As the show season here in MB has come to an end, I’ve been putting lots of energy this week into developing my strength training routine again. Yes I know I’m moving to another country in less then a week.. but I plan on keeping up with this while I’m working overseas.

The first exercise I do is called a reverse lunge. This exercise works your glute (butt), calves, quads, and hips. It’s a very good strength exercise for balance as well. I do this with my back leg elevated (about 1.5-2 ft is good, I usually use a picnic table bench or step). The picture shows a regular lunge. You should go down to approx 90 degrees. But, if this is too hard on your knees go as fas as you can. I do 3 sets of 12 on each side. Start with less reps if you are just starting out with this exercise (maybe 8 for the first couple weeks). 

Next I do side plank leg lifts. Side plank is probably the hardest exercise I have to do. Especially on my weak side. I started out doing the “half version”.

This exercise is excellent for your core (as all plank exercises are). It also strengthens your hips and outer legs, OH and balance. All key in riding. And daily life. The pictures show the half version (with “clam shell lifts”) and the other picture is the full version with leg lifts. I try to do about 3 sets of 10 reps on each side. I am now doing the full version, completing 10 lifts on my good side, and usually 6 on my bad side. I am working on strengthening my bad side by holding the side plank position longer on that side. Once again if you’re just starting out with this exercise, either do the half version for the first while until you feel ready to move up OR just to the full side plank with NO leg lifts. Even without the leg lifts the core will be strengthened! It’s important to work up at a pace where you aren’t going to overdo it.

I now move onto squats. I try to alternate muscle groups. I do a set of each exercise and then start over from the beginning. Squats are a pretty basic exercise. They also simulate the posting movement. When doing squats you want to be sure your knee isn’t going past your toe when you’re at the bottom of the squat. Also, 90 degrees is the general guideline for how far you should squat. Remember to keep your back straight and your stomach tight throughout all these exercises. Oh, and shoulders back! I do 3 sets of 20 squats. If you have access to a balance board or bosu ball, doing squats with the added challenge of balance is EXCELLENT for your core, and it definitely benefits your riding ability.

Next I do basic plank with leg lifts. This strengthens my core, glutes, hips, and the muscles surrounding my SI joint.

If you aren’t able to hold a proper plank position for more that 45 seconds without bursting into tears (it happens. Been there) Then focus on building up that strength first before adding leg lifts in. Same as with side planks. I do 3 sets of 10 reps EACH LEG. Proper plank position (as shown in pictures), your back should be even with your butt and you should be keeping your stomach muscles (core) tight. Be careful you aren’t clenching your butt too much. You want to focus on your core muscles supporting your body weight. DO NOT let your back sag towards the ground. If you need to, start out with half plank, with your knees touching the ground. Same thing though, keep your back straight and tummy tight. Work those core muscles!

Next I do bridge exercises. This is again for my back, hips, and core. Also hamstrings.

Keeping my core tight, as always, I also add in leg holds.

Your hips should stay even through this whole process. This builds stability in your hip muscles. I hold each leg straight for 10 seconds, and then switch. I do 3 sets of this 4 times each leg. The basic form of this is just holding the bridge position (first picture), and then moving your hips slightly up and down about 15-20 times. You want to be sure your back is staying immobile and your hip and glute muscles are doing all the work.

Last but certainly not least in this routine is push ups. FYI, push ups are less about arm strength and more about core strength. Certainly they do benefit your arms, but the are much more beneficial to your back and core muscles! They work all the same muscles as the plank exercises, but include the arms (if you can). Push ups are notoriously dreaded. My suggestion: If you can’t do full push ups, don’t immediately drop down to the half push up (or “girl” push up). Instead, focus on holding the starting position, with the same guidelines as a proper plank. As your core gets stronger, bend your arms to 45 degrees and work on holding the position at the lower angle. Then go to 90. Then work on pushing yourself up again. Once you can to one push up, try doing two. Etc etc. Even if you can only do 3 reps of two push ups, that’s a great starting point. In may this year, I couldn’t do one. Now I can do 3 sets of 15 full push ups. With time and determination, anyone and everyone can do push ups.

