Spartan WOD for Monday, 10.29.12
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
—Ellen Glasgow
You could be heading straight off the overtraining cliff if you don’t have a reality check and let your body heal every once in awhile. Keep these workouts stress free and fun. Stay active, but just don’t push yourself.
Recovery Day
A few suggestions to try out:
Swim 20 minutes
Cycle 30 minutes
Run 15 minutes with your dog
At Spartan HQ you will see us training with dogs all the time. When working your dog into your fitness routine here are a few things to consider:
- Be regimented. Give your dog the best chance at success. For him, that will require regular practice. You the owner must commit to this process. This means daily work.
- Keep your dog on a tight leash on your left side. As you are running against traffic (as you always should), you can keep yourself between your dog and cars. Start on light traffic roads. Stick to trails if you can. Do more time each day – gradual exposure to the noise and commotion of cars is needed.
- Encourage your dog and praise your dog when it is focused on running. Keep a sense of mission present at all times. (You may find yourself thriving off this spirit, too. Be the leader of the pack. Dogs understand why you are running – it’s natural for them.)
- Be patient with your dog. Just because you’ve had this idea to exercise a certain way at a certain time doesn’t mean your dog is completely on your same page right of the bat.
- Keep your dog hydrated. Before a workout bring him to his water dish. (Use this as opportunity to drink a glass of water yourself!)
October 29, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Everyone remember that your dog is running with a coat on! How fast would you break down if you ran with a coat on. Dog’s may even need access to more water then YOU. In the warm conditions keep that dog coat as short as possible. Your dog’s won’t complain but that doesn’t mean they’re not stressing.
October 30, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Andrew,
Great point. I really focused on teaching my dog to load up before a run. I made the pre race run a ritual. As we got up to 6-7 miles, and he ran a bit dry, he learned the hydration process better
Jason
October 31, 2012 at 11:33 am
I live in Dayton, Ohio so heat is not even an issue in November. My problem is my dog gallups. I understand that it was mentioned to hold the leash tight and I’ve been to a 14-day class to learn how to handle and train my dog but she is an all or practically nothing dog. She’s a german short-haired pointer and if you’ve seen a prime bird dog run you’ll know what I mean, it’s crazy. She’s very smart but quite extreme and very strong. She aims to please, so I guess it will just take trials and time to get her to run slow enough for me but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get her to calm down enough. I guess this would be because her father was a tennesse-treeing-walker-brindle stray and mother a pure-pointer from a farm in kentucky. Jeez, she thinks she’s a horse!!