Rider fitness

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TWMD

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So I did my first event of the year this weekend. My boy is an old hand and cruises round the cross country, however he can be quite strong and the course was quite hilly, so I had to work quite hard to hold him together down the hills as there was usually a jump at the bottom.

By the time I was 2/3 of the way round I was absolutely knackered! I (used to!) consider myself pretty fit, I regularly run 10kish distances, I gym 4/5 times a week, including 1 or 2 spin classes, plus riding.
But I find cross country riding really hard work!

Does anyone have any tips for how to improve my fitness/strength that will help my riding? I already try and work on my core using things like planks, bicycle crunches etc. I think my core is still not strong enough though, as when I get tired I can feel myself collapsing in the middle!

Quite depressing when I compare myself to Ollie Townsend who took 5 horses round the BE100 back to back yesterday on the hottest day of the year!
 
What kind of gym work do you do? Are you really pushing yourself when it comes to weights? Plenty of squats / lunges?

There are lots of really good core exercises, crunches and planks are a good start but different exercises target different muscles, some of the deep core muscles need very specific exercises
 
I know this sounds like a stupid question, but are you breathing? You sound like you are reasonably fit, so you should be fine to ride one horse cross country, I find with riders the first cause of getting rapidly tired is the rider holding their breath, so really think if you are actually breathing properly as you are going round.

Of course, yoga/pilates type work to strengthen your core is always great, but I think one horse riders struggle as some of the riding muscles are very specific to riding, so you will be at a disadvantage from a rider who is doing multiple horses, but first of all, remember to breathe!
 
Echo the above on breathing. I too consider myself to be rather fit, I run about 20 miles a week and cycle almost 100, gym 3x per week too doing mainly strength training. My performance increased tenfold after a session with my PT who taught me proper breathing exercises!
 
Sasanaskyex said:
Echo the above on breathing. I too consider myself to be rather fit, I run about 20 miles a week and cycle almost 100, gym 3x per week too doing mainly strength training. My performance increased tenfold after a session with my PT who taught me proper breathing exercises!
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I'm sure this is my problem, please can you describe the exercises and do you do them on the horse?
 
It's quite a complicated art, I suffered terribly with stitches which always stopped me far before my lungs or legs did. The one that works for me is rhythmic breathing so I inhale for 4 running strides, breathe out for three - but find whatever you're most comfortable with just keep it consistent - and always inhale through the mouth as it gets more oxygen in. The key is to really relax and keep it rhythmical. It's really difficult to explain over writing and not demonstrate but you need to learn to breathe from your stomach to allow your rib cage to expand and get more oxygen into your lungs. Also keep your shoulders and chest open, head up and back straight which is good for your riding position anyway. It's just about maximising your oxygen intake.
There is also a method whereby you switch your inhale/exhales with each landing foot and don't keep it the same i.e. exhale when landing on right foot and switch it to the left foot but I found this a bit too complicated.
I practice breathing in bed at night when laying down take really deep 'belly breaths' or vacuums so you know what it feels like.
I usually forget to do all of this when riding a horse as there is so much else to think about but when I run I can switch off and honestly all I think about is breathing. Once I get really exhausted half way around a xc course I start trying to count my breaths but I do admit it is much harder to do while riding.
 
Thank you. I particularly find it difficult when doing jump exercises, too much else to think about.😎
 
Echo the comments about no breathing. I am not unfit but I am always out of breath when jumping as I hold my breath!
 
Again as the above, maybe try quietly singing whilst going around if you feel the breathing isn’t working as well, grand old duke York or something that matches your horses footfalls..
 
Also, don't compare yourself to Oli Townend. That's not a reflection on you but he is in a league of his own. I read an interview that he did a while back where he said he regularly rides 14 horses daily and anywhere up to 30 horses a day 7 days a week - and I bet he isn't just going for a jolly hack either. So a competition day where he *only* has to take 5 horses round is probably a walk in the park for him.
 
Sasanaskyex said:
Also, don't compare yourself to Oli Townend. That's not a reflection on you but he is in a league of his own. I read an interview that he did a while back where he said he regularly rides 14 horses daily and anywhere up to 30 horses a day 7 days a week - and I bet he isn't just going for a jolly hack either. So a competition day where he *only* has to take 5 horses round is probably a walk in the park for him.
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And he lost two stone for Badminton and upped his fitness further.

Agree with the breathing as what you are doing fitness wise should be way more than enough for one XC round. Also if you were tense as he's pulling like a train and you are thinking "sh*t am I going to be able to steer/slow down" can be incredibly tiring and affect your breathing vs. riding in a relaxed manner.
 
Thanks all, the point about breathing is a very good one...I honestly don't remember whether I breathed or not! Maybe that's it. I wasn't particularly out of puff when I finished it was more my muscles that had given up on me. He was very strong, and yesterday I woke up with quite badly pulled muscles in my lower back which probably doesn't help. I do have a bad habit of rounding my back, probably due to weak extensor muscles.

A friend has recommended HIIT classes, might try those.

Oli is insane! I wanted to dive in the water jump just walking the course on Saturday, it was so hot!
 
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