I always do atleast 20 minutes of cardio to warm up (running, biking, dancing around my house (only if I’m home alone)). Also, I do these exercises every second day. Or, three to four times a week. On the off days I either do a longer cardio work out, or just have a day off. During the busy riding season I kept up with these exercises, but at a lower intensity because of the numerous weaknesses I have in my hip, shoulder and back. You have to be careful not to overdo it. You should “feel the burn” while you’re exercising, and definitely be fatigued afterwards. Maybe even sore the next day or so. But, if you’re so sore you can’t function you’re pushing it too hard. Also don’t expect to see immediate results with any fitness routine. It takes time and dedication to see results. But it’s definitely worth it!

This is just one of my routines. I have lots of other exercises and stretches that I do as well. These, however, are the ones I’m focusing on right now. I have noticed a huge difference in my riding skill since I started some of these strengthening exercises in the spring.

You know that moment where you feel everything you’ve been working on for so long just click into place? That describes this weekend. Perfectly.

Schooling rounds Thursday night were like a dream. We were there in plenty of time, the rings weren’t busy, and Will jumped around to everything on a nice gallop. We even got striding on all the schooling lines, usually we work on adding to slow Will down, but he was on such a good pace we were able to gallop up the 8/9 stride and the 6 stride with no problems.

I went into my first class Friday, picked up a gallop, and we went around the course like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was our 2’9 Jr. Ami class, we placed third in this round. Then we moved into our Sr. Low division. Same thing. Walked into the ring, picked up the beautiful gallop Will has finally figured out how to do, and had the rounds of our life. Placing fourth in the first round, 2nd in the handy, and first in the under saddle. The first round we would of placed higher except I made a tiny mistake coming into the two-stride (yes there was a two stride, and yes it was fantastic). I got him into a tight spot at the first jump and then in between I had a slight lean to the right. He of course just ran out the side, which my lean didn’t help. But, we went right back to it and he got through it beautifully. We were reserve in the Sr. Low Division, out of about 10 good horses and riders! Willard was a very good pony.

Saturday went just as perfect. Our first class was the 2’9 Jr Ami Handy round, which we won! Then the undersaddle, where we placed 2nd for another Reserve Champion title in that division. Then we went into our Open Low division. Where we had AMAZING rounds, especially the handy. I came out grinning just because it went SO nicely. We placed 4th in each class, the low, handy and the u/s for that division. We were up against some pretty good company, and everyone had great rounds.

It was a perfect way to end off our season. We could’ve competed Sunday in the Hunter Challenge, or the Derby (which had added fences such as a big castle jump and the bank, vern, and grog from the jumper ring), but it was decided that we should end on a good note and not push our luck by trying to do the derby challenge with all it’s new jumps which we’ve never done before. As much as I would’ve loved to try it (we were allowed to school over everything in the morning before the show), I know it was just as worth it to come home and be happy with how well we did and wait for next season to move up. I couldn’t be happier with my horse and everything we’ve accomplished so far.

I found a book!

I got this book a few years ago at RMWF after helping work at the Horse Country Magazine booth. I never really looked at it until today, when I was feeling inspired to do more than just hack around. Flipping through I found a lot of exercises, starting with just poles on the ground, to grid work, to more challenging things such as introducing bank jumps and fixing common problems (running out included). So, I picked an exercise and set off across the yard to set up my jumps and poles and then headed out to get my horse who was loving all the grass outside, but not loving the bugs.

Willard is still the outsider here at home. The other three horses we have keep him atleast 10 feet away from them in the big pasture. They must be jealous of his mad skills. Or just scared of how big he is. Both?

Anyway, back to the point. The exercise I picked for today’s ride was “The Partially Elevated Trot Grid”. A very simple exercise consisting of four trot poles, each one elevated on one side. I started out with just basic trot poles, and actually didn’t get around to the exercise until 40 minutes into the ride as I had to get Will’s focus back on me and not on how high his head to get in the air looking for the other horses. My refocusing strategy today was very blunt. Since all Will wanted to do was prance around like a fool and over collect his neck, I decided that if he wanted to show off his energy I was going to use up some energy. So, we did laps. This gave me a great chance to work on my two point and keeping my upper body back and leg steady as we galloped for a good 15-20 minutes. After a few laps each way, I began asking him to do small collected canter circles on the short ends, and lengthen again on the long sides. Then I did serpentines with flying changes up and down the ring, then did some canter-halt-canter transitions, and then, when Will was finally ready to break to a trot, I did some more lengthen and shortening work around the whole ring. After this extensive refocusing/energy ridding warm up, he was much more compliant to what I wanted to do and much less worried about where his “friends” were.

