What 'off horse' exercises do you do?

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Mrs C

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Interested to know what exercises you do to help your riding and in particular any specific hip ones exercises? I do pilates but still have tight hips. I was contemplating signing up for one of these flexibility/stretching online classes - anyone tried these?
Thanks
 
Rider Pilates with Jess is fabulous. She often does a free 5 day course to start you off. Genuinely, not only have I been more flexible, I also have a stack more core strength.

I have also done the Hyperbolic stretching, that is good too.

I also swim 3 X a week and cycle.
 
I go to a personal trainer twice a week - I'm very lucky that she's horsey (ex-jockey), has her own small gym and is a 2 minute walk away so I have no excuse not to get out of bed and go! Paying in advance helps too ;) She's transformed my core and general strength, I think I'd have really struggled with Chilli if I didn't have the core to sit to his pogo canter and occasional antics.
 
I absolutely swear by Sydney Houdyshell's YouTube channel - it's free and there a 5x new workouts a week. She also has a tonne of guided stretching videos too. As far as I understand it, tight hips are often linked to having weak glutes and a weak core, and sometimes tightness in the hip flexors isn't tightness as much as it is weakness - so doing all-round strengthening workouts can really help - then followed up with stretching.

Pilates was also good, but don't have the £££ or time to keep doing that in person whilst also eventing. So doing the free workouts at home slots into my life much better.
 
None at present though I should. Do occasionally do a bit of running so I’m not out of breathe showing the horse in hand. Will look at the ones mentioned in this thread as it’s a soggy weekend so good time to start again.
 
None beyond yard chores (wouldn’t have time, yard takes 3.5 hours a day or more). I find riding keeps me fit enough to run next to my daughter for lead rein jumping and to swim if I want in the summer. I am hypermobile though, so ride to tighten everything up - no need to increase flexibility.
 
I do online equestrian yoga/pilates/strength training programme.

I also run x 2-3 a week, cycle x 2-3 a week and also do weight sessions about the same frequency. To save time, I try to double up sessions so will run or cycle and then do a weight or strength session or run and then cycle.

I'd love to be one of those people that doing stable jobs keeps me riding fit but sadly it doesn't 🤣
 
Mrs C said:
Interested to know what exercises you do to help your riding and in particular any specific hip ones exercises? I do pilates but still have tight hips. I was contemplating signing up for one of these flexibility/stretching online classes - anyone tried these?
Thanks
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In my recent magazine they recommended learning how to stand with your legs crossed and then going down to the floor with cross knees and then rising up again from the floor in that position. They say that if you carry out this exercise every day you will get better at it. There is an 80 - 90% less incidence of arthritis in the hips in China due to their population taking this cross legged seating position throughout the day.
 
I know it's not modern or using personal trainers but I used to do Ballet exercises to keep my hips supple. I suppose it's just another form of gentle stretching.

I can still as a pensioner do the 5 ballet leg/foot positions and high(ish) kick my legs up forward and back (but I have to hold on now to balance)

When I've been to the osteo she complains my hips are almost too loose.
 
I do a few sessions a week of exercises for my hips specifically but also concur with someone further up the thread- 99% of hip tightness is caused by lazy bum muscles so you need to work to switch them on!

Really basic things like squats, doing bridge, clams etc. really make a difference to my hip pain and how I sit on a horse.
 
I’ve just started online hyperbolic stretching this week. I’m enjoying it. Only eight minutes per day six days per week for four weeks. I was quite bendy already but it’s supposed to be suitable for any age and any ability. It was a one-off payment of €31 for unlimited access and there are various courses to choose from.
 
I don't recommend stretching programmes. I'm sure they must address the strength side of it but it's not talked about enough, muscles work in pairs and stretching alone can be harmful.

I recommend a one to one assessment wherever possible, in person is the ideal but there are some amazing people working online. I recommend Equimech in NI, Blue House Pilates in Teesside, and other trainers trained by the Equestrian Fitness Institute.

Activate Your Seat is a good programme and I do recommend it especially to those who can see Maeve in person for an assessment but I'd still generally direct to the others I mentioned.

I see the difference in riders.
 
Second Jess at Riders Pilates. I took up the 5 day free challenge and then signed up for the 3 for 2 follow on courses. She is going to do another 5 day free session imminently and is well worth trying. My pelvis was lopsided and I had very tight hip flexors but since doing her exercises I’m actually level in the saddle and have lost the tightness on one side.
 
