How fit are you for riding? And how fit should I be?

rotters13

rotters13

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After seeing so much in the equestrian press recently about rider fitness I still feel at a slight loss of how fit you need to be. They have all done a fantastic job of telling the benefits etc but less so about how to know if you are fit enough and how to get to that point (if that makes sense?)

So... how fit are you and what level are riding at? At the moment I am running for about 30 minutes every other day as well as riding everyday for around an hour. I aim to compete at BE Novice level this year and my horse is not particularly forward... am I fit enough?
 
interesting question. From the article that was in H&H recently i get the impression that fitness is more and more important but nobody knows how important or quite how much each person should do.

i think this is largely that we are all different and not unlike our equine partners some get fit easier than others. My OH is training for a triathalon at present and he is the type who gets fit easy. Up til the snow arrived up here in december he ran around 3-4 times a week. He hadnt done any exercise in over a month and went out and ran 3 miles no problem.

Again this is where i think muscle memory comes in too with our equine partners. Mine is a 4 yo ex-racer and he has loads of energy - he doesnt tire out he just gets brain tired and fitter!

in answer to your question i am just bringing a 4yo on so not competing at the moment but ride most days. Fitness wise i swim once or twice a week for half an hour and run 2-3 times a week. though this is largely due to not wanting OH to think im lazy lol :D
 
Atm, I would be classed as 'just being bought back into work after being turned away over winter' :P

I thought I was fairly fit, untill I got a new job exercising racehorses, Oh my days, I couldn't breathe after one run up the track., and my legs were like jelly.

I don't do any excercise as such, but I have my own yard and that is quite a regime in itself. Trips with the wheelbarrow, mucking out, and today hauling logs about for jumps.

I think your fitness needs to match the level of your horse's, if your horse is super-fit, you should be too.

(Mine have all been turned away over winter, as have I :P)
 
I'm shockingly unfit. I do ride every day and do the jobs associated with DIY livery but I don't do anything else as lack money to go to the gym and my joints aren't up to the impact of running.

Nearly fell off Lil as we crossed the finishing line at our first HT last year so definitely need to think about it.

Any tips most welcome.
 
Fitness wise, I am a bit of a geek. I love to be 'fit' and my leg muscles are proof of that! What I do- during school term time:

Monday:
GCSE PE- 3 hour session (this currently consists of 1.5hours in the fitness gym and 1.5hours on the astro pitch playing hockey).
Riding- usually a 1 hour flatwork session

Tuesday:
I cycle for an half an hour after school (don't finish until 5 so daylight is the problem!).

Wednesday:
Sports Leader Award- 3 hour session during school. We will do 2.5 hours of solid sport, badminton etc.
I also run for half an hour, usually managed 4/5 miles.

Thursday:
My lazy day. Nothing... apart from school work.

Friday:
Btec Sport- 3 hours during school. 2 hours practical work, usually spent in the gym.

Saturday:
Riding + yard work (the yard work gets you suprisingly fit if you up the pace you do everything at): I ride probably 4/5 times if I am not competing.

Sunday:
If not competing will hack for 2/3 hours and school 1 or 2 horses.

During the holidays I will ride 4 to 6 horses per day. Plus run and cycle on alternating days. I am currently competing at BE100 height. But adore sport! :D
 
Ive definatley got fitter over the last month or so, but would like to get fitter still. Im aiming to do a few PNs then go Novice. I ride my boy 4 times a week for about an hour (cant ride him any more than that as my mum works late 3 days a week so cant get to the yard) :( Ride at least 2 lots of p2p's our each weekend, plus mucking them all out sundays, walk home from school 3 days a week (about a mile and a half) and have started to make sure i walk as much as possible, e.g. down to the shops rather than waiting until on the way back from the yard when we pass it etc... also 2hrs of PE at school a week

Im going to see how I fair with things how the are as i dont really have much time for anything else, but if needs be, then i will hop on the running machine :( :( its so boring!
 
