Left Coast Fitness: Living Fully

Pets and Fitness - Some Fun Ideas

Hello Again, Pet People!
In my last post on  exercising with your pets I spoke about how important it was to help our pets stay (or become) healthy.  It should come as no surprise that exercising with your pet can improve your well-being as well.

Studies have shown that with proper exercise, stress levels decrease, appetite improves and is more readily regulated, and sleep becomes more consistent and restful. Not bad just for having some fun.

So, today I’d like to offer some references to videos and sites where you can see some great ideas on how to exercise with your pets. By the way, I won't swipe other people's hard work which is why I'm redirecting you directly to their sites, but don't forget to come back here too.
[Please note that I am neither endorsing, nor objecting to, any of the products you might find at these sites; I’m merely suggesting that they have exercise ideas you might consider]

As I see with my own clients, there are athletes and weekend warriors and just plain Folk in the animal world as well so here's one for the SERIOUS pet athletes out there - playing flyball which you can check out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X64NC0oQdPI

So you and your best four-legged Bud are more of the casual Frisbee type? Well, for many of you it’s a a natural and has been part of your regular playtime for years. For the rest of you sitting there looking at your pup and remembering the last time you tried this to no avail, I offer this great site where you can learn how to play Frisbee with your dog in a few simple lessons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEbODCH8MJk&feature=related

Then there’s always the Pet-to-Pet workouts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuAWEZxvuHI

I suppose if you’ve always loved treadmills for yourself you could consider this:
http://www.jogadog.com/index.html

But personally that makes me kinda sad, so I’d opt for something along these lines for ideas:
http://www.hillspet.com/weight-management/pet-exercise.html

Just like their people, pets may need to be coaxed to play more energetically, so search for the right environment, the right toy, the right playmates to excite and interest your pet. If your dog is shy or aggressive you might not be too happy going to the local dog park and expecting your pup to have a great time. You might find that a quieter environment with fewer distractions works better. If your pet has lazed around for months or years, getting out for a long hike or run may turn into a very long walk back carrying a recalcitrant/exhausted buddy!
So plan accordingly and try different things - be your pet’s trainer and coach.

In my next post on exercise and pets we’ll be looking at keeping your pet safe during exercise and play, so please be sure to come back for more.

Have a great day with your pet today and don’t forget a healthy treat...for your pet, that is...Oh, OK, for you too...good person! Yes, you are!

A great read and a great need...

Now, if I told you up front what the subject of this post is I can easily say that a number of people would run from their computer!
Yes, I'm talking about s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g. Stretching has to be THE most underused tool in most athlete's and fitness enthusiast's bag of tricks. Does it trump nutrition in importance? Noooo, I wouldn't go that far but let’s understand some fundamental things about your body.
 OK, so this is about as unscientific an explanation as you can get but...

Your body has a structure (your bones) and this structure is held together at a variety of points (joints) by a spectacular system of connectors (ligaments and muscles). For the structure to be supported properly and to move properly, the connectors must be supple and strong.
Ligaments need movement to get the nutrients they require for their greatest ability and well-being. "Motion is Lotion" may sound corny but it is all too true. Muscles get nutrients through an intricate system of arteries, veins, and capillaries which carry nutrients to the cells and dispose of waste but ligaments have a far poorer exchange mechanism and require motion to encourage that mechanism.
Furthermore, each of your muscles has an optimal length at which it can produce optimal force. It's analogous to a guitar string being able to produce a specific note - too little slack and the note is high, too much slack and the note is too low. For our muscles to be truly effective they need to operate at the proper length and simply exercising to produce greater strength will not overcome the deficiencies of shortened, tight muscles.  Have you ever met someone who looks fairly typical - no bulging muscles, possibly even slight of build and yet they are tremendously strong? It's a good bet that their muscle fibers are all firing as they should and without great bulk producing great force.
So, on to the topic of how to get there - read this book: "Stretching Anatomy" by Arnold G. Nelson and Juoko Kokkonen.
It's kind of "techy" and may not be the most exciting of reads but boy does it show great stretches and wonderful explanations of stretching technique.  The illustrations show external and internal views of the body and the authors give precise identification of which muscles are involved. Too much information for some? Yes, but you’ll likely find your understanding of how your body works expanding with each read.
Don’t skip the introduction of the book - it’s short but very helpful. Once you’ve done that, dive right in and read about a portion of your body that you know needs help - Oh, I'll hazard a guess and say...hamstrings, for example, and follow the instructions on how to bring more length to these often neglected muscles.
 I guarantee (IF you actually DO the stretches consistently) that you'll find relief from many aches and pains and you'll enjoy sports more and possibly even create a sense of well-being in the world. OK, that last one might be a bit much but give it a read and give it a try.
I'll post more about stretching, but for now let's borrow from Nike and say "Just Do it" (with some well-done instruction by Arnold and Juoko).

Obese Beasts and Couch Potato Critters?

By now you’ve probably heard enough about obesity in adults and children to see that we need to make changes in our approach to how we live if we’re going to be able to enjoy our lives fully.
Well, said to say, our pets are also falling under the spell of too many calories in and too few calories out.

Studies from 2007 through 2011 have shown a steady increase in overweight pets with some studies citing obesity levels in pets as high as 57% for cats and 44% for dogs.
Considering that we’re talking about domesticated animals it’s hard to ignore the obvious truth - we are overfeeding our animals for the level of activity they live with.

In the case of cats this is a pretty straightforward fix - simply decreasing the amount of food or the availability of food will yield great results. A bit less obvious but an even better solution is, if possible, consider a raw food diet for your cat. Le’s face it, not too many cats are out there foraging for wheat, rice, or corn, regardless of how hungry they are!
Dogs will fare far better on a more “conscious” diet as well, of course.

One of the biggest reasons why animals overeat is simple boredom.
I think sometimes we forget that these are domesticated animals but only barely...they are hunters at their core. Pets need physical stimulation as well as mental stimulation; they need to run, jump, chase and be chased and this is especially true for dogs.

Think about the last time you sat in a meeting or an airport or in a car for hours; now think about the last time you were out on a beautiful trail or on the beach or beside a lake - the smells of nature, the breeze against your skin, the exhilaration of being able to move freely and walk or run. Now which would you like to repeat again and again?

Our pets are often stuck in situations that prevent them from enjoying their very nature and they’re looking to us for help. One last thought - as a client of mine pointed out today, if your pup is overweight, odds are you (the owner) aren't getting enough exercise!

NEXT UP: The joys of flyball, frisbees, parks, and recreation.