Greening Your Exercise Routine: A Free Workout Plan

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With budgets stretched beyond their limits for so many families these days, many are becoming more creative with their workouts. Gym membership is costly, and leaves you with limited choices on workout times. Add to that the time spent in traveling back and forth to the gym and you get a picture of more time spent for less physical fitness.

While I have been down the gym membership road, I now use my 3 dogs as workout companions and motivators, and find this to be a much more enjoyable and relaxing workout than any pumping iron I previously did.

You may be wondering how physically fit one can get by walking a dog. This question brings up the reason that many do not consider dogs a good enough variety of activity to keep them in shape. I beg to differ, and would love to offer some options:

• While walking or hiking with my dogs is a regular workout for us all, we have several other ways of enjoying activity together, starting with the bicycle. Photo below!
• Many runners enjoy taking a dog along, as well.
• If you are not a runner, but your dog enjoys a more vigorous workout, take a ball thrower (chucker) to the dog park and spend a half hour teaching your dog to fetch. Tanner, my Golden Retriever, could fetch until he drops. Fortunately my arm gives out before that, and the soreness tomorrow always reminds me of the workout it gave me.
• Playing Frisbee with a dog is great fun, especially when you play hide and seek each time you throw it. Tanner has to figure out where I went, after he retrieves the Frisbee (or a ball) and we enjoy this silly game, which gets me running as well.
• Speaking of running, an agility course is a great way to get your heart pumping and work up a sweat. Dog agility is one part dog training, one part dog athletics, and one part running owner! You can check out the photo gallery at the link in this paragraph for pictures of some fun agility action at the club I have trained with. If you are one to enjoy a social atmosphere during your workouts, this might be just the ticket for you. This group of dog loving runners is certainly a bunch of fun to spend an evening with.
• Another running activity is a no-brainer. Play tag with your dog and enjoy the simplicity of this kids' game gone canine. Your dog will love it, and you will both sleep well tonight.
• Who swims faster--you or Fido? Tanner and I have answered that question with a few races, and found that despite my extra length, he's a good pacing swimmer for me.

(c) photo copyright Alan Boyko

Tanner and I 

Sometimes Bike with Oliver Also

At my All Things Dog Blog, you can learn about these activities and more.  Here are a few links:

Biking with Your Dog: Fun and Fitness for Both of You
Agility Training: Challenging and Oh, So Humbling!
The Frisbee 101 Series is great fun. Here is the link to the most current one.


Finally, never--no never--doubt the workout of a 3 mile walk with 3 dogs:

(c) photo copyright Alan Boyko

Out for our Daily Exercise

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