rotters, that sounds pretty good to me.
the muscles you need to use most for riding need to be ready for it, if that's not pointing out the flipping obvious.
i think staying relaxed and not holding your breath makes a huge difference too... i see amateur riders going purple in the face from getting hot and bothered, and pros looking as if they are going for a walk in the park while riding to a huge fence...!
i'd want to know i could stay in the 2-point position at a good clip, without effort, for 10 mins to tackle a N xc, more or less. of course you change your position etc on approach to fences but basic 2-point is a good starting point for checking fitness imho.
fwiw, Ginny Leng was famous for doing 1000 skips a day, in addition to riding heaven knows how many horses...
 
When getting fit, you need to make sure you are targeting the right areas :)

But most horse-riders have short hamstrings and/or short calf muscles - how many of you can bend over and touch the floor, keeping your legs fully straight? Or lying flat on your back, how high can you lift your leg (keeping it straight) before the other one starts to lift?

I can't but am slowly working towards it - theory is that short hamstrings = lack of flexion, which can hamper you when jumping, as not able to get true hip flexion.
Cardiovascular fittness is very important, but so is the stretching - no point being fit if you can't bend ;)

For example, when you work your horse, you do stretches as well as canter work - to prevent your horse becoming stiff. Same with us really :)

On general fittness, usually the fitter you are the faster your reactions, which could mean 1 second faster in a jump off!
I know personally the best xc round I have ever jumped was when I was doing Open tetrathlons through the pony club - I was focused and kept with the horse the whole way!
 
only_me said:
When getting fit, you need to make sure you are targeting the right areas :)

But most horse-riders have short hamstrings and/or short calf muscles - how many of you can bend over and touch the floor, keeping your legs fully straight? Or lying flat on your back, how high can you lift your leg (keeping it straight) before the other one starts to lift?

I can't but am slowly working towards it - theory is that short hamstrings = lack of flexion, which can hamper you when jumping, as not able to get true hip flexion.
Cardiovascular fittness is very important, but so is the stretching - no point being fit if you can't bend ;)

For example, when you work your horse, you do stretches as well as canter work - to prevent your horse becoming stiff. Same with us really :)

On general fittness, usually the fitter you are the faster your reactions, which could mean 1 second faster in a jump off!
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that's an interesting point about the flexibility, i bet i'm not the only one who got straight down on the floor to check that! i can touch my toes easily, and raise my leg beyond 90 degrees before the other one starts to lift. am i supposed to be able to get it over my head? ;) ;)
a student at Equ college did a study ages ago about rider flexibility, had us lie down sort of on our side and lift a leg to check flexibility (at Aff dr comp!) and said that the better riders could stretch further, weren't tight down the inside of their legs etc.
 
rotters13 said:
After seeing so much in the equestrian press recently about rider fitness I still feel at a slight loss of how fit you need to be. They have all done a fantastic job of telling the benefits etc but less so about how to know if you are fit enough and how to get to that point (if that makes sense?)

So... how fit are you and what level are riding at? At the moment I am running for about 30 minutes every other day as well as riding everyday for around an hour. I aim to compete at BE Novice level this year and my horse is not particularly forward... am I fit enough?
Click to expand...

Running or jogging?I would suggest that a basic level of fitness for racing/eventing would be to be able to run 5 miles in about 35 minutes.
 
Oh yes and it DOES need to be 5 miles ,not 2.5 in 17minutes:D. Its about stamina and cardiovascular fitness. You need to be still strong and functioning when your poor horse needs you most.
 
