“Best Friend’s Workout” Shapes Up Dogs, Owners

This DVD can teach you how to get more mileage out of your dog walks.

While we’re intrigued by the latest generation of alarm clocks that roll away or shake us awake, we still think the kind that lick our face and bark are the most effective. We’re talking about dogs, of course, which also happen to be our greatest motivators when it comes to exercise. Nothing — and we mean nothing — gets us moving faster than the threat of soiled carpet!

Capitalizing on this truth, Seattle-based certified trainer Tricia Murphy Madden recently released My Best Friend’s Workout (Sparkworks Media, 2009), an exercise DVD that combines your fitness regimen with your dog’s. “My Best Friend’s Workout is designed to help dog owners increase the intensity of their daily dog walk and turn it into an effective total-body workout in a doable 20 minutes so that both you and your pet will benefit from the exercise session,” explains Madden. “In small increments throughout the day, dog owners everywhere can fit in their workout while giving love and attention to their best friend.”

The DVD is divided into four categories to accommodate a variety of breeds (The Lap Dog, the Ball Catcher, the Marathoner and the Old-Timer) and features strength training and conditioning, cardio, and core exercises such as walking lunges, jump squats and shuffle steps that you can do with your pooch. A portable manual is included so you can refer to it on your walks. If you don’t have a dog, we suggest you borrow one — the doggy-dominals are a must!

Do you exercise with your dog? Tell us about your routine if so.

Tags: Ball Catcher, exercise, Human Interest, Seattle, Strength training, Tricia Murphy Madden