I know it’s winter time and it is getting pretty difficult to get off the cozy couch, but just think about this for a moment, if you are a pet lover like myself you might empathize, dogs are not only one of the most loyal of all animals or pets but they really don’t generally care too much to get their feet a little cold or wet when going out, and certainly they wont make a scene like you and me if they get some mud on their faces.
They are pretty active most of the day and certainly the joy of going out, see the world and take you out of your stasis chamber is well worth the effort to take our hairy friends for a little walk, they make excellent exercise companions and also make it easier for us the monkey species to socialize with your fellow I-didn’t-want-to-get-off-the-sofa joggers, besides, how could you resist those glaring eyes shining in your face begging you to take action and lead them to meet with their own fluffy kind?
But how long should the walk time last?
Now if you are not truly yet motivated and are still reading this instead of breathing fresh air outside, then you might want to hear some statistics (ha! got you, if you don’t want boring data then it’s a pretty good time to leave)… ok then, I tried:
- The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise for adults, like 30 minutes a day just 5 days a week… interesting, just like Monday through Friday, hey neat!, you’ll then be able to make a pillow fort for the weekend and burrow yourself in there! No just kidding, you should let the dog walk you out every day.
- Kids between 5 to 17 require double that time by the way, although that might not surprise you if you have already dealt with a sugar rushed 5-year-old child for a day yourself, you know there is a little more than an hour of activity available in their little feet even before lunch, but you could use that drive to share a very good time with your human and canine children and burn a pound or two of fat in the process without even notice how tired you are until you hit home and fall asleep in the shower.
Now there is an interesting fact about the ownership of dogs in relationship to the child obesity, as some authors state that homes owning a dog are more likely to reduce the risk of child obesity, although the US National Center for Biotechnology Information didn’t find any evidence of this being the case, and it might not be really surprising if you think about it for a minute, after all, what good does it makes the dog or the child if they are both lying in the living room floor with their bellies stuffed with grandma’s marvelous stew you just forgot to hide deep in the fridge? There must be action before we get results, but you already knew that so..
How to end your reign of terror over the living room sofa
If you are going to make this change in your routine and benefit from the exercise your dog is all willing to make you do, then I could suggest you do the following:
- Make and stick to a daily schedule, write it down on your personal agenda or as a reminder on your phone, you’ll be surprised when you get used to do it on a daily basis and all of a sudden you’ll feel odd when you miss one walk.
- Include your dog on every walk, they will remember the usual time after a little while and will remind you of it on those days you feel forgetful because you just ate too much cake.
- If your schedule is tight, split the walking time in two 15 minutes sessions, 15 minutes doesn’t sound so overwhelming right? And the dog will love you twice as much and its stress of being in the house will most likely plummet to zero, you’ll notice.
- Take note of the time you have walked/jogged every day, you and your dog will get better at it in no time and you’ll be able to appreciate better your progress.
That’s about it as a good start and a good time for you to go look for your unconditional friend (I’m talking about the dog, don’t leave the house just yet to drink a pint or two, it’s not the point), get the dog leash and put those sneakers to good use, have a great time and enjoy the outer world.