training hard most days. Plenty of cool and clean drinking water should be available at all times.
6 comments
My dog is a 62% bully 38% mastiff. he is 125lbs and 19 months old, is he old enough to for weighted vest and weight pulling?