Fit as Fido

Throwing a Ball For Fido Can Be Good For Your Health

02.22.2010 // Fit As Fido // Dawn A. Marcus, M.D. // 1 Comment

Are you one of those people who says, “I just don’t have time for a walk, jog, bike ride, or other exercise session, so there’s really nothing I can do!”

Thanks to researchers at the University of Glasgow, that excuse will no longer work. They tested 10 sedentary, overweight men with fitness measures. Then the men participated in 2 weeks of sprint interval training. They did 6 sessions of 4-6 repetitions of 30-second sprints, with about a 5-minute recovery between sprints. Doesn’t sound like much exercise does it? Well, not only were measures of heart disease risk lower after two weeks, waist and hip circumferences also dropped significantly! The full results of this study will be published in the journal Metabolism later this year.

So, if you thought doing some quick runs in the yard with Lucky, throwing a ball vigorously for your enthusiastic Goldie for a few minutes, or taking some quick sprints down the street with Tip was fun for your dog, but not really good for you — think again! And when you try the excuse of “I can find a whole 30 seconds for a quick sprint activity,” it’ll sound so lame that you’ll be unable to complete this poor justification for continuing unhealthy habits and will be on your way to a healthier you. (Actually, you’d probably spend MORE time trying to explain why you don’t have time for a few sprint-activities with Fido than it would take to actually DO the sprint activities!)

If you have health problems, be sure to check with your doctor before starting any vigorous exercise. Then spend a few times each day racing around with Fido. He’ll love it — and it’ll be good for your health!