Improve your riding on the ground to enhance your seat, ensure leg stability, or even improve your position over jumps? It is possible thanks to fitness.
Training program for riders
Horse riding is one of the sports that uses the most muscles. Staying a few weeks without riding is enough to notice all the muscle soreness you can experience once back on a horse. Therefore, whether you are a beginner, amateur, or even a professional, working on your physical condition is useful to improve your riding overall.
Cross-training / fitness to progress on horseback
Olivia Minicucci, rider and nutrition coach, explains in this article the benefits of physical preparation as a complement to your riding practice. It is out of passion but also to perform better on horseback that Olivia chose cross-training. Discover all her advice and exercises to improve your riding.
“When it comes to improving your equestrian performance, physical conditioning and cross-training are a real advantage. They allow riders to isolate key elements of their riding without spending hours on horseback.”
From a physical point of view, the rider must have balance, stability, endurance, and muscular strength. Keep in mind that some of these factors can become more or less important depending on the number of horses and training sessions you do per day. For example, a horse that is dull to the leg requires more stability in the legs than a hotter horse, where a strong upper body is more useful. It is therefore important to adapt your training to your needs and those of your horse in order to reach your goals.
Not sure where to start? Take a look at the exercises below and see which ones match your needs.
Exercises based on your needs on horseback
Mix the different exercises to create a personalized training program for riders. However, be careful not to overdo it and to perform the movements correctly in order to avoid injury. If cross-training is new to you, start slowly and go at your own pace. You will progress fast enough!
Improve your balance on horseback by working the core
Working the core is necessary to ensure your stability over jumps and during landings. Here are a few exercises for core training.
The plank, a core exercise on the elbows where the body is straight and aligned, as well as leg raises on your back where straight legs are lifted alternately, help engage the abs, which must stay tight. Reverse crunches, where the rocking motion of the legs also works the core, help improve your stability over jumps.
Stabilize your leg on horseback by working the legs
Generating impulsion and transmitting a clear signal to the horse is essential. Here is how to strengthen your legs with the following exercises.
Using a step, calf raises, which consist of standing on your toes and lowering back down, sumo squats, and lunges help work leg endurance and improve leg stability.
Gain stability on horseback by working the back
On horseback, having a strong and engaged back provides stability in dressage and over jumps. This is particularly important when shortening the stride. It also helps improve shock absorption, which contributes to reducing chronic back pain.
Seated rows using a machine at the gym, back extensions consisting of lifting the legs and arms while lying face down, as well as deadlifts using a bar placed on the ground, all work the back muscles and help strengthen your back.
Have a good position on horseback by working the upper body
Improving your posture requires shoulders and a chest that are both toned and strong. This will help you with any horse. To build these muscles, here is a series of exercises:
The Arnold press, which consists of extending and bending the arms using a press, the reverse fly, which consists of spreading the arms with the torso horizontal, as well as the Svend press, will help tone you up and make it easier to straighten yourself on horseback.
Thank you Olivia for all this advice! You can learn more on the athlete’s Instagram account: @_minifitness
You now have all the keys to improve your riding without getting on a horse! You can massage yourself at the end of the day and or after each session to avoid muscle soreness. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day can also be an effective solution to prevent it. Finally, you can take cold showers to help prevent soreness.
Olivia also talks to us about the benefits of nutrition:
the impact of nutrition on her physical preparation
That is all for today! See you very soon for a new article focusing on stress and emotion management.