This is the point where I started working the exercise. The benefits of this exercise are, that by raising the alternate ends of the poles, a definite straight line to ride straight through the centre of the grid is defined. This allows you to concentrate and establish your calmness, balance, and rhythm before moving on to other exercise. It also gives your horse a chance (if they meet the first elevated pole on an off-stride) to figure out how to adjust their step to stop over the poles cleanly.

The first few times I went over the grid, Will banged his way through, slightly surprised at the newly raised poles. But, after a few times through (going away from the gate) he was stepping neatly over each pole. Then I switched directions and started coming home. This changed the scenario a bit. Will was now refocusing on where the other ponies were and not really seeing the grid ahead of him. So, after a few times of him rushing through and not paying attention, I added in tight turns, or stops, or walk transitions, to get him concentrating on mea gain. Horses are sometimes like boys (ages 8-19) who have a gameboy in their hands. You have to do something dramatic to get their attention. Throw a loop into their plans every once in a while.

I used the grid as part of a circle, getting Will to bend around my leg and coming to the centre of the pole off the curve of the circle. This got him listening in no time, and I was able to end with him in a gorgeous frame and calmly chewing the bit and licking his lips. Finally. I got through to him. 

36 days until I get into a car with my Uncle, grandparents and mom and head off to BC for my cousin’s wedding. I leave Carman on September 5th, and a week after that I fly from Kelowna, BC after celebrating my 19th birthday with my grand-parents, to Vancouver- where I spend 8 hours hanging out at the airport waiting for my 8:30 pm flight to…. AUCKLAND!!!! I fly out of Canada on a Wednesday (Sept. 14), and get to the other side of the world at 6:30am NZ time on Friday morning. It’s getting close! And starting to feel much more realistic!

If all goes as planned, I’ll be picked up at the airport in Auckland and taken to my new home and job for the next 8 or so months at LC Horse Farms (www.lchorsefarm.com).

I have no idea what to expect, and therefore no idea what to buy or pack for my trip. Of course, breeches and a helmet, boots, muck boots (cause I know I’ll be doing lots of that!), running shoes, and all the other necessities. You have no idea how excited I am to pursue my dream in the horse industry and travel while gaining experience in the industry.

I had my second appointment at Legacy yesterday with Dr. Pethrick (chiro) who assessed me again. I swear, I’ve got the assessment routine so down I can assess myself by now. He said that with my shoulder he wants me to do some work activating my lat muscles, which are the big muscles in the back that keep your shoulders down and back, because

when I raise my arms above my head when being assessed my tendency is to scrunch my shoulders up in compensation for not using the lat muscle. He also gave me a couple exercises to improve the stability and movement in my hips. Links to these are at the bottom of the page. The third link is the exercise for “waking up” the lats.

After assessing me he did some active release on my hip and shoulder. It ended not being as painful as I thought, my AT has done worse anyway. Basically it was deep tissue massage, while moving the joint and muscles being worked on. He also did a chiro adjusted my hip. I must say, he is very good at his job. So far, besides my regular AT, he’s one of the only ones I’ve felt confident in and I found it easy to talk to him. I’m not always the most trustworthy with doctors.. I’ve been through a few who don’t listen well. He told me to come back in two weeks, unless everything has been phenomenal and I don’t feel I need to.

One day at a time.

So, as a result of all this good news and pain free week I’ve had, I’ve moved back into my strength training routine and I’ll start back riding full time again on Monday. My AT said she’d help me set up a strength fitness plan, so I’ll go in and see her after competing Thursday. Now we get to see if this painlessness lasts once I start working my body again. The real test will be Heart of the Continent, which starts Thursday and goes through till Sunday. As I recall, the last show wasn’t so great on the pain front and that was only a three day show. But, one day at a time. That’s my motto and I’m sticking to it.

What have we learned from this? Equestrian is definitely a sport and definitely requires cross-training to