Activate Your Seat System

[Kat]

Does anyone have the bungee? How do you find it? Has it helped your riding?

I have what I thought were tight hip flexors, which lead to me tipping my pelvis forward and hollowing my back both mounted and standing/walking. I am also suffering with an irritated piriformis. I am wondering whether this might help but would like some experiences before I part with my money.

 

[mariew]

Do you mean the bungee cord that goes over the horse's head and through the reins? I fail to see how that will make much difference to your seat? Or is it a new horse riding gadget I have yet to be aware of?

 

[Teajack]

Bought the system after seeing recommendation on here. Different issue - crookedness - but it's been well worth the money.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I follow her FB page and often wondered if it was any good so will be interested if you notice a difference. I’m currently nursing a slipped disc and having manipulation for it which has made me perfectly level again. At the start my pelvis was so tilted my left leg was an inch longer than the right so if you are suffering from any imbalance I would recommend manipulation as well as doing exercises. I’ve realised from doing years of Pilates it wasn’t doing anything because my psoas, pecs and neck muscles were just locked tight which in turn caused the problems in the pelvis. Riding albeit just in walk at the moment is so different.

 

[milliepops]

I also follow her FB page and find the text really useful but in this rental house I can't imagine anywhere I could attach the bungee to so I am holding off for now. It sounds very much in tune with what the equipilates classes I do focus on so I would like to do it in future, I know someone who won a comp they ran and she thought it was a good programme.

 

[mossycup]

Yes, it's really helpful and there was a dissertation study on it recently which has proven it's effectiveness

 

[05jackd]

I have just purchased this so will feed back once tested!

 

[teapot]

I've been wondering this too!

 

[LiquidMetal]

I bought it a little while ago. Unfortunately my horse tried to rip one of his heel bulbs off so I’m not riding right now so can’t confirm it’s improved my riding.

But I’ve always had issues with a sore, stiff right hip. If i sleep on it too many nights in a row, it hurts. I’ve been doing this program for a couple months and my hip pain has basically gone away. The program is really easy to follow and you can use the bungee for so many more exercises.

 

[Kat]

Do you mean the bungee cord that goes over the horse's head and through the reins? I fail to see how that will make much difference to your seat? Or is it a new horse riding gadget I have yet to be aware of?

No it is for the rider to exercise with. There are videos on Instagram

 

[Kat]

I also follow her FB page and find the text really useful but in this rental house I can't imagine anywhere I could attach the bungee to so I am holding off for now. It sounds very much in tune with what the equipilates classes I do focus on so I would like to do it in future, I know someone who won a comp they ran and she thought it was a good programme.

I have to say I am unsure where I can fit it in, it is another thing putting me off but I find the explanations in her Facebook/Instagram posts really make sense.

 

[Kat]

Yes, it's really helpful and there was a dissertation study on it recently which has proven it's effectiveness

Do you have a link?

 

[Kat]

I have just purchased this so will feed back once tested!

Oooh yes please, I would love to hear more about how you get on

 

[Kat]

I bought it a little while ago. Unfortunately my horse tried to rip one of his heel bulbs off so I’m not riding right now so can’t confirm it’s improved my riding.

But I’ve always had issues with a sore, stiff right hip. If i sleep on it too many nights in a row, it hurts. I’ve been doing this program for a couple months and my hip pain has basically gone away. The program is really easy to follow and you can use the bungee for so many more exercises.

Can you explain a bit more about how you use it and what the bungee adds to your normal exercises please?

Also how it attaches to the door and how much space you need.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I've been thinking about this too, so it's been really interesting hearing people's feedback.

How easy is it to attach to things? We do own the house but I'd rather not explain how i broke a door to my OH ... ?

 

[Jasper151]

Following this with interest as I have been considering buying it. The demonstrations and videos that are posted do make a lot of sense. I think I will have the space as when the gyms were closed in the first lock down I did have a TRX system set up and didn't damage anything but it did take up a lot of our living room!

 

[Renvers]

I have one and I am impressed with it. I have used it sporadically as I put it in a room and forget about it for week or so and then get it out. I did a full two weeks on it last month and felt a lot better through my body and my pelvis and my stiff right hip. My sitting trot improved on a big moving warmblood and I can imagine if I did it more it would be really beneficial.

It really is easy to do the first video link (Vimeo) and I only needed to watch it for the first couple of sessions to get the hang of the moves, squats, front and side lunges etc. You have to buy the second video link separately and I haven't bothered yet.

@milliepops the bungee has a small tubular fixing on the end of a slim webbing strap that you put through a doorway and close the door to keep it secure so shouldn't be an issue in a house.

