Getting us back in shape

You know, my daughter has had the dog with her for the last year and a half. Over that time he has gotten fatter, and they’ve had barking problems. I kept telling her that he was not getting enough exercise. She would tell me that she walked him everyday, and that he got lots of exercise playing with the other dog.

They’ve come back home now, and the dog tried to play like he used to – running up and down the hill and running in the water. The first couple of days, he was limping badly – poor thing. My daughter was complaining that her legs hurt too. We’ll be working on her too. She’s put on a few pounds. I need to whip both of them back into shape.

We iced him as much as he would tolerate, and I rubbed his legs. We made him take it sort of easy for a few days. When I tried to walk him, he couldn’t even make a mile.

2 weeks later, he played outside for 3 hours straight on Sat. while I cleaned the beach. We had a horrible algae outbreak, and the boats are breaking off tons of weeds. It all comes my way. Back breaking work.

On Sun. he wasn’t quite as zealous, but he played in the water quite a bit, and then went to lay down in the shade. After dinner, the three of us went for the 2 mile walk.

I know myself that working a desk job and not having the dog around has taken a toll on my fitness.

I always believed that living a reasonably active life, using resistance bands, and taking regular walks was enough. Granted, I wasn’t taking regular walks. I don’t like being cold.

Now I’ve been lugging furniture around, painting, running up and down the hill numerous times a day, cleaning the beach, and taking walks. I’m finding that the older I get, it really takes a lot more exercise than I thought to stay in great shape – and its a little more work getting back into shape after letting myself go.

Now you probably aren’t taking on big physical projects, and you probably don’t have a steep hill to run up and down, or a beach to clean, or a working class dog that needs a lot of exercise. And most people don’t have a ton of time to spend at a gym. That’s why I posted Jon Benson’s article on the 16 minute workout. Anytime I can find a way to get more done quickly and efficiently, I try to pass it on to you. If you missed the article by Jon, make sure to read it. He’s a trainer who has been around quite a while now. I think maybe this winter I might do the 7 minute workouts myself and stop this get back into shape annual event. This is getting old…

Yes, you can even fit working out into your busy schedule. Ironically, it will give you more energy. Use it or lose it! Oh, and the other benefit is losing the fat 😉

Of course another solution – if you’re up to it, come on over and help with the beach! I’ve got a long way to go…