A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you!!<\/strong><\/p>\n Now you have some really awesome foundational strength training exercises at your disposal.<\/p>\n PLUS<\/strong>… you know exactly how your dog is supposed to carry them out safely or maximum effectiveness and impact.<\/p>\n Please do not skip out on mastering the basic moves! These are the most important to get absolutely correct when it comes to technique and form!<\/p>\n Your dog’s proper form and technique in your foundational basics hold the key to body checks, warm-ups and cool-downs, speed, power and even some dynamic flexibility.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Now get ready and discover how to plan and put your exercises together in a planned program that works for you.<\/p>\n Click on the button below to download your Exercise Plan Template. We will discuss the considerations of putting your very own exercise program together in a way that best suits you.<\/p>\n Remember:<\/strong><\/p>\n The ability to do an exercise movement does not mean that you are working out. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Working out means that you can perform the same exercise movement repetitively for a certain duration, causing the muscles to work.<\/p>\n Consistency is key!<\/strong><\/p>\n For best results and once your dog understands the various exercises, it is recommended that you follow a weekly program that includes some:<\/p>\n The example workouts to follow will include suggestions on novice, intermediate and proficient levels of fitness.<\/p>\n If you are new to canine conditioning and fitness (not sport), I always recommend that you start at the novice level of intensity and slowly build your dog’s understanding of the movements required to obtain technical proficiency of the body mechanics first.<\/p>\n NOTE<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong>when conditioning your dog, <\/strong>avoid<\/strong> performing cardio exercises BEFORE strength training exercises. <\/strong><\/p>\n Cardio will tire the muscles and your dog will find it harder to engage his muscles and control his movements and form when performing strength exercises. This opens the door for injury due to muscle fatigue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It is advisable to include one new skill or new exercise each week or every two weeks (depending on time and difficulty of the exercise for your dog). This helps your dog keep thinking while working a new area of his body and ability for his sport.<\/p>\n Generally, it looks like this:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n If working out 3 days per week, a new exercise <\/strong><\/em>takes at least 2 – 3 weeks for the muscles to <\/p>\n There is no clear answer when it comes to progressing your dog to a new level of a particular exercise. Much depends on the dog, his level of fitness, how many times you train during a week, how much recovery you allow between sessions and of course, the dog’s experience in performing the exercise. <\/p>\n For me, if practicing 3 times a week and you are new to conditioning, a new exercise performed at Level 1 should be continued for at least 2 – 3 weeks before adding just ONE progression each time<\/strong> – whether that progression be: <\/p>\n Before progressing however, always consider<\/strong>:<\/p>\n These are the fundamentals you instill in your foundations. Focus on achieving the skill and technique in each exercise (even if it means not moving the feet in a stacked stand) before progressions and combinations of exercises take place.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Correct mechanics First means Strength later.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n You may have discovered that there are loads of things to remember when learning those foundation movements, correct posture and positions on the equipment and there is an enormous number of variations and progressions too. All of this takes time and patience.<\/p>\n It is super important that when adding progressions and overload, we do so in a balanced manner to minimize offloading or compensation problems later. Always ensure consistency of proper form and balance in execution for multiple repetitions before progressing or moving to overload.<\/p>\n \n Exercises may be performed as<\/p>\n Take a single exercise and perform 2 – 3 sets each consisting of a number of repetitions while taking a break between sets.<\/p>\n e.g. rock-back sits: 3 sets of 8 repetitions with each set having a 30 second break in between.<\/p>\n You can do several exercise sets throughout the day. This style of training is recommended when starting out while your dog is just learning the movements.<\/p>\n As your dog becomes more proficient, you may do several sets of different exercises as one workout session.<\/p>\n Single Sets Example:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Performing one exercise for 2 – 3 sets in a row and then moving on to the next exercise with breaks in between each set of each exercise. Muscle endurance and stamina can be increased through decreasing the resting time between sets where the muscles are being used\/contracted a number of times in a particular action.<\/p>\n Circuits are normally performed once the dog is proficient in executing each exercise included in the circuit. Do not do circuits with your dog if they are not ready for them yet!