Every pet owner or sitter, who enjoys the companionship of a dog, can benefit tremendously from regular exercise with his or her pet. Dogs require regular social interaction, exercise, and attention from their pet owners. By simply taking your dog for a walk, you can provide all of this.
You and your dog together will:
1. Expend some energy
2. Take in fresh air
3. Stimulate the senses
4. Feel connected to each other and your environment
5. Feel good
So many well-intentioned pet owners end up spending most of their time indoors with their pets because of personal and work obligations and inclement weather. However, taking your dog for a walk not only benefits your dog, but also offers you a lot of benefits as well. Just taking the dog for a walk a few times a week offers significant benefits to your health such as better cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure, reduced stress, and stronger muscles and bones. Pet owners also experience greater self-esteem from the unconditional love and companionship free of judgment offered by dogs.
1. Dog’s Health
Your dog’s health also significantly improves from regular walks. Pets that do not have enough exercise become overweight and sometimes obese, resulting in illnesses and conditions that include cardiovascular disease, increased anxiety, osteoarthritis, and liver disease. People who walk dogs also often engage socially with others more and experience greater enjoyment during their regular walks. Stress is significantly reduced by interactions with a pet. When you take your dog for a walk, be sure to have a good leash that gives you control over your pet and a plastic bag to pick up after your pet. If you have a pet that is used to spending a lot of time indoors, it may come as a big surprise to both of you how your pet reacts to the outdoors. Encouraging your pet will help them overcome any shyness and fear, while also keeping them fit and agile. Your dog is loyal and committed to you and the enjoyment from spending time in your company cannot be easily surpassed.
2. Dog Socialization
Taking your dog on regular walks also helps eliminate antisocial behavior, reduce pet anxiety, prevent behavioral problems, and encourages your animal to interact appropriately with both people and other animals. By praising and encouraging your dog, your pet will grow closer to you, more confident, aware of behavior that elicits positive responses from you, and be less likely to experience separation anxiety from being left at home.
Strength training and flexibility go hand in hand and are necessary for the overall healthy functioning of your body. Some exercises such as pilates, astanga yoga, and power yoga combine both. Flexibility training and strength training actually enhances each other.
What is flexibility?
Flexibility refers to the range of movement in a joint or series of joints. You can be flexible in one part of your body and not in another. Some people may start out being very flexible and over time, lose flexibility if they do not do exercises that work those areas in the body. Stretching enhances flexibility while also improving your cardiovascular performance since it loosens up, relaxes, and gets blood flowing in the body prior to heart-pumping activities.
Flexibility can be dynamic or static. Dynamic flexibility involves motion where you are able to move muscles through a full range of motion in the joints. Static flexibility does not involve motion. In static flexibility, there are two states, active and passive. Active flexibility involves maintaining extended positions while stretching muscles using only your muscles. Passive flexibility also involves holding positions for extended positions but does not solely rely upon your own muscle power as you can use your weight or another apparatus for support.
Active Flexibility
Active flexibility takes more time to develop since it requires both a foundation of passive flexibility for range of motion and then muscle strength to hold and maintain those positions. Flexibility is affected by factors that include your body’s health and history as well as the environment around you. Internal influences include the joint you are flexing, bony structures that prevent movement, resistance within a joint, and the elasticity of muscle tissue, skin, tendons and ligaments, as well as the temperature of the joint and tissues associated with that joint. Increased flexibility has been noted in people who are exercising and their body temperature is 1 to 2 degrees higher than normal.
External Factors
External factors that can affect flexibility include temperature of location, time of day, stage in joint recovery after injury, age, gender, clothing and equipment. Your experience and level of commitment also plays a large influence on your flexibility. Drinking more water also significantly increase mobility as well as contributing to greater relaxation for the body.
Factors that can limit flexibility include bone structure, excessive fatty tissue, muscle mass, connective tissue, injury, and disability. The bone structure can cause limitations depending upon the type of joint and its condition. This is also where age comes into play since older joints are not as flexible as younger joints.
When either fatty tissue or muscle mass is developed massively, it can disrupt the ability of nearby joints to perform a full range of motion. Lastly, in terms of connective tissue, most flexibility exercises assist in reducing internal resistance of connective tissue. Connective tissue offers resistance to lengthening. Overused connective tissue limits flexibility. If certain muscles are inactive, connective tissues change over time to restrict flexibility. Elastin loses elasticity and collagen grows dense and stiff. Hence inactive connective tissue can have the same effect as aging.
The most elastic tissue in the muscles is in the fascia area of the muscle. Avoid overstretching ligaments and tendons that can weaken joint integrity and increase the likelihood of injury.
