Our pup will be one year old next month. She requires rigorous exercise 2-3 times daily. Since she was young, I’ve been throwing a ball to her, which she returns. Now that she’s a bit older, she’ll race out 20-25 yards and wait for me to throw her the ball.
Rinse and repeat for 20 +/- minutes and she’s “tired as a dog.” Great HIIT training for her. She’s my little CF dog, since she runs and jumps over obstacles and catches the ball mid-air. She even does burpees. She doesn’t clap overhead though.
Of course, I’ll get in my requisite walking around and squatting to pick up the ball. It’s great exercise for us both. Not that I need much more. :lol:
My pup is slowing down some at almost 9. He can still manage about an hour walk but he’s pokey and particular. Doesn’t it like it too hot or too cold, and it can’t be raining. In his youth he would do 6 miles+ and have energy to spare, in almost any weather.
I take him for his walk, and then drop him back at the house so I can get in an exercise walk for me.
I wanted a dog that could catch a Frisbee real badly. Our first dog would run after it but always managed to get to it right after it hit the ground. One time, she caught it on the fly but it really was a matter of not being able to get out of the way. Never did it again.
Second dog (also a golden) never was into fetching anything. She would just look at you with a “you threw it away from us, so you should go get it” look on her face. So Frisbee catching was not going to happen.
Golden #3 loves to fetch but at this point (2 years old) its just balls. Especially tennis balls. Shreds them if they are cheap. And still needs to learn to drop them. Usually you just need to have 1-2 extra ones to distract her. Throw a second one and she drops the one in her mouth which you can then pick up. Need to see if I can get her to catch a Frisbee.
@MichaelNKat Question for you. I have a sweet tooth, but I have started drinking carrot juice smoothies and they definitely satisfy my need for something sweet instead of desserts. (I really don’t want desserts anymore.) The smoothie is 100% pure carrot juice (nothing added), frozen strawberries and blueberries, with about 2 tbsps of plain Greek yogurt (it’s a texture thing…the yogurt makes it “taste” smoother.)
Based on some of the comments about sugar, I was thinking, whoa, fruit and carrots are bad choices? Honestly, I love these smoothies and on the days I drink them, I feel like they give me an energy boost and just better overall. Maybe it is purely dillusional, though.
That smoothie sounds delicious and I would have trouble giving it up! @saillakeerie - My first Golden would fetch something about twice before he decided it was a stupid activity. My current two (we adopt rescued seniors) have no idea why they would go get something you threw! They don’t even understand toys.
A powerlifter whom I knew eventually figured out that he needed to do some cardio so that his maximum lifts were not cardio-limited (as in feeling cardio winded for a long time after each lift).
I don’t want to step on @MichaelNKat 's answer to you, but we have a popular smoothie/juice place out here called JambaJuice. Since you didn’t specify what size, I picked a link to their 100% carrot juice and also 1/2 carrot and 1/2 orange juice for illustrative purposes:
Ok, just finished rowing 1.5+ miles in 17+ minutes, which is the furthest and longest I’ve ever rowed since we’ve owned the machine (using my supplemental O2 as prescribed). Best of all, worked up to it gradually so shouldn’t have crash & burn issues I have had previously when I went from 0 to lots with nothing in between.
Thanks @MomofWildChild — you’re encouraging all of us to be fitter. H and I have also been walking a bit, for us.
@HImom - I think that’s a great speed – it’s faster than I row. I generally row about 22-24 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week. I do have a routine where I go to the gym for an hour, and spend about half an hour working on weight machines, and then go to the rowers. I row about 2600 meters in that time, at a rate of 25-26 strokes per second. One day the rower machines weren’t available so I left and came back that evening - and then I did row much faster, so my timing of rowing immediately after the strength training does have an energy cost.
I have found it helpful to watch some youtube videos on rowing technique.
Also a good playlist is like gold. I think I like rowing because it is rhythmic, so works well to listen to music. I actually row a little faster when I am not listening to music --but I think the music does help me keep things steady.
