LIIFT4 Fitness, Dog Training, & a lot of common sense.

Weight loss and fitness goals have long been trying to be reached by magic pills, powders, drinks, shakes, diets, crystals, oils, and fads.

Dog owners run through their own gamut of group classes, private trainers, boot camps, variety of training tools, Infomercials, and YouTube.

I am happy to report that I am down to my goal weight, minus many inches, plus a 5-pound increase in muscle, and a long way to go for tweaking and toning.

Which magic pill, power, drink, shake, or fad did I try?

11 months of dedication to proper nutrition and exercise!

Yes, I did it the old fashion way. I burn more calories than I intake. And it wasn’t even with just one training program. I circulated through many rounds of PIYO, 21 Day Fix, Turbo Jam (Oh, yes. I rocked the 90’s with Chalene!), and Yoga plus My Fitness Pal food app. I am currently in Week 4 of LIIFT4 with Joel Freeman. And just like dog owning, there are days that it is HARD. Like, who does 30 reps of triceps push-up immediately following 90 reps of bench press and weight lift! #JoelDoes

But sitting around won’t lose my post-baby weight and sitting around certainly won’t train your dog!

Why am I writing about fitness and weight loss in a dog training blog? Because just like I wanted my pre-baby body back the minute the kids were born, dog owners wanted their dogs trained the day they walked in the door. But its just not that easy.

No human wakes up with the perfect body.
No dog wakes up perfectly trained.
It requires commitment, focus, motivation, skill, and often, professional guidance.

Multiple dog training programs and tools can have their place and good results, but no dog training replaces the quality of the OWNER working a little with their dog every day.

No fitness gimmick replaces the human burning more calories than they intake while in-taking proper nutrition. I get to carve out 40 minutes per day, 6 days a week to get the results I am striving for.

Dog owners must carve out about 1 minute per day of formal training, while maintaining as much routine and basic manners with their dog throughout the day in bits and pieces.

Just because I worked out that day doesn’t mean I get to binge on cookies. It means I still get to watch what I eat ALL DAY LONG at meals and snacks. Since this fitness journey, I learned I was in-taking 300-500 too many calories per day in grazing. And just because the dog owner does one training session that day, doesn’t mean their dog gets a free pass of rudeness the rest of the day. Every behavior practiced- polite or rude- becomes a stronger behavior.

People want low, easy maintenance with quick results. For literally everything. So no wonder that diet and dogs are first on the list! THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL.

Here are a few tips:

-It takes about 1-6 weeks for a dog to go from a totally brand-new behavior to totally fluent (this is not true for modifying unwanted behavior such as aggression but this can be true for new skills).

-It takes about 1 year of dedicated, active, conscious training, and consistent reinforcement to get the so-called “perfect dog.” And once you get there, you still get to maintain the behaviors for the next 9-15 years! Practice and maintenance! If I reach my fitness goals and then quit, it all goes away.

-Reinforce what you like and your dog will keep repeating it.

-Teach your dog what you want them to do (behaviors) and it can replace what you don’t like (unwanted behaviors).

-Enjoy your dog!