Even as summer blooms around us, in our busy lives it's not always easy to heed to the call of the great outdoors. But there are members of our families who are deeply dedicated to daily outdoor romps: our dogs! For the decade that our family dog Max lived with us, he was an avid part of my fitness classes. He adapted readily from the hilly, rural route in Pennsylvania to the circuitous neighborhood loop here in Ann Arbor and even the occasional lakeside park trail on our trips to Windsor. One thing was constant though: every day he wanted to walk. Max was a great workout buddy. He was both the stick of accountability that got me out the door because he was depending on me, and the carrot of companionship that brought variety and enjoyment to our fitness routine.
Is a pet part of your exercise routine? Is your pet a committed walker or a cross trainer who dabbles in frisbee catching, swimming, or hiking as well? Don't have a furry friend of your own? Offer to 'help' your friend walk her dog, balancing out the foot to paw ratio and jazzing up your walking routine to boot. From fitness classes and reformer duets to family walks and tri training clubs, there's no reason to be lonely in the pursuit of your personal best. And sometimes the best companionship is canine!Our dog models: Link likes to workout at the park in Bellevue, WA while Roomba does her cross-training on the beach in San Diego, CA.
Having a puppy definitely keeps me moving! I think she could run 10 miles every day and still have excess energy (nevermind that *I* can't do that). She loves chasing other dogs (and sometimes birds, flys, bees, etc) at the dog park. Throwing a tennis ball works about 75% of the time. She doesn't always bring it back, but instead sometimes prefers to run around with it in her mouth. So sometimes my exercise comes from chasing her!
ReplyDeleteI thought of this post today- dogs leave hair all over my house, which makes me vacuum, which counts as exercise!
ReplyDeleteKate, WedMD agrees! http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/spring-cleaning-calorie-burn. Summer might be hitting the East Coast and Southern California, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we can still call it spring cleaning. Better get to it though, because when swimsuit season hits, it's going to be a short window!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to EB Meier on her triathlon in Washington state. With a fabulous time of 1 hr:34 min Emily celebrated this success on her birthday. Proud of you Emily. Let's both keep training -maybe next year we can do it together.
ReplyDeletemom