Writing this I wonder why I am not using it more. I will go and find it and use it after my next meeting

 

[milliepops]

I have one and I am impressed with it. I have used it sporadically as I put it in a room and forget about it for week or so and then get it out. I did a full two weeks on it last month and felt a lot better through my body and my pelvis and my stiff right hip. My sitting trot improved on a big moving warmblood and I can imagine if I did it more it would be really beneficial.

It really is easy to do the first video link (Vimeo) and I only needed to watch it for the first couple of sessions to get the hang of the moves, squats, front and side lunges etc. You have to buy the second video link separately and I haven't bothered yet.

@milliepops the bungee has a small tubular fixing on the end of a slim webbing strap that you put through a doorway and close the door to keep it secure so shouldn't be an issue in a house.

Writing this I wonder why I am not using it more. I will go and find it and use it after my next meeting

thanks Renvers, only doors we have are on the bathroom which is at the top of the stairs and the front door which would give me about 1m of space so probably need to wait until we move!

 

[sherry90]

Yes I’d recommend. I have disc/back issues. It helps me find my seat bone in the saddle, sounds cheesy (and I’ve not been paid to say this nor do I know the lady who runs it) but it really does ‘activate’ the seat muscles before you ride. I don’t/didn’t use the correct muscles in the saddle, despite thinking I did. Some of the exercises seem so simple and yet really do give you a workout.

 

[AFB]

I'm interested in this but think I'd struggle for space (old house, odd layout) - would it work on a stable door? I'd risk looking like the yard nutter but if it did the job I could be tempted!

 

[Renvers]

thanks Renvers, only doors we have are on the bathroom which is at the top of the stairs and the front door which would give me about 1m of space so probably need to wait until we move!

yes, best wait. I don't think you would be safe doing lunges with it at the top of the stairs!

 

[TPO]

I'm interested in this but think I'd struggle for space (old house, odd layout) - would it work on a stable door? I'd risk looking like the yard nutter but if it did the job I could be tempted!

No personal experience but I've seen photos of Shoestring Eventing using it at a comp attached to her lorry. I'm sure I've seen pictures of others doing it at their stables before riding too.

 

[Renvers]

I'm interested in this but think I'd struggle for space (old house, odd layout) - would it work on a stable door? I'd risk looking like the yard nutter but if it did the job I could be tempted!

The adverts from the woman behind it showed herself using it at a stable door. Not sure I would want the rest of the liveries watching me

 

[Barlow]

I’ve got one and it’s very similar to some of the exercises my PT makes me do, except with more resistance from the bands. I do mine when I remember in the hallway at home. Took me a while work out the best way for door/bungee configuration but it’s now very easy to set up and tidies away neatly when not needed

 

[LiquidMetal]

Can you explain a bit more about how you use it and what the bungee adds to your normal exercises please?

Also how it attaches to the door and how much space you need.

So there’s 2 possible ways to attach it. I use the door frame way. Basically at the end, there’s a clip attached to a piece of webbing that has a little tube in it. You put the tube piece on other side of door and close it. The webbing is pinched in door and the tube stops it from sliding through. You could also just remove the tube/webbing piece and clip the carabiner onto something solid. It comes in a handy little travel bag and I’ve used it in a couple places away from home and had no problem finding a spot.

As far as exercises, when you buy bungee, you get access to level 1 and 2 videos which are short circuits of a variety of exercises. She also posts other core exercises that can utilize bungee which I’ve done before. And then I’ve used it for other exercises that aren’t part of system. You can incorporate it into a lot of body weight or booty band exercises to add a little more resistance.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Bumping this after seeing the Activate Your Seat system mentioned on another thread.

People still pleased?

I already do a regular weekly classical Zoom Pilates class, but I could do with more exercises specifically targeting my riding core.

Activate Your Seat does look good. We can rig up a place to attach the bungee to.

 

[DirectorFury]

I bought one about a year ago, it was great when I could be bothered to use it! It’s been sat in a corner since the end of summer (horse has been off games) but there’s no reason I wouldn’t use it again when she’s back in work, if that makes sense?

I did have to shorten the bungee slightly as didn’t have a long enough space from a door frame to use it without hitting something

Edit: It did set off my piriformis issues quite badly when I first started using it, it took about a month for that to stop happening.

 

[ycbm]

I'd be very interested to hear if people still regularly use it a year after buying it.
.

 

[AntiPuck]

I bought it a few weeks ago and was highly skeptical because I already do a lot of similar exercises due to a 2+ year ongoing back injury and sciatica, and I've tried a lot of exercises in that time that haven't helped, but I was wrong to be skeptical - it's been fantastic just for straightening me up and building stability on the weak side. I haven't ridden yet since using it but the difference it has made to my walking and general stability is significant, and that'd only using Level 1 for about 3 weeks

 

[Ambers Echo]

I’m really interested in trying this so I’ll give it a go and let you know. Equipilates seemed to help. Dressage rider training appeared to make no difference at all. So be interesting to see the impact of this x