Jump Rope for Me. Spin for Free.

How one human exercise becomes a dog-friendly movement—and even a little agility training.

When I say I work out with my dog, I don’t mean I hand Freedom a jump rope and tell her to give me 30 seconds.

Although I’d definitely like to see her try. 😂

Today’s Strength in the Core workout includes one of the simplest exercises in my home gym: jump rope.

My job is pretty straightforward. Grab the rope, start jumping and keep moving.

But what does my dog do?

She spins.

It may not look like the same exercise at first, but that’s part of what I’ve been experimenting with through our human-and-dog workouts. The goal isn’t to make a dog’s body perform a human exercise. It’s to look at what I’m doing and find a movement that allows Freedom to participate in her own way.

From Vertical to Horizontal

Think about a jump rope.

The rope travels around my body vertically while I coordinate my movement with it.

With Freedom, I can take that idea and turn it sideways.

Instead of a rope circling around her, Freedom circles around herself. (In the video, I become the rope to assist her in her exercise).

I can guide her with a treat or hand signal while I move around her, encouraging her to follow the movement until she’s made a complete circle. Then we can change directions and go the other way.

My jump rope goes over and under.

Her imaginary jump rope goes around and around.

Different movement. Different bodies. Same workout team.

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But We’re Sneaking Some Training In, Too

Here’s where it gets even more interesting.

The spin isn’t only something for Freedom to do while I’m jumping rope. We’re also practicing coordination, following a hand signal, responding to direction and moving her body intentionally.

Those skills can carry over into agility training.

That’s one of my favorite things about exercising with a dog: sometimes you’re working on more than you realize.

I’m getting cardiovascular exercise.

Freedom is moving her body and using her brain.

We’re practicing communication.

We’re strengthening our teamwork.

And we’re having some fun while we’re at it.

It Doesn’t Have to Look Exactly Like Yours!!

This may be the most important part:

Your dog’s version of an exercise doesn’t have to look like the human version.

Dogs aren’t little people with four legs. Their bodies move differently. Their abilities are different. And individual dogs have different ages, sizes, fitness levels and physical limitations.

So, I’m not trying to make Freedom jump rope.

I’m asking:

What can I do?

What can she safely do?

And where can those two movements meet?

Sometimes the answer might be surprisingly simple.

Today, mine happens to be:

I jump. She spins. We move together.

And somewhere between my vertical jump rope and Freedom’s horizontal imaginary one, we’re building something bigger than another workout.

We’re building communication.

We’re building skills.

We’re building our partnership.

Stronger together. Healthier together. Happier together.

🐾 Every rep counts. Every step together matters.

Until tomorrow have a happy and healthy tail wagging day,

Pam and Freedom