Canine Handler Fitness Podcast

Working hard on your cardio but still getting winded when you run your dog?

What if getting fitter didn't actually require you to feel exhausted every time you train?

In this episode, we're talking about the difference between workouts that leave you feeling absolutely wiped out and workouts that actually build your aerobic fitness.

I'm also sharing my experience getting back into sprinting with my Sprint Lab students after nearly four years away. Despite all the strength training I've been doing, my legs were NOT prepared for...

Are you working out but not getting stronger, faster or fitter? Maybe you're consistent but your progress has stalled. Maybe you're struggling to fit your workouts around dog training. Or maybe you're doing a LOT and wondering why you're not seeing better results.

In this episode, I'm taking you inside five coaching conversations with handlers who all wanted to improve their fitness but needed very different things to make that happen.

We'll look at when adding another workout makes sense, why consistency might be more important than changing your program, how...

What do you want your body to be able to do next spring that it can't quite do right now?

Summer is a great time to use your fitness. Run your dogs. Trial. Hike. Travel. Get outside. Have fun and let all that work you've done actually buy you something.

But fall and winter can have a different job.

This is build time.

In this episode, we're talking about why the quieter months are such a valuable opportunity to dig into a routine...

If you're working out consistently but still not getting faster, stronger or more athletic, you may not need to work harder. You may need your workouts to have clearer jobs.

In this episode, I'm bringing you inside a recent coaching call with a handler who was already doing A LOT right. She was strong, fit, consistent and training six days a week.

The problem wasn't effort.

Her legs were constantly tired, her progress had stalled, and the things she wanted most, more speed, athleticism and better agility...

If you’re already running as fast as you possibly can to make a handling position, what happens when you suddenly need another gear?

In this episode, we’re talking about speed reserve, physical capacity, and why getting faster isn’t about outrunning your dog. It’s about making the speed your sport requires a smaller percentage of what your body can do.

We’ll talk about the signs that agility may be getting too close to your current ceiling, what happens when you get a faster dog, and one of my favorit...

Your big event is getting closer and you're realizing you probably should have started preparing your body sooner. Did you leave it too late?

If you've still got a couple of months, you have more time than you think. But what you do with that time matters.

In this episode, I'm working backwards from event day and showing you how I'd approach those final weeks as your coach. When should you still be pushing to get stronger, faster and better conditioned? When should your training become more specific? And most importantly...

You know where you need to be on course. So why does your body sometimes make it so damn hard to get there?

“Getting fitter” isn't a very useful goal if you don't know what's actually holding you back.

In this episode, I'm putting on my coaching hat and helping you look at your handling from a different perspective. We'll talk about some of the most common physical limitations I see in agility handlers, how to start figuring out your weak link, and one thing you can work on for each.

Because the answ...

You warm up your dog before you run, but are you actually preparing BOTH athletes on your team for what's about to happen?

And does a quick walk around really count as a warm-up?

This week I'm joined by canine fitness expert Laurren Bastian to talk about what a good agility warm-up is actually supposed to accomplish for your dog and your own body.

We're talking about what should happen between standing around and stepping into the ring, how long a warm-up really needs to take, what happens when there's a delay between...

You WANT to work out. You know you'll probably feel better afterward. So why can it still feel almost impossible to make yourself do it?

You might be calling it a motivation problem when the real problem started hours before your workout.

This week, a coaching call made me think differently about what "feeling motivated" actually feels like in the body. We talked about food, hydration, routine, decision fatigue, and what happens when you're asking an already-exhausted brain to make one more good decision.

And it led...

What if eating healthier wasn't about giving things up, but about discovering foods you'll love for the rest of your life?

Most nutrition advice tells us what to stop eating.

I think there's a better question.

"What could I add?"

In today's episode, we're diving into one of the simplest habits that can have a meaningful impact on your health: increasing the variety of plant foods you eat each week.

We'll explore why diversity matters for your gut microbiome, how the...

What if getting older didn't mean becoming slower, weaker, or less capable?

In this episode, I'm sharing why I believe we've accepted far too many stories about aging that simply aren't true. We'll talk about what the science actually says, what I've learned coaching hundreds of handlers, and why I think your best athletic years may still be ahead of you.

You'll learn:

- Why strength, balance, power, and confidence are trainable at any age.

- The biggest myths I hear about aging and exercise.

...

Most leg workouts build stronger muscles. The best ones teach your body how to use that strength.

Today I'm letting you inside my coaching brain to show you why I built Handler Legs the way I did. We'll dive into the science of athletic development, contrast training, and why every exercise was chosen to help you move better, react faster, and become a more capable handler beside your dog.

You'll learn:

- Why agility demands more than strength alone.

- The Principle of Specificity and how it shapes every workout.

What if it isn't your age... or even perimenopause... but simply that your body has never been asked to do what you're asking of it now?

This is a real coaching story about a real client who discovered exactly that.

When her dog suffered a serious injury, agility was suddenly off the table for an entire year.

She could have put her own fitness on hold.

Instead, she asked one simple question:

"What can I build while I'm here?"

That question changed everything.

In this...

This is a real coaching story about a real client.

She came to me convinced she needed more discipline.

She was exhausted. Agility felt hard. She was constantly craving sugar, skipping workouts, and felt like she was letting her dog down.

She thought the problem was motivation.

I didn't.

Instead of giving her more rules, we started changing her physiology—and within weeks, everything started to shift. More energy. Better recovery. Fewer cravings. Weight loss. And, without even realizing it...

Every spring we make ambitious plans.

We're going to work out more. Train the dog. Travel. Garden. Go to trials. Tackle projects around the house. Spend more time outside.

Then summer arrives and suddenly there aren't enough hours in the day.

If your routine has disappeared, your workouts are inconsistent, and you're wondering where all your time went, you're not alone. The problem usually isn't motivation. It's that your life changed and your fitness plan didn't.

In this episode, we're talking about why summer routines fall apart, the all-or-nothing thinking that...

Most people think getting faster means doing more.

More running.

More intervals.

More workouts.

More effort.

But what if the problem isn't that you're not doing enough? What if you're simply repeating the same movement mistakes over and over again?

In this episode, we're exploring one of the biggest misconceptions in speed training and discussing what actually contributes to becoming a faster runner.

You'll learn why practice doesn't always make perfect, how movement quality influences performance, and why efficiency often beats effort when it comes...

Do you ever feel like you're working incredibly hard when you run, but not getting much speed in return?

In this episode, we're diving into a concept I call energy leaks—the movement habits that quietly steal speed, increase fatigue, and make sprinting feel far harder than it needs to.

Many handlers assume they need more fitness, more conditioning, or more miles. Sometimes that's true. But often the biggest opportunity isn't producing more effort—it's wasting less of the effort you're already producing.

We'll explore why efficiency matters, how small movement errors compound over...

Summer arrives and suddenly the workouts that felt easy in the spring feel harder. Your heart rate is higher, your energy is lower, and between trials, travel, and hot weather, staying consistent can feel impossible.

The good news? You're probably not losing fitness as quickly as you think.

In this episode, we're talking about what heat actually does to performance, why your workouts feel harder this time of year, and how to adjust your expectations without abandoning your fitness altogether. We'll also dive into one of the most overlooked performance tools available to handlers: hydration.<...

Your dog has a conditioning plan. They have warm-ups, recovery days, fitness exercises, and maybe even a few supplements. You know what they weigh, how they're moving, and whether they're ready for the next trial.

But what about you?

Many handlers spend so much time caring for their dog's physical health that they forget they're part of the team too. We wouldn't expect our dogs to stay strong, athletic, and resilient without training, yet somehow we expect that from ourselves.

In this episode, we're talking about why handlers often prioritize their dog's fitness...

Your dog loves toys. So why is toy training still a struggle?

A lot of dogs love chasing, grabbing, and carrying toys. But loving toys and knowing how to play with a human are not the same thing. If your dog runs off with toys, plays keep-away, struggles to return them, or gets so excited they stop thinking, you're not alone.