Mike007 said:
Running or jogging?I would suggest that a basic level of fitness for racing/eventing would be to be able to run 5 miles in about 35 minutes.
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Gawd that's quite fast - I would be lucky to do 5 miles in 40 mins! Not sure you need to be that fit for intro/prenov?
 
kerilli said:
that's an interesting point about the flexibility, i bet i'm not the only one who got straight down on the floor to check that! i can touch my toes easily, and raise my leg beyond 90 degrees before the other one starts to lift. am i supposed to be able to get it over my head? ;) ;)
a student at Equ college did a study ages ago about rider flexibility, had us lie down sort of on our side and lift a leg to check flexibility (at Aff dr comp!) and said that the better riders could stretch further, weren't tight down the inside of their legs etc.
Click to expand...

Thats good if you can get 90 degrees! I can get about 70/80 degrees, but any further and starts to hurt - very short muscles!
Normal values are about 120 degrees, according to my textbook :) so if you work on stretching your hamstrings, you may find you are able to drop your stirrups down a hole!
Apparantly horse-riders are notourious for short hams, due to the position we ride, especially jumpers, as in the saddle our quads are long (bet if you extend backwards with legs straight you can go pretty far back!) whereas the hams are short; so stretching these is an important thing to consider!

Another one you can do, is sit on edge of your bed, and roll back on to it, and bring your knees to your chest. Then let go of one, and it should go the full way to bed - if not, they are tight!
 
kez1001 said:
Gawd that's quite fast - I would be lucky to do 5 miles in 40 mins! Not sure you need to be that fit for intro/prenov?
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Providing you are doing the five miles I can alow you the extra five minutes for a while. Its all about time and distance at a high cardiovascular level.(and its good for the leg muscles.If you were on of those incredibly lucky people who could naturaly run in 35 minutes without raising a sweat we would have to up the distance :D.You are probably a short legged "toughey".
 
Mike007 said:
Providing you are doing the five miles I can alow you the extra five minutes for a while. Its all about time and distance at a high cardiovascular level.(and its good for the leg muscles.If you were on of those incredibly lucky people who could naturaly run in 35 minutes without raising a sweat we would have to up the distance :D.You are probably a short legged "toughey".
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Lol got me in one I'm a mere 5ft2 and a bit!
 
Are you supposed to get your leg behind your head... of course, it's the norm isn't it?! ;) Having come from a dancing and gymnastic backrgound flexability soon builds up quickly. I stopped dancing and gymnastics when I picked riding as my main focus. Suprising, how quickly that flexability can be lost.

Glad I'm not alone in the 'leg behind head' club! ;) I am still managing the splits and backwards walkovers.

An interesting point made about horse riders having short hams. I shall be noting that for my GCSE PE theory. :D :rolleyes:
 
kez1001 said:
Lol got me in one I'm a mere 5ft2 and a bit!
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You get the extra five minutes. :D:D What concerns me is the riders who have never had to exert themselves for longer than a minute or two. (ie running about a mile) . When you have half a tonne of tired horse whose reactions are starting to slow down,the last thing he needs is a bloody passanger.
 
OMG Mike i could never run that fast! :eek: if it makes a difference, when i run it is DEFINITELY high rate CV stuff...i really really struggle with breathing- even when i'm fit (which i'm really not at the minute- i blame the 'box rest' over xmas! :o ) as i have a stupidly high heart rate (again, even when fit)... but i really do need to haul my ass out of bed and go running in the mornings. its just so dark and horrid though, i can't face it :(

onlyme- i have really short hamstrings too- always had them, good to know that i can blame riding for it! again, this is something i know should do (stretching) but i don't... just need to get on with it really and stop making excuses don't i! :D
 
I agree with nmike007 - to be XC fit I would be running 5km outside in about 30mins, its very handy as this is the distance between my house and the horses! I have a very low natural cardio level and asthma. I can achieve the above with the right training and also focus and it makes a massive difference in my riding. I only complete at unaff. events but I think every level of rider needs to be fit for purpose - you need to be able to ride every fence from the start line to the finish. I think its really disapointing and dangerous when you see people struggling to make it over the last few jumps of a XC course as they are so tired. it would be interesting to see if there is a correlation with number of stops etc at the last few fences on a XC track.
 
