Go Fetch Fitness Week 3

Welcome to another update of Go Fetch Fitness. It is hard to believe that we are already half way though our 2010 program! Our happy pups have really gotten into the swing of coming to Go Fetch to meet up with their new buddies. Our participants give daily accounts of their dogs getting really excited as they approach the clinic. Going to the vet was never something to look forward to before, but now we have so much fun walking and sniffing that these dogs can't wait to come back. It is so fun to watch the transformation from trepidation to anticipation and joy as they scamper in the front door each day.
Monday was weigh-in day. Thanks to our good friends at Novartis, each of our participants received a gift certificate. We had gift cards to Subway, Target, Hy-Vee and Walmart to share with everyone
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Our speakers were sent to us by Merriam Lake, the Healthy Promotion Facilitator for Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Wellness Services. Kelsey and Zach are seniors at UNI majoring in exercise science. It was great to have these young, enthusiastic students with us to share information about a topic they are so passionate about. Kelsey and Zach spent the week discussing the benefits of strength training and how strength training affects our metabolism. Kelsey and Zach were very prepared with outlines for everyone, exercises to demonstrate some resistance training as well as helping us by leading our pre-walk stretching exercises each day.
Did you know that according to a 1992 study, middle aged people, especially women, who do not strength train, lost 7 lbs of muscle every ten years, which decreased their metabolism by about 350 calories per day? Did you know that strength training leads to decreased arthritis pain, increased bone density, decreased blood pressure and improved glucose levels? Did you know it is impossible to actually turn muscle into fat or fat into muscle?

If you had been here to listen to Kelsey and Zach this week you would have learned all this and much more about strength training and your metabolism. Plus you would have walked for 90 minutes (30 minutes each Monday, Wednesday and Friday) giving you and your dog 90 out of the recommended 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week! Plus you would have had FUN!
Elizabeth Bixby, DVM