At Any Age
Regardless of age, everyone should practice flexibility. However, your flexibility will be very different from that of your partner, friend, or neighbor. Also, flexibility is harder to develop the older you are because of changes in the connective tissue, loss of suppleness, greater calcium deposits, dehydration, and other factors. However, performing flexibility exercises will significantly increase your range of motion, body appearance, and blood flow. Yoga and pilates offer significant benefits to flexibility through a series of flow movements to build flexibility in all major muscle groups.
Stretching
Stretching is one of the best ways to develop flexibility and you can do this right after strength building exercises such as weight lifting or repetitions. After weight lifting, muscles are shortened from repetition of muscle movement and contain lactic acid that makes the muscle appear bigger. Stretching the muscle afterwards restores range of motion to these areas, while removing waste products from the body and contraction in muscles. Static stretching is important after strength workouts.
Strength Training
Flexibility training should go hand in hand with strength training. You should always perform exercises for both flexibility and strength in any group of muscles you work out for balance. Strength training significantly can improve the appearance of your body to provide definition whether it is in the arms, legs, stomach, or buttocks. Strength training when combined with flexibility exercises can help you develop a strong and well-toned physique that has definition with a longer and leaner look.
If you only do flexibility exercises, the connective tissues loosen up and weaken, becoming easily damaged through overstretching or muscle contractions. However, strength training prevents such injuries. For many women who do not want the short physique of a bodybuilder, dynamic strength training can offer you strength without bulk through a series of light dynamic exercises with lighter weights and more repetitions. Dynamic flexibility exercises should be performed prior to any heavy weightlifting exercises.
You can strengthen your body through exercises such as lifting weights and cardiorespiratory activities such as walking, dancing, jogging, and bicycling. The overall look and feel that you desire is always a matter of personal choice. You may want to build a bigger body like a bodybuilder or go for the slender physique of a dancer, or desire overall fitness. You make your muscles stronger by working them against resistance from weights or gravity. If you are first starting out in strength training, begin with light weights and work your muscles on non-consecutive days 2-3 times a week. Over time, you will build strength and be able to add more weight for more of a challenge. Always stretch after strength exercises when your muscles are warmed up. Strength training is an integral part of fitness programs for adults and should include eight to twelve repetitions of eight to ten exercises for the major muscles groups. Some strength training moves include the bench press, lat pulldown, overhead press, bicep curl, tricep pulldown, squat, leg extension, leg curl, and abdominal crunch.
Weight loss requires burning more calories than you are consuming and the best way to do this is through a combination of diet and exercise. Regular exercise helps you build stronger muscles. Muscles in turn, consume more calories than fat, which enables you to lose weight.
Fat versus Muscles
Women have more fat and less muscle than men in general. Some concerns people raise immediately about weight training are the initial gain of weight from building muscles and the body’s need for more food (or fuel.) Muscles do weigh more than fat and initially, when you are first starting out, you will find that your muscles will be getting bigger and that you might actually have a larger number when you stand on the scale to weigh yourself.
However, this truly depends on the kind of exercise you are performing and the diet you are following. For example, if you are doing a lot of weight lifting, you will gain definition and more muscle mass, which would add to your weight. Toning up by doing numerous repetitions with small weight does not add a lot of muscle mass, and only adds slight weight gain, but helps add contours to the body. You will feel and look a lot better. However, if you are doing cardiovascular exercise, you would be shedding more pounds.
Cardio, Nutrition, and Strength Training
Doing a lot of cardio exercise burns a lot of calories, reducing fat, and decreasing weight. However, if you are looking to build muscles in your arms, legs, or stomach, you will need to add weight training to create that sculpted look you desire.
Through proper nutrition, cardiovascular exercise, and strength training, you can gain strength, lose weight, and have a healthy body, with glowing skin. Strength training builds your muscles, strengthening joints and bones, while reducing your risk of injuries. Strength training requires hard work and consistent effort to produce long lasting results. You can begin with developing good habits for both mental and physical health, such as getting enough sleep, water, and good nutrition, and doing enough heart-pumping exercise several times a week.
Choose Your Goal
Whatever your goal is, whether you are skinny and looking to build muscle or trying to shed twenty pounds, or if you want to create a fitness program for yourself for a lifetime, developing good habits for exercise and nutrition will make definite and visible improvements in your life. Believe in yourself and aim high. You will develop greater self-confidence as you grow past your comfort zone and learn from your mistakes. Instead of worrying about the length of time, just focus on what you are achieving. Build in baby steps and keep it simple, focusing on what you want to achieve.