<\/p>\n DO NOT do circuit training with puppies unless their growth plates are closed AND they are proficient in the exercise.<\/span><\/strong> Puppies are generally uncoordinated and asking them to switch between exercises, with control and purpose is asking for trouble. Circuits are very dependent on the age and fitness level of your dog.<\/p>\n ROTATIONAL CIRCUITS<\/span><\/strong> are performed through performing choosing 3 – 5 exercises to work at a time, but the order which the exercises are completed will change.<\/p>\n Instead of working on 2 sets of 10 repetitions on one exercise before moving onto 2 sets of 10 repetitions of the next exercise, we will be working as follows:<\/p>\n There are no breaks in between exercises, and performing these four exercises together will constitute one set. The number of repetitions is determined by how fit your dog is with one repetition if your dog is starting out to 3 repetitions per exercise if your dog is highly proficient AND fit in the exercises you are performing. <\/p>\n One set of a circuit will of the above shows that a dog will be performing at a minimum 4 repetitions per set and at a maximum (full fitness), repetitions in one set.<\/p>\n Rotational Circuits are designed to tire the dog out quicker due to the increased variety of movement within one repetition. Please keep your eyes open for signs of fatigue when working through any rotational circuit.<\/p>\n Rotational Circuits are great for dogs who get bored quickly and do not enjoy repeating the same thing 10 times. But the increased mental effort may also cause frustration if the dog does not understand what is required of him if the circuit is too challenging too quickly, so make sure you start with exercises that your dog understands well.<\/p>\n Switching the order and variety of exercises may lead to better engagement from your dog if he is easily bored or if he thinks that continued repetitions of the same movement might mean he is doing something wrong.<\/p>\n Keep the different equipment items to a minimum (2 – 3 pieces) rather than setting up multiple stations as you might in sequential sets of single set exercises. <\/p>\n SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS<\/span><\/strong> are a combination of Single Set Exercises as described above<\/p>\n An example would be performing 4 different exercises each with a number of sets and repetitions. performed before moving onto the next exercises in the circuit. A break is had only after all 4 exercises are completed together.<\/p>\n Circuits are more demanding<\/strong> on the body and are advised as an option only once the dog is proficient in each exercise.<\/p>\n Rotational Circuit Example for full body strength:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n 1 Circuit = All exercises performed without breaks in between as “1 repetition of the circuit.” Repeat the circuit 2 to 3 times with a break between each circuit.<\/p>\n Dog at Intermediate level:<\/strong><\/p>\n Each exercise in a rotational circuit targets a slightly different muscle group before starting the circuit again. One repetition of the circuit is the equivalent of any number of the exercises performed<\/p>\n For sporting dogs, we could also combine exercises that mimic an exercise within your sport to create a circuit.<\/p>\n Example for guarding and driving in an escape in the protection phase of IGP:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dog at Novice level: <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Perform 2 – 3 circuit repetitions consisting of the following which makes up 1 circuit. Ensure to take a break between each circuit:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Because dogs walk on all four legs (quadrupeds), they are incapable of working either their front or hind end exclusively in a workout session. This is performed with humans all the time.<\/p>\n We learned earlier that dogs carry 60% of their body weight in the front and 40% in the rear which means that they are always using their whole body when moving. Even when we elevate the front end for example, we may be shifting weight to the rear, but they are still using their front end during the workout to some degree.<\/p>\n It is therefore almost impossible to have a \u201chind end only” work out, but we can have a “hind-end dominant” workout. Because their whole body is involved in every aspect of their movement when exercising, we must ensure that our dogs have sufficient rest to allow their bodies time to recover from their activities in order to repair and adapt to the demands we place on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-7092","tva_lesson","type-tva_lesson","status-publish","hentry","tva_courses-bk-9-foundational-strength-program","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/h4>\n
What does a weekly plan include?<\/h4>\n
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Adding a New Exercise or Skill<\/h4>\n
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Adding Progressions:<\/h4>\n
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Performing the Exercises – Sets and Circuits<\/h3>\n
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1. Single Sets of Exercises<\/h4>\n
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2. Circuits<\/h4>\n
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Something to remember about quadrupeds<\/h3>\n