The key to a purrfect workout (video)

June 10, 9:41 AMHouston Cats ExaminerKirsten Alvarez

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Get a great workout with your cat

An article on CNN recently revealed a new type of workout ... or rather, a new type of workout equipment. A California woman uses her cat as a barbell. And she's made workout videos to teach others her technique. 

Tara Brown lives in Venice Beach — home of Muscle Beach — and while others are using metal weights to get fit, a spotted cat named Lucky Cat is Brown's workout. 

"I like to use light weights anyway for the bicep curls and twists, so I use my cat," Brown said in a CNN.com interview. "Lucky Cat seems to want to hang out with me when I'm exercising, so I'll use her."

The idea started when she realized how much Lucky Cat wanted to be near her when she was exercising. Whether weight-lifting or yoga, Brown's feline friend would climb on her or walk between her feet. She realized then that she should let the cat join instead of pushing him away. 

Exercising with pets isn't new, of course. Dog-owners run, play fetch and wrestle with their pooches all the time. And in Brown's blog, it seems exercising with a cat could be just as easy, and could make doing crunches and lunges a bit more fun. 

Lucky Cat is the star of the videos in Brown's blog, in which he sits on stomaches during crunches, sits in laps in certain yoga positions and apparently doesn't mind being held during various leg-strengthening moves. The furry feline adds extra weight to Brown's workout and he benefits from spending time with his human companion at the same time. 

"You're using the cat as a weight, so you can do biceps, abs and they're getting attention," Brown said to CNN.

She does point out though that there are limitations.

"Obviously if the cat gets cranky, don't stress them out or anything. They'll let you know if they're ticked off. That's when you need to stop."

Even if your cat isn't ever in the mood to be your living dumbbell, cats are helpful for therapudic reasons and studies have shown that pets can soothe and calm human companions in times of depression. So, if yoga is your workout of choice, just having kitty on a pillow beside you could help your workout.

Get your kitty (or adopt one!) and join Tara Brown and Lucky Cat in the cat twist workout below. Visit catworkout.com for more workout videos for you and your cat. 

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