I do something called the Simplistic Mobility Method and it has completely sorted my chronic lower back pain, it has a really great online, supportive community too with people from all different sports and at all different levels.
 
For strength work, I do a mix of power lifting and body building including a range of unilateral exercises. I also run and cycle (on a turbo trainer mostly, as I don't really like going out on the roads). I use to boulder, but currently have dodgy elbows so have stopped that. I do a mix of mobility drills and some gymnastics exercises. I'm thinking about getting back into Brazilian Jiu jitsu.
 
I'm just getting back into fitness, I've asked chatGPT to put a weekly plan together for the things I'd like to work on 😂😂😂

but I'm going to add yoga and reactive training in the mix for those rest days
 
Many years ago when we rode dinosaurs point to pointing ,I would run 7 miles a night .As I got older (30 ish) I just used to run long distances. In late 40 s this was replaced by walking up steps (approx. 500 ft ) then down a long slope back . Might do this 2 or 3 times. None of this improved my abysmal riding. In my late 50,s Bob registered his protest of my riding by using me as a lawn dart. I was reduced to step ups . Step up onto the dumper step down ,step up into the tractor ,step down ,step up (and drag my self the rest of the way ) into the BGT ,(big green truck) Fall out of BGT. I am truly fortunate that the only time I am without pain is while I am on Bob.We stroll out hacking ,and never ever mention THAT fence (made the Pardubice taxis look like a warm up fence at the ponyclub)we survived and have witnesses to the fact lol. In horse years Bob is still younger than me (a mere 54 in human terms but I am pushing 68) We both hit 75 together . I strongly suspect that Roger Mc Goughs poem was written for the pair of us.
 
Rider fitness has come a LONG way since then @Bob notacob . The guys I recommend even look at optical and vestibular systems to check functionality and proprioception, so often it's not that a muscle is weak it's that it's not firing for some reason.

A very senior RWYM instructor had always had to work much harder on one rein than the other, the coach assessed her and found that her eyes could look further to the side one way than the other. This meant her whole life she'd been rotating one way more than the other and was doing the same on the horse. Some simple eye drills were all she needed, transformative.

It's why I never recommend simply going to a pilates class or getting fit by running, cycling etc.
 
That's interesting sbloom, recently went to a local rider straighteness demo and the lady was very good and discussed general rider fitness she also mentioned dominant eye affecting our riding.....who knew 🤷‍♀️
She did show us a few exercises to do
 
tda said:
That's interesting sbloom, recently went to a local rider straighteness demo and the lady was very good and discussed general rider fitness she also mentioned dominant eye affecting our riding.....who knew 🤷‍♀️
She did show us a few exercises to do
Click to expand...

I suspect she might have worked with Dave of the Equestrian Fitness Institute...he has a few trainers out there now, I work with ones from NI and Teesside especially. You also have Lottie Hutchinson in Catterick whose company name I can never remember, she's very good, very in depth in a slightly narrower area than the other trainers, but highly recommended.
 
Quigleyandme said:
I’ve just started online hyperbolic stretching this week. I’m enjoying it. Only eight minutes per day six days per week for four weeks. I was quite bendy already but it’s supposed to be suitable for any age and any ability. It was a one-off payment of €31 for unlimited access and there are various courses to choose from.
Click to expand...
do you have a link please? I've had a couple come up on FB but would prefer one that someone recommends.
 
I've done all sorts of exercise over the years but it's only been in the last few years that i've worked with someone who has helped me "understand my body". I really wish I'd had this sort of help when I was younger. Basically I do a couple of pilates sessions each week but so much of it is focused on recognising my body's strengths and weaknesses, why I find some things difficult and others easy, what I am doing to compensate for injuries and what I can do to change things so I am straighter etc. Not all exercise is equal and tbh i think a great deal of what I used to do was counter productive because it was competitive and encouraged me to work my body too hard in the wrong way for me.
 
I ride two most days, with three on DIY.

I do interval training (walk/run) with the dog every other night (and obviously he gets walked otherwise - border collie so proper walking, not a wander round the park) and I spend about 3 hours on a Saturday rapier fencing.

I also do a bit of boxing training (punch bag not sparring), drills with swords and archery during the week.

None of that is specifically to help with my riding, if anything it’s to help with the fencing, but fitness, and working on proprioception / control / balance does help with the riding.
 
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