Apart from improving your overall health, cross-training now gives you the ideal opportunity to spend time and bond with your dog. ‘Exercise With Your Dog’ is a human/canine workout class that enables both you and your furry friend to stay fit and have some serious fun.

Angela Smith, instructor for ‘Exercise Your Dog’, says that the training is an incoming West Coast thing that is slowly conquering the Midwest.

She designed the amazing course with Giene Keyes, owner of Dog Face Training (who is the mastermind behind most dog exercises).

Here’s what she says about the program:

“’Exercise With Your Dog!’ because there’s so much movement. Dogs have to have a base knowledge in obedience because of the exercises you do, but it kind of takes it to another level. It’s really fun for the dogs, because they want to be active, and when we start running around with them it makes it more fun.”

During one of their classes, Liz and Lance Williston of Belleville exercised with their 4-year-old Bernese mountain dog named Matilda. In one routine, Liz and Lance jumped up from a squat, while Matilda leapt in the air to catch a special treat. In another, all three of them played keep-away, jogged, zig-zagged through cones, stretched and turned.

Basically, everyone got an excellent workout.

“Even though it’s only a brief amount of time, you do build up a bit of a sweat.”