Week 1
Week 1 started with ‘Sit to Stand’ … yes that’s right! You may think it’s easy however this exercise has many benefits. Think of it as the equivalent to the human squat! *Core stability * *Hind limbs strengthening * *Range of motion of the hips and stifles* Lets try … 5 sit to stand x3
Week 2
For week 2 we had ‘Give Paw’… Imagine you’ve got a dumbbell in your hand and you’re doing a front raise. Well minus the dumbbell this is a similar exercises for your dog. The trick is you have to do both sides equally! Just like us, dogs can favour a particular side so it’s important to work both front limbs. Here are the benefits of this exercise when performed from sit: *Stretching * *Forelimb strengthening * *Core strength * *Stability * How about … 3 give paws for each side x3
Week 3
We spun it around on week 3 with the ‘Twirl’. This exercise is about working on body awareness and limb placement…Plus its quite fun! Although the temptation is to make your dog whiz around as quickly as possible this isn’t the aim of the game I’m afraid. If you perform the exercise too quickly then you loose the benefits. *Limbs placement * *Proprioception * *Stability * *Flexibility * Lets do 5 twirls each way; make sure you have a pause after a few to avoid dizziness!
Week 4
Week 4 was a bit more challenging with ‘Lie down to Sit’ … I like to think of these as dog style burpees! If you’ve ever done burpees you’ll know they’re the bit in every exercise session that everybody groans at. However, Oscar seems to love it in this video so perhaps forget the carrot and get the gravy bone out! Form is ideal for this exercise but easily lost, as you’ll see Oscar do towards the end. Try and keep the sits tight and avoid sloppiness. If they start to get messy then do shorter sets and repetitions. *Core Core Core * *Forelimb strength * *Hind limb strength * *Active range of motion of almost everything * We could do … 5 lie down to sit x2
Week 5
Finally week 5 we had ‘Weaving’. To round off our five exercises for Muscle Monday we’re improvising with some equipment you can use at home. Here we are using candleholders as cones however you can use squash bottles or baked bean tins. The benefits are similar to that of the twirl however this has less demand on the spine. *You guessed it … Core strength * *Limb Placement * *Balance * *Stability * You could weave 5 times and repeat x3.