Clean Run Magazine - November 2009 - 36

Kimber Chase How great that this topic comes up regularly at your agility class, and students have a keen interest in making the human part of their team better! Sure, there are some exercises and stretches that help make and keep people in better shape to run agility. I think active stretching, leg strengthening, and cardiovascular exercise are the best choices to help handlers gain the strength, confidence, agility, and endurance needed to be good teammates to their dogs. Resources to help people learn specific exercises include videos, group fitness classes, fitness centers and studios, and private instruction. I love the P90x program and others, and often use home videos when I’m unable to get to the gym. Active stretching can be anything done while you’re moving, not reaching and holding. Examples would be non-static yoga, Pilates, and aquatic fitness. These modalities help people to gain more flexibility and to be able to run agility knee- and back-pain free. Some great leg-strengthening exercises I do often are: squats (done at slow and fast speeds), lunges in all different directions, and focused singleleg balance work (like balancing on one leg and acting like you’re picking something off the floor). Cardiovascular exercise is anything like spinning class, plyometric (jump) training, step class, biking, aquatic fitness, using an elliptical machine, kickboxing (this is great for getting left and right sides, arms, and legs working together for agility), and jogging. For any cardiovascular exercise to be effective, it has to be intense. In my routine, I try to include some type of speed interval training: 6-8 cycles (with active recovery between) of 30-60 seconds of sprinting or sprinting speed • Kimber Chase, CFT, AFT, has been in the fitness industry for 20 years. She enjoys designing specialized programs for those with injuries, other athletes, and rehabilitation clients. She has competed in agility for 11 years with two Border Collies and was a USDAA Steeplechase finalist. Also a national DAM finalist, Kimber earned several placements. Contact her at kimfit@bellsouth.net. on a machine at least one day per week. This really helps to sustain energy during an agility run and to quickly recover. Here are some key points for choosing an exercise program: Repetition: Just think how many front crosses you had to do before you got confident. Getting fit is the same. Whatever the exercises, they need to be done over and over to build neuromuscular memory, confidence, and proper form/ execution. It may take up to 6 months for people just starting (for seasoned athletes, 4-12 weeks) to learn a new exercise well. Consistency: Whatever exercises you choose, do something, anything, preferably daily to build confidence in your body and ability (even if it’s just a few exercises or stretches). Variation: Try to change the order/days or type of exercise every 3-4 weeks. This keeps your body and mind aware and changing. For instance, one month, if I do yoga three days a week, run two days a week, and strength train two days a week, the next month I may spin two days, run two days, do Pilates one day, and strength train three days a week. I usually note the type, duration, and (with resistance training) repetitions/sets of exercises in my appointment book so I know which skills are improving or declining, and if I’m burning out, why. Periodization: Similar to variation, but you look at the bigger life picture (every quarter). Consider times of year when • • you are doing lots of competing versus less competing, your work schedule, and life. For instance, my work schedule is very hectic from November through May, and since I live in Florida, this is also our show season. During this time of year I do not work out with the same intensity for any form of exercise because it is too much stress on my mind and body. I try to simply maintain my fitness level by stretching, doing light and fast weight training workouts daily for about 30 minutes (months/exercises still vary), and cardiovascular exercise 4-5 days per week for one hour. I also do more walking rather than jogging to keep the dogs in shape (about three hours or more per week). My days off come when traveling and showing. At shows, I warm up and lightly stretch before running, between runs, and in the evenings, depending on the venue and surface. In the summer, from June to September, I spend more time weight training and doing cardiovascular exercise with more intensity. Finally, I always keep in mind the BRAAD principle: balance, reaction time, agility, acceleration, and deceleration. An exercise like a bicep curl, done while holding a set of dumbbells, does very little to improve handling. A pushup, which works the whole body and requires core strength and balance, is a much better choice. An aerobic step class is much more helpful in developing better reaction time than weight training seated on machines. So, if in doubt, ask yourself if the modality or exercise has any of the BRAAD aspects of sports conditioning. If the answer is yes, you can never go wrong! • 1" Furniture-grade PVC Pipe Add a little color to your creations! www.cleanrun.com 36 Clean Run | November 09

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Clean Run Magazine - November 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2009