@momofsenior1 - I have the same problem with aging dogs. There are two of them, both age 10+. I start off briskly for the first third of the walk, with dogs pulling out ahead of me; next third if I’m lucky I’m walking at a more leisurely pace with the dogs at my side; and the final third I’ve got two dogs trailing behind me. And of course there are multiple stops along the way for sniffing and peeing. And that’s only a half mile walk. One week one of my dogs wrenched his back and I had to pick him up and carry him. (Fortunately he’s only 10 lb. – I remember the last days of my previous dog who at age 12 & 65 lb would sometimes simply lay down and refuse to budge).
So yes, I do find myself leaving the dogs home when I want to actually get exercise on my walk.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek, as a general matter, veggie and fruit smoothies are fine with forethoght and moderation. What I always recommend though is that you make sure to have a good amount of protein and some healthy fats in them. I recommend that for several reasons. First, if you are using fruit or veggie juices, particularly fruit juices, you may be getting far more calories and sugars than you think and the smoothie becomes a meal replacement in your daily nutrition plan. It is very easy to bomb your system with sugars from fruit and veggie juices compared to eating whole fruits and veggies. As a result, you want to try to make the smoothies a well balanced meal with the added proteins and fat. Also, including proteins and fats changes the way your body reacts to the sugars in the other ingredients. You don’t get the same glycemic spike that you would get from just fruits and veggies. When I make smoothies for myself, I make it with a cup of 1% Fairlife milk (13 grams of protein, no lactose sugar), a serving of whey isolate protein powder (20 grams of protein), 2 tablespoons of organic peanut butter and some strawberries, blueberries and a banana. It’s definitely a meal replacement! In your case, you might want to try a base other than carrot juice and throw carrots in along with the frozen fruits.
What’s kinda funny/interesting is that glycemic index is very misleading. Carrots have a very high glycemic index - 71 - much higher than chocolate (milk chocolate is 41 and dark chocolate is 23)!! And it’s based on the quantity of the food that you need to get 50 grams of carbohydrates which in the case of carrots is about 1 1/2 pounds! Glycemic load, on the other hand, is based on a serving size and takes into account other components of a food such as fiber, protein and fats. Carrots have a glycemic load of 6. Based on glycemic index, diabetics would never eat carrots. But the reality is that because of their glycemic load, carrots are usually just fine for diabetics. And if you make a smoothie with a bunch of foods included that provide fiber, protein and fat, you end up with a meal with a very low glycemic load which enables your body to process the sugars in a much more controlled. moderated uptake.
Hi, I am new to this thread but have enjoyed reading all 18 pages! I just turned 50 in December. As a child/teen I was a gymnast and dancer, and I started running off and on in my early 20s.
I was injured about 2 years ago and have just recently started running again. I’ve never been at all fast but I like it and it’s an activity my husband and I enjoy together. We are planning on a fall marathon (my 4th, his 6th).
As far as diet and nutrition, I have been vegetarian (and very occasionally pescatarian) for about 6 years. I could probably stand to lose about 20-25 pounds (a lot of it gained after I stopped running). After Christmas I read Michael Greger’s How Not to Diet and have been using his app for the Daily Dozen, so I guess now I am Whole Food Plant Based in my eating. He also recommends no added Salt Oil Sugar and while I have managed to cut all 3 way down I wouldn’t say I’m 100% compliant yet. I restrict my eating window–usually ends up being between 7-8 hours-- and I don’t eat after 7-730pm.
@MichaelNKat - I need to do a smoothie “makeover”. Currently I use 1% milk(lactose free), plain greek yogurt, 1/2 banana and berries. I need to switch back to 1% Fairlife (to lower sugar) , swap out some of the fruit and add organic peanut butter and protein powder. That should help me cut down on the sugar.
Wineglass in Corning. My previous 3 were a DC marathon that doesn’t exist anymore, the Marine Corps, and Baltimore. Heard good things about Wineglass, and Meb will be there this year running it too (though probably waaay ahead of me)!
I just have to take it slow and easy and pay attention to my hip…the Hokas intrigue me and I’m curious to see if they would work for me especially when I start upping my mileage.
That is supposed to be a really great marathon! I would try the Clifton 6 Hokas. I wear 1/2 size larger than street shoes which is 1/2 size smaller than I wear in other brands of running shoes.
