Are you an active person who owns a dog and loves to exercise with your best friend?  Do you ever get tired of the same old running routine around the neighborhood?

Well, we totally get it...

A lot of us here at SportLeash are long time dog owners, but also long time athletes.  We love finding new ways to get workouts in with our four legged friends.

Aside from a long run, it isn't always easy finding something that is challenging enough for both you and your canine workout partner. But recently, we've begun experimenting with interval workouts (in parks, hiking trails, stairs, etc) that focus more on intense short term, calorie-burning training rather than the boring old endurance stuff.  Plus, as we (and our pups) get older, our bodies don't support hours and hours of endless running, even if it's at a much slower pace.

Interval workouts allow for high intensity fun that can be accomplished in much less time.

Next time you're at the park or hiking area with your dog - or even better if you can find a field that allows dogs but isn't necessarily a sanctioned dog park with a bunch of distracting dogs running around - go beast mode with the following...

Warm up 5-7 minutes with a light jog around the park facility followed by a quick stretch...make sure you give some water to your dog while you're stretching out those muscles...Then...

10 interval sprints with your dog across the park or facility - or up an incline on a hiking trail - sprinting the first length, then very lightly jogging back the second.  Down and back is 1.

Sometimes, we like to rest after 5, depending on how we feel.

If you want the best functionality, our hands free leashes really help the efficiency of the workout.  (Like the hands free rec pro leash seen in the above picture.)

And if you want an additional challenge, go out and buy a weight vest and wear that while you're doing the sprints.  (We don't sell those btw)...

We always recommend a final cool down stretch as well.

The whole workout usually takes only 30 minutes, and no matter if you have two legs or four, you'll feel great after it's done...

For more active dog owner info, be sure to stay in touch with us @SportLeash on: