Ever get the feeling you are being watched?

At a recent agility trial I had a fellow competitor ask me if she could watch me as I was getting ready to go into the ring. (But of course!)

But I don’t stretch my dog before going into the ring….What?! (Then why did she want to observe?! ) I don’t stretch him, but I do move him around with a specific routine. So routine that he often goes into the next movement before I do!

In the human fitness world there has been much discussion about doing static stretches (holding a position for a specific length of time) versus dynamic stretches (stretching muscles while moving).

Whether you’re a human warming up before running a 5K or a dog getting ready to go attack an agility course, a good warm up should get the blood flowing and loosen the major muscle groups while moving the joints using an active range of motion. When warming up we want to actively move the toes, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips and knees.

Some examples include:

• backing up
• weaving between the legs
• waving
• folding down/stand
• walking

You will see constant movement in these partial warm up routines from both Meg McCarthy and Bolt and SirPrize and me

(Note: these are not complete warm up routines)

A fitness instructor can help you design a customized warm up plan for your athlete.