Posted by byne on TITANS forum
from The American Pit Bull Terrier Gazetttte Spring
2001
Almost
every dogman that I know these days is of the opinion that a carpet mill is
inferior to a slat mill. A carpet mill is similar in appearance to a slate mill
except is generally all wooden in construction. There are no metal parts. The
bed of the mill (track the dog runs on) is simply a board between two wheels
with a carpet going around it for the dog to run on. This mill is not as
"free-wheeling" as a slat mill because of the friction between the board and the
carpet. Most people who use a carpet mill wax the board in order to minimize the
friction. The carpet mill was very popular in my area (the southeast) in the
seventies. It has since taken a back seat to the far more popular slat mill. The
primary advantages of a carpet mill is now seen in the fact that it is a lot
quieter than the slat mill and it is a lot less expensive.
A carpet mill
is a lot harder for a dog to run because in order to make the rollers turn he
must pull against his own body weight. He must use his front legs more in order
to make the mill turn. When the board under the carpet is not waxed he is even
closer to pulling his own body weight to make it turn. You see an example in my
video "Pit Protection", as my VELVET dog runs a carpet mill. A dog is not
running aerobically on a carpet mill, he is in an anaerobic state. The dog will
very quickly be breathing (and working) very hard. The dog that can run a slat
mill at a very fast pace for forty-five minutes can be near the over-train state
in fifteen minutes on a carpet mill. For this reason, many people prefer the
slate mill. Another reason most dogmen prefer the slate mill is that the carpet
mill can be dangerous for a dog if not used carefully. Many a dogman - and that
includes experienced dogmen, have left their dog on the carpet mill too long,
calling him on to run it too hard and the result has been a hernia or in some
cases burned up kidneys.
With that said, I've got to say I love a carpet
mill. In my case, I like to have two treadmills, a slat mill and a carpet mill.
People who use a slat mill like to have one that has a drag brake. I used to
have a Red River Curley mill and got many years and mileage out of it before I
sold it because of not conditioning dogs these days. My Red River Curley mill
had a drag brake. I used it for very brief work to strengthen the legs – but you
have to be even more careful with that drag brake or you will strain the dog.
Let me tell you what I love bout a carpet mill. Used properly, a carpet
mill can develop a very, very tough dog. It is kind of hard to explain but let
me use an analogy to try. It is the legs that go first in the ring for a boxer –
and it is even more pronounced for a kick boxer. Not his wind, his legs. Anyone
who has ever been in the ring definitely knows what I'm talking about. They know
that your legs don't weaken when you dance around the ring for the duration. The
legs go when you get in there close, doing some serious battle – serious
banging. Be it human or canine, you need serious anaerobic conditioning to go
the distance and finish on strong legs.
I have always worked hard to be
in good condition. It helps me understand what I can expect from my dog. I feel
like to be a good conditioner, sometimes you have to have been there yourself.
Then you can just smile inwardly when you read all about dogmen arguing what is
best for conditioning. Should you use a slat or carpet mill, engage in weight
pulling or whatever. The answer is, there are different methods of conditioning
and it depends on the dog and many variables. The debates are benerally between
experienced dogmen, but sometimes it helps if you have experienced the arena
yourself. Even then opinions differ. Anyway, here is another way of looking at
it. Try conditioning yourself on one of those electric treadmills they have at
the health clubs. Not a stair climber, a running treadmill. Do this for six
weeks. Now, condition yourself by hard, hard running that include a lot of hill
running. Hill running until you feel like puking, walk to recovery, then run
that hill until you feel like puking again, then do it over again. You will then
be tough. That is what a carpet mill does.
Another way of explaining my
feeling is based on an article that appeared in the August 2000 issue of a now
defunct martial arts magazine called Combat Fitness. The article was entitled
Recovery Time: A Fighter's Best Friend by Terry Wilson, a freelance martial arts
writer.
The writer went to Thailand to interview Bob Chaney, a trainer
of Muay Thai kick boxers at his training camp in Bangkok. Bob Chaney trains
world champions in this sport, which is full-contact sport that combines boxing
with leg kicks and elbow and knee hits, very rough. Since the fighter must use
his legs, a one-minute round is much (and I say must say "much" does not
adequately describe) more demanding than just boxing. And one minute of fighting
with both arms and legs is much more demanding than hitting a heavy bag for one
round. You have to do it to feel it.
What is most impressive about
Chaney is that at age 57 he goes non-stop for round after round with his
fighters and he never gets tired. I will now paraphrase what Mr. Chany has to
say about his abilities and those of his fighters who walk the talk in the ring.
Listen as he speaks to us: "The key principle in winning a full-contact match is
knowing how to train for maximum recover time. Recovery time is defined as the
ability to recover from a full all out blow out. In other words, a warrior
learns to win against another trained warrior when he fights in flurries. He
goes almost all out in an attempt to take out his opponent – but when the
opponent is equal in ability that doesn't happen. The experienced fighter stops
and paces himself before he explodes again. If he doesn't – he loses – sometimes
to an opponent with lower ability and technique, but more experienced."
Chaney said he has had fighters come to train with him that have won 20
or more karate tournaments (he means the controlled contact tournaments) and
they think they are ready for full-contact. Chaney says he puts them in the ring
and just waits. Invariably after the first or second round they don't want to
get off the stool. They can't raise their arms let alone kick. And they always
say to him – I run ten miles a day, I skip rope, I spar all the time – how can I
be so wiped out in a couple two minute rounds? Now PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: Chaney
says the answer is that they have trained too much on cardio workouts and
fighting is anaerobic.
Chaney says he knows how these fighters feel. His
abilities are not inherited. He got his endurance from training. He said he can
remember being so wiped out in fights that he would take three or four shots to
the head just to buy time to rest. He also said he has been in situations where
he would see an opening where he knew he could land a kick and didn't because
his heart was beating so rapidly he was afraid he would get cardiac arrest. And
that was when he was younger.
So what is the training he does for
himself and his fighters? They run hills with ten pound dumbbells in their hands
and they sprint all out – very hard – recover – and repeat. When they are about
to die then they hit the heavy bag all out. The bell rings – they hit the hills
again. Chaney says he will be running hills with one of his new students and
he'll say, "See that tree ten yard away? Hit it." They will race to the tree and
back just as hard as the can. The they jog. But the student will be gasping for
a full minute while Chaney is fine. But, three weeks later the student will be
every bit as winded when he sprints the same run but – AND THIS IS THE IMPORTANT
POINT - he will get his breath back in 40 seconds. In three more weeks he will
get his breath back in 20 seconds. This ability to recover is what makes a tough
fighter. It is training tough and being able to recover fast that develops the
winner.
I have been a member if a health club and I have run those
electric treadmills myself. I can tell you that for me they don't work, don't
take you anywhere near where you go when you run my mountain hills on uneven
ground. Not even close. Chaney says an experienced fighter will never fight
long when he gets out of gas. If he does – he loses. Which reminds me, I
remember a long time ago in the golden days of pit fighting, I would attend
these dog matches – and I saw a good many famous dogmen – people who you read
about now that were legends. I watched them handling their dogs and of course I
kept my thoughts to myself – but I would watch them yelling at their dog,
calling them on when the dog was resting, his rib cage going in and out like a
bellows. And I thought, "Son let the dog fight is fight. Encourage him if he has
rested too long and may start to stiffen up – but let the dog fight his fight
and recover." Maybe if he ever got in the ring himself he would understand you
need to pace. Maybe he has been in the ring – but never learned to pace, I've
seen that in even some professional fighters. To me, a good handler would keep
his face very close to the dog and in low tones from time to time let the dog
hear his encouraging words – but calling the dog on when he is gasping for air,
to me is wrong. I don't care how many matches he won. I think for the most part
he should let the dog fight his own fight until the dog is tired and has spent
too much time resting. I can recall when I boxed as a youngster and also when I
competed in karate – I learned early on to pretty much ignore the calls of my
coach – because I'd get worn out from trying to fight and listen both.
Moreover, I think that walking the dog long distances and lots of hard
work on a fast mill should be a given – to establish bottom. But that should no
be an end thing. I think that in the closing weeks of the keep I believe the
dogs should have gotten lots of hard interval work on a hard to work carpet
mill. That is the OLY way you can build the ability to wrestle hard – very hard
– and recovery before you receive too much damage where you can't continue.
Well we don't match dogs anymore – but if you bring your dog in the
swamp to wrestle a big old hog, you better give him more than aerobic endurance.
You better have a tough dog that can wrestle in hard flurries, rest and recover
before the hog takes him out, or you are going to lose your dog no matter how
game he is. And if you enter the show ring you will have an obviously stronger,
tougher, healthier dog if he is worked anaerobically with hard intervals, on top
of the long distance training. A dog that is properly conditioned is going to
win the show if the judge is a good one, over a dog that is minimally worked or
fed down. Yes, show dogs should be conditioned.
Of course there are
other factors involved in developing a fast recover. Being at your true weight
is one of them. To exaggerate - if you have a big "beer belly," you will not be
able to recover from huffing and puffing from a hard interval even after a good
three weeks of training. You must be lean. If you have large mass muscles like a
power lifter, you have more weight to carry and you will not recover as much as
a person (or dog) that has lean wiry muscles. As a martial artist, I prefer the
lean but very strong muscles of Bruce Lee to the large mass muscle of the body
builder. Hard interval training on the other hand burns calories faster in a
given amount of time than any other training. This is best done in cycles, but
that's another subject.
The same magazine had an article about Mark
Kerr, who at the time had nine straight victories in no-holds-barred
competition. He trains seven days a week. But of those seven days, only three
are cardiovascular workouts. The rest are anaerobic. Why? Because he is not
running a race – he is wrestling in flurries. Endurance is a must. You have no
business competing without it. But it is not enough to win in the fast lane.
RECOVERY TIME – that is the key.
as of 21 April,
2001.