apart from riding i do:

cycle 2 mlies to feed every morning
walk dogs most evenings if hubby doesn't do it
2 x fitness classes a week (legs bums and tums and box fit)
long walks at weekends

that keeps me feeling fit enough for riding club/local show level :)
 
sorry, i don't think the running is essential. i've never had that kind of running stamina, was always a sprinter not a stayer - even at school when i was at my fittest, i detested xc running.
i used to run round xc courses to up my fitness but paused to check approaches, angles, striding etc, i don't think i have EVER been able to run a mile without a breather at walk! running fit is not the same as riding fit. i did a 3* long format CCI xc in 35 degree heat on a still day (grooms keeling over from heatstroke kind of day) and was easily fit enough for that (could have done it again, wasn't knackered at all) but i couldn't have run 5 miles in 35 mins if my life depended on it...!
fwiw i think time on the rowing machine is far more worthwhile for riding fitness. it makes a difference to my core strength after just 1 good session...
 
As well as riding I cycle (exercise bike) for 20 - 30 minutes per day (I am building this up though - only started on saturday)
Walk my dog for up to 2hrs on Saturday and Sunday either one big walk or seperate walks. During the week he gets a 15 - 20 minute walk in the morning and a 30 minute walk in the evening (dad walks him during the day)

I should be a supermodel in not time :)
 
Ems207 said:
I agree with mike007 - to be XC fit I would be running 5km outside in about 30mins
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Mike suggested 5 miles in 35 mins, which I know is completely beyond me even when I am running fit! That would be sub-45 minute 10k pace and I agree with Kerilli, that's not a pace that most riders would need to aspire to. I also find that running can reduce flexibility in my hips so it does need to be combined with good stretching exercises - I like sparkpeople's YouTube stretches and pilates exercises (great for core muscles too).
 
If some one doesnt like running,fine. What I said was you must be ABLE to run for about 35 minutes and about 5 miles. (Its not a difficult thing to do anyway).If you prefer other exercise,fine ,but ultimately that is the sort of level of fitness you need. Riding 3 horses a day is all well and good for the muscles but it is the cardiovascular work that is generaly lacking.
 
kerilli said:
fwiw i think time on the rowing machine is far more worthwhile for riding fitness. it makes a difference to my core strength after just 1 good session...
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very interesting kerrilli i think to some of the times i have used rowing machine in the gym and imagine it gives quite a similar feeling to the breathlessness you get riding sometimes when training hard in a lesson or competition. With the added bonus of no stress on your joints. I admit running is kind of my lazy option - no need to drive to the gym! when i do manage to venture in to gym i will tend to try a bit of everything including some core work on the swiss ball, as i find running on a treadmill as interesting as watching paint dry!. :rolleyes:

j1ffy said:
Mike suggested 5 miles in 35 mins, which I know is completely beyond me even when I am running fit! That would be sub-45 minute 10k pace and I agree with Kerilli, that's not a pace that most riders would need to aspire to. I also find that running can reduce flexibility in my hips so it does need to be combined with good stretching exercises - I like sparkpeople's YouTube stretches and pilates exercises (great for core muscles too).
Click to expand...

I do agree witht the running reducing flexibility in hips - just yesterday in a jumping lesson my instructor commented on how i can be stiff in the hips over fences- must make an effort to maintain flexibility in this area as my instructor will just whip my strirrups away - not fun on a 4yo TB :D
 
Mike007 - I find running to be excellent exercise and I'll happily run for 35 mins or for 5 miles but not at the same time ;) It's also a much cheaper and easier option than the gym!

Kez1001 - my instructor got one of her pupils sitting on a Swiss ball instead of an office chair for periods at work to increase her hip flexibility. Apparently she got some funny looks but it did help a lot!
 
dont have a swiss ball in the house but can sit on my step sons space hopper to watch t.v - do you think that will help? lol :P
 
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