Have a little extra padding in the middle?
Don’t we all?
If you have a dog, you have a workout partner that will never skip out on you.
You can Lose Weight Fast While Walking Your Dog.
A survey of dog owners, conducted at the University of Western Australia and published in Health
Promotion Journal of Australia in August 2008, revealed that dogs are great motivators for
walking because they:
Provide a strong motivation to maintain a program
Are good walking companions Provide good social support when exercising
Researchers found that seven in every 10 adult dog owners achieved 150 minutes of physical
exercise per week, compared with only four in every 10 non-owners.
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Tell us about your doggy in the comments below.
Let’s start with a safety tip for your dog.
Know the limits of your dog.
Some breeds are better suited as workout partners than others.
For a moderately healthy adult, a small breed or a short-snouted dog such as a bulldog,
might not be the best jogging partner or be suited for long, brisk walks.
But most breeds are fine with a moderately paced walk.
When experts talk about exercise benefits of walking your dog, they aren’t talking
about slowly strolling around behind him while he sniffs for the perfect place to potty.
For you both to get benefits, you’ll need to walk at a moderate to brisk pace for at
least 30 minutes a day.
Can’t do 30 minutes at a time?
Fine.
A 10-minute walk in the morning and a 20-minute walk in the evening works, too.
Did you know that merely walking 30 minutes a day burns up to 5600 calories a month in
a 150-pound adult?
What else will improve?
According to Melina B. Jampolis, MD, you’ll see an improvement in mood, creativity, and
your other goals will seem more reachable.
A walk a day is simple enough, right?
Let’s step it up a bit.
Health and Wellness expert, Jillian Michaels suggests jogging in intervals with your dog.
"Your body likes to be on cruise control because that's where it's most gas efficient," explains
Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director at Quincy College in Massachusetts.
"But when you push on the gas pedal, as you do in intervals, your body becomes less efficient
and has to burn more calories to do the activity."
What is this interval jogging?
It’s simple.
You jog in spurts and alternate to walking, increasing intensity throughout the routine.
You start out walking to warm up.
Start with a light walk and increase pace over a 5 minute period.
After a short stretch, go through 6 repetitions of jogging for 30 seconds and 2-minute brisk
walks.
You’ll want to increase the intensity of your jog each cycle and give it a 100 percent
effort on the last cycle.
Other than the smallest of dogs, your dog will be fine with this routine, but keep an
eye on him.
Finish off with a 5-minute brisk walk to cool down and end with a nice stretch.
This should be done only three times a week and you can do normal walks on off days for
maximum benefits.
A good interval session needs recovery time, so it’s best for you and your dog not to
interval train every day.
Set a daily routine for your dog and you.
Try to walk or run at the same time each day.
Mornings are best because walks at this time help to disperse the pent-up energy your dog
accumulates during the night.
It’s also best for the human.
The more you run with your dog, the more your dog will expect it.
On those days when you don’t feel like getting off the couch your dog will nudge, pull, and
whine until he gets his daily exercise.
Instead of viewing this behavior as annoying, you can see it as motivating.
“Pets get all the same diseases humans do from diabetes to cancer to heart disease.
If you love your pet, I implore you to exercise with your pet and make sure both of you eat
the proper amount of healthy food,” says Jillian.
Want to switch it up?
Go on hikes with your dog.
How about sprints?
Can you beat your dod from one end of your yard to the next?
Don’t forget your children.
The World Health Organization recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily
for children 5 to 17 years old.
It might not be best to have your 5-year-old interval train, but games like “Who can
get to the ball first” or a game of doggy tag will probably be fun for your child and
dog.
Get creative, make it fun, not a chore.
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And as always catch ya next time.