In this episode, I sit down with Shade Whitesel to talk about toy play, reinforcement, and what she prioritizes when bringing a new puppy or dog into her life. We use my young Malinois...

Ever said “I can’t do it all.” ... And when you can’t do it all, it’s really easy to do nothing.

That space between wanting to keep going and not having the time is where most people lose momentum. Not because they don’t care—but because they’re trying to hold themselves to a version of their routine that just doesn’t fit right now.

This episode is for that exact moment. When your schedule is tight, your energy is split, and your workouts start to feel like one more thing you’re failing to keep u...

Most people have a system issue, both in scheduling and in their headspace around fitness.

Because if you’ve ever planned to work out and then didn’t know what to do opened your phone to “pick something” and got overwhelmed skipped it because you weren’t sure how long it would take felt like if you couldn’t do a full workout, it wasn’t worth doing …this episode is for you.

This isn’t about discipline. It’s about friction.

Friction is anything that makes starting harder than it needs to be.

And most p...

There are two types of people when it comes to working out.

People who stop… and stay stopped. And people who stop… and then keep going.

The difference isn’t motivation. It’s not discipline either.

It’s what they do next.

Because at some point, everyone misses workouts. Life gets busy, routines break, things get messy. That part is normal. What isn’t inevitable is turning a few missed days into a full reset.

A lot of people treat a break like something they need to fix. They think they n...

You can’t fix your habits until you understand what’s actually driving your behavior.

Because if you’ve ever:

…this episode is for you.

This isn’t about willpower. It’s about dopamine.

Dopamine isn’t just a “feel good” chemical—it’s what drives:

And right now? Most of us are accidentally training our br...

What if the way you raise your puppy is quietly deciding your entire agility future?

If you want to go deeper into this, join Bree and I for Kelly's class this term through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. It’s a great next step if you want guidance on how to actually apply this with your own puppy and build a body that’s strong, capable, and ready for the demands of sport.

Because here’s the truth… most injuries don’t come from bad luck. They come from what we didn’t know early on. And if your...

Spring is coming.

Which means more running… more sprinting… more time moving with your dog outdoors.

And every year, I see the same thing happen:

Handlers go from winter → straight into running.

And suddenly:

Because your body wasn’t prepared for the jump.

This episode is about what to do right now — in these last couple of winter months — so that when you start running again:

You feel faste...

Ever feel completely fine on the treadmill… and then five minutes into your first outdoor run you’re thinking, Why does this feel so hard? Why do my legs feel heavier? Why am I more out of breath at the same pace? Did I just lose all my fitness?

If spring running has you second-guessing yourself, you’re not alone. The shift from treadmill to outdoors changes more than you think — even if your distance and pace look similar.

In this episode, we unpack what’s actually happening when you move from a controlled, predictable surface to...

Watching the Olympics can do one of two things:

Make you feel small… Or sharpen your plan.

And if you’re a dog sport handler watching world-class movement — whether that’s Olympic athletes or agility excellence at World Team Tryouts — you’ve probably felt both.

That spark. And that quiet voice saying, “I should be in better shape.”

Today we’re talking about that fork in the road.

If you’ve felt the urge to:

• Add extra workouts

• Run miles you haven’t trained for

• Overhaul your diet...

You’ve been told to just “do Tabata burpees.”

Work harder. Sweat more. Push your anaerobic system.

So why are you still exhausted at trials? Why do your knees and Achilles feel unreliable? Why does your confidence drop when your body feels unpredictable?

In this episode, we talk about why high-intensity workouts don’t always transfer to agility performance — especially for women 40+.

We break down:

• Why “working hard” isn’t the same as training well

• What Tabata was actually designed for

• Why explosive work under fatigue can quietly in...

Winter hits. You want to stay fit. Your dog is bouncing off the walls.

And somehow “I’ll just go to the gym” never quite works.

In this episode, I sit down with Tanya Dobrzanski to talk about harness dog sports — one of the most underrated ways to build real conditioning with your dog instead of leaving them home.

