Clean Run - August 2020 - 48

Avoid Overtraining
We all need breaks! Just think
about how you feel after leg day at
the gym; there's no way you want
to go for a jog after that! Dogs are
designed differently than humans
and the way they're designed
means that they engage all of
their body when they move. That
means unlike humans, who can hit
the gym the next day and focus on
a different part of their body, dogs
need to take a longer break before
getting back to work.
We also have to take into consideration that weekly rest days are
critical in your dog's day-to-day
activities. Dogs do not make progress in their strength, power, balance, or flexibility when they are
actually working out and completing the exercises, but rather when
their bodies rest and recover. The
workout is the stimulus, but the
rest provided afterward is where
the changes actually happen! On
a rest day, I do not ask my dogs
for any structured or formal training/exercise.
Also, keep in mind to avoid repetitive actions and motions. Doing
too much of the same activity can
lead to both mental and physical
exhaustion. This exhaustion can
lead to carelessness and increase
your dog's risk of injury.
Over the course of a year, we recommend taking a month off once
or twice a year (depending on
your current training and competition schedule) to give your dog
a break from their sport-specific
training. It is still imperative that
your dog stays active during this
break, but with other activities
(e.g., hikes, conditioning work).
For help on what to do during a
break, get in touch with us to learn
which exercises are critical.

Warm Up and Cool Down
At MCR, we are huge advocates
for warm-ups and cool-downs.
So much so that I've written a
48

book on how important these activities are to preventing injury. The book
is called Warm Up and Cool Down of the Canine Athlete: An EvidenceBased Approach to Improving Performance and Preventing Injury. Clean
Run carries the book and E-book in their store.
They are simple things but how many of us actually do a warm-up or
cool-down in everyday life? Whether you're competing at a show or taking your dog to the park, warming up before exercise and cooling down
afterward is a simple and powerful way to prevent injury!
Here are some key ways to warm up and cool down your dog:
1. Give adequate rest after strenuous activity. Muscles need time to recover!
2. Warm up before exercise and not just before an agility or flyball run.
Warming up is also a benefit for dogs going on a long hike or playing at the dog park. Making sure muscles are warmed and primed for
activity. Warming up is also easy to do-usually, only 5 or 10 minutes
is needed. Trotting your dog for about 50 paces is an excellent short
aerobic warm-up.
3. Cool down your dog after exercise. If you're on a hike or in a training
session, this means slowing down the pace of activity, so your dog's
heart rate can begin to slow down. If you're in a competition, then after
the activity you should walk your dog in a leisurely manner to achieve
the same result.
4. Make sure to hydrate your dog!

Condition Your Dog: Strength Training Exercises
Conditioning your dog is the best
strategy to prevent injuries. If your
dog is a weekend warrior and is active only two days a week, he's going
to be at a greater risk of injury than
the dog that is active throughout the
week. Daily, regular exercise can
help your dog's muscles and ligaments stay strong and resilient and
minimize the chance of injury.
Conditioning can help reduce the
chance of injury and improve your
dog's flexibility, mobility, body awareness, and overall muscular strength.
A tailored exercise program will also
address areas of weakness your dog
may have. Best of all, it's super easy
to do and doesn't take a lot of time out of your day to generate results.
Research has shown that strength and resistance training improve
strength, power, and speed while also increasing muscle mass and decreasing the risk of injury. It is commonly thought that strength training
should be an important part of any training program for athletes (both
human and canine). Research has also shown that well-trained athletes
require a greater amount of specificity, individualization, and variation with
their conditioning programs. Recognizing the physical demands of your
dog's favorite activity can help you figure out the type of conditioning program you need to implement. Do you have a dog that likes to run, one that
likes to jump, or one that likes to swim? Each activity will place a different
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Clean Run - August 2020

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