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01-13-2007, 03:19 AM
Best exercise pal is your dog
By Lucy Stephens
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Julie Jones, of Rawcliffe, York, walking trainee guide dog Neena
Walking the dog could make us happier and healthier than going to the gym, reports LUCY STEPHENS
JANUARY is the time many of us sign up to a gym to pound away those excess Christmas pounds.
But, according to a new survey, we could actually be better off walking the dog than slogging away on the treadmill.
Research commissioned by Butcher's Dog Food found walking a dog daily lowered blood pressure, slowed heart rates, reduced stress and enabled the walker to recover more quickly after a burst of strenuous activity.
The study of more than 1,500 dog owners and gym goers with an average age of 47 found: l The average dog walker trod 676 miles a year - 208 miles than gym goers l Dog owners walked the equivalent distance as Bangkok to London over their pet's lifetime l A third of York's residents were gym members, while 19 per cent had dogs l Most dog walkers were likely to stick to their routine, whereas just over half of gym goers lost interest after two or three months l More than half of gym members reported suffering high stress, compared with 35 per cent of dog walkers.
Dog walkers and gym goers were put on the stepping machine to measure how quickly they recovered after strenuous exercise.
While dog walkers' heart rate had returned to nearly resting rate after eight minutes exercise, the heart rate of gym members was still 29 beats above resting level.
One York woman who is testament to the value of dog walking is Julie Jones, from Rawcliffe, who has lost an astonishing 19 and a half stone after her weight had ballooned to more than 35 stone.
As reported in The Press last month, Julie shed the pounds through determined dieting at Slimming World, but she also swears by the exercise she gets from puppy walking for the charity Guide Dogs For The Blind.
For rest of article
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/display.var.1118834.0.best_exercise_pal_is_your_do g.php
By Lucy Stephens
Comment
Julie Jones, of Rawcliffe, York, walking trainee guide dog Neena
Walking the dog could make us happier and healthier than going to the gym, reports LUCY STEPHENS
JANUARY is the time many of us sign up to a gym to pound away those excess Christmas pounds.
But, according to a new survey, we could actually be better off walking the dog than slogging away on the treadmill.
Research commissioned by Butcher's Dog Food found walking a dog daily lowered blood pressure, slowed heart rates, reduced stress and enabled the walker to recover more quickly after a burst of strenuous activity.
The study of more than 1,500 dog owners and gym goers with an average age of 47 found: l The average dog walker trod 676 miles a year - 208 miles than gym goers l Dog owners walked the equivalent distance as Bangkok to London over their pet's lifetime l A third of York's residents were gym members, while 19 per cent had dogs l Most dog walkers were likely to stick to their routine, whereas just over half of gym goers lost interest after two or three months l More than half of gym members reported suffering high stress, compared with 35 per cent of dog walkers.
Dog walkers and gym goers were put on the stepping machine to measure how quickly they recovered after strenuous exercise.
While dog walkers' heart rate had returned to nearly resting rate after eight minutes exercise, the heart rate of gym members was still 29 beats above resting level.
One York woman who is testament to the value of dog walking is Julie Jones, from Rawcliffe, who has lost an astonishing 19 and a half stone after her weight had ballooned to more than 35 stone.
As reported in The Press last month, Julie shed the pounds through determined dieting at Slimming World, but she also swears by the exercise she gets from puppy walking for the charity Guide Dogs For The Blind.
For rest of article
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/display.var.1118834.0.best_exercise_pal_is_your_do g.php