When you burn more calories than you are consuming, you burn energy stored in fat cells, which in turn, shrink in size. When you build muscle, muscle cells expand in size. As people get older, muscle mass decreases while body fat increases. Muscle also cannot contract as easily. Many people still are strong athletes, competing in various activities. Regular exercise can also delay loss of muscle tissue. Staying healthy by eating good food and regularly exercising prevents body fat from significantly increasing.
Feeling Stronger
One of the most significant benefits of strength training is how much stronger you will feel. Strength training builds muscle while lowering body fat. You will be able to do more activities that involve lifting or moving weights easily. Start out with a program of lifting weights three times a week for thirty minutes a week. After your strength training, do thirty minutes of cardio three times a week. You want to burn calories. Be careful that you do not overexert.
Foods In Their Natural State
In terms of nutrition, eat foods as close as possible to their natural state, such as fruits and veggies. Drink a lot of water and avoid junk foods and too many caffeinated beverages and sugary drinks and sweets. Always eat good quality foods and avoid starving yourself. Start your day with a healthy breakfast and drink a lot of water throughout the day. Initially, when you are burning more calories, you will probably feel hungrier. Eat appropriately but pay attention to your portion size. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to keep a food journal such as CalorieKing or other method. Keep track of what you eat. You can find the number of calories in each food you are eating. You will gain awareness of what is in the food you eat, and how much you should eat to maintain, gain, or lose weight. If you want to lose weight, try cutting 500 calories out of your diet every day. Then you can lose one pound of weight per week from your diet alone. Combined with regular cardiovascular exercise and strength training, you will be able to lose the weight you want, while developing a strong and toned body as a result.
Tracking Progress
Set regular goals and track your progress. You can measure your weight change by measuring fat using calipers, taking regular photographs every four to five weeks, maintaining a strength training journal, and weighing yourself once or twice a week. Keeping a journal is by far the most useful thing you can do, since you will be able to gain control of your diet, exercise, and strength training program and see your progress. Always believe in yourself and your goals. You are your own best motivation.
Working out with weights, also known as resistance training, is an important part of a balanced exercise program, offering numerous benefits such as the following: building and maintaining strength, lowering the risk of injury, preventing osteoporosis, helping with weight management, and improving cardiovascular functioning.
Builds Strength
By building and maintaining strength, you are able to do basic functions such as lifting and putting your bag in the overhead compartment in an airplane, to simple things you do everyday such as carrying books, grocery bags, and tools to more difficult tasks. By maintaining a weight-training regimen, you can handle daily tasks with ease.
Lowers Risk of Injury
Your likelihood of injury decreases from ordinary activities and sports. Often, tendons get injured from sports and a resistance workout performed regularly, decreases those risks.
Osteoporosis, which occurs most often after the age of fifty, affects both men and women. Fractures often occur in the wrist and while walking can build bone density in the legs, it does not help in the case of wrists and other areas of the body. Weight training however strengthens the entire skeleton and will reduce the risks from brittle bone disease or osteoporosis.
Manages Weight
Another significant benefit of weight training is managing weight. You burn more calories when you have more muscle and less fat, while also developing a toned and sculpted appearance. Enjoy compliments when friends and acquaintances notice positive changes in your appearance from weight training. However, the most important benefit is your improved health and increased energy level.
Cardiovascular Functioning and Overall Fitness
Weight training also improves the cardiovascular functioning of your body, enhancing your body’s overall healthy functioning. Weight training helps you develop strong abdominal muscles, shapely legs, sculpted arms, tighter buttocks, and toned upper and lower back muscles.
Weight training regularly can transform your body and greatly increase your confidence level. You will feel both physical and mental benefits. While weight training can improve your overall appearance dramatically, allowing you to wear and fit into clothes you like comfortably, the more significant impact that regular resistance training can have is truly internal. You gain tremendous confidence in yourself and in your own strength. People who train with weights regularly often love their bodies, and overcome feelings of self-consciousness that they had previously while developing greater stamina and energy levels.
Finding The Right Weights For You
Figuring out the right weights for you to use depends upon your own weight, your specific goals, and what you feel comfortable with. You want to use weights that you can lift comfortably ten to twelve times without feeling stressed or strained. Your muscle should feel exercised and tired after the workout but not exhausted. At the same time, you do not want to use weight that is too low that you are not feeling it at all in your muscles. What you want to do ideally is to find weights that are in the happy medium, where you are feeling the weight after several repetitions but you are not exhausted. Over time, your muscles will also get stronger and you will need more weight consequently.
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