We cover:

• What harness dog sports actually are

• Who they’re right for (and who they’re not)

• How to get started safely

• Why they’re especially powerful in...

Have you ever thought, “I should be further along by now”?

You start again. You ease in. And it feels harder than you expected.

In this episode, I talk about the gap between what we expect our bodies to do — and what they’re actually ready for.

We discuss:

• Why starting from zero feels confronting

• The mismatch between memory and current capacity

• Why easing in isn’t weakness

• How to build momentum without burning out

If you’re restarting fitness (again), this conversation will help you do it...

You’re playing tug. Your dog hits the toy hard. And suddenly your wrist, shoulder, or back lights up.

Tugging isn’t just a reward skill for your dog — it’s a physical skill for you.

In this episode, I sit down with Shade Whitesel to talk about how to keep tugging fun while reducing injury risk on the handler side.

We cover:

• Why handlers get hurt during tug

• How stance and bracing matter more than you think

• Clothing and gear mistakes that increase risk

• What to adjust i...

You set the goal. You feel motivated. Two weeks later… it’s stalled.

It’s not because you don’t care.

In this episode, I sit down with mental performance coach Heather Sumlin to talk about why most fitness goals fail — even for high-achievers.

We discuss:

• Why motivation was never the problem

• How “should” goals sabotage follow-through

• Why big goals don’t translate into daily action

• How to adjust when life, hormones, or stress get in the way

• The mindset shift that actually creates momentum

If...

As we head into a new year, a lot of handlers start thinking about how to improve — speed, endurance, confidence, clarity on course.

In this episode, Liz shares a short list of high-ROI focus areas that help handlers move better, react faster, and feel more confident on course — without spending endless hours in the gym or grinding through workouts that don’t transfer.

This isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right few things.

Think of this as a behind-the-scenes checklist: the pieces that quietly make handling smoother, cleaner, and more fun —...

This episode isn’t about “new year, new you” hype. It’s about honest reflection, meaningful change, and creating momentum in a way that actually lasts.

We walk through how to look back at the past year with clarity (without beating yourself up), how to notice when you’ve slipped into valleys of low energy, discouragement, or feeling stuck, and how to build your environment so inspiration doesn’t rely on motivation alone.

We talk about friendship, community, accountability, and why big dreams don’t come from magical bursts of effort — they come from ordinary, doable actions l...

Most runners — even experienced ones — are doing core work that doesn’t actually translate to better running.

In this episode, Liz breaks down what your core really needs to do when you run, why traditional core exercises like planks and crunches often fall short, and how to train your core in a way that directly improves running efficiency, stability, and agility performance.

You’ll learn why core work belongs in your warm-up, how pre-engaging the right muscles improves movement quality, and what’s missing from many popular core programs — especially for dog agility handlers and active athle...

Most handlers think “strong legs” just means squats and lunges, but agility demands strength that works in every direction.

The goal is power, control, and stability when the dog changes speed or the course forces quick transitions.

Your plan should challenge you in the same ways the course does — forward, backward, sideways, and rotational.

If your routine hits these elements, it’s already doing more for your handling than 90% of...

Your Friends Are Your Biggest Fitness Hack

This episode kicks off our second All Access Pass monthly challenge!

December’s All-Access Challenge: Do Something Active With Someone You Care About Once a Week.

We explore why your social circle is one of the strongest predictors of long-term health and fitness, and why shared movement builds sustainable habits far better than willpower alone.

You’ll learn what research says about community and lifespan (including why tennis tops the longevity charts), why “fitness-minded friendships” are the secret weapon for handlers, and how heading into Jan...

Do you think you can skip upper-body training because agility is “all legs and core”? That’s a trap. Your upper body is just as critical for speed, posture, and handling.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most misunderstood areas of women’s health — the pelvic floor.

Most people think Kegels are the answer. They’re easy, discrete, and you can do them lying down — but here’s the truth: Kegels are just a drop in the bucket.

Your pelvic floor is the bottom of your pelvis, a foundational part of your core that works in tandem with your diaphragm, abs, and back to support your organs, stabilize your pelvis, and respond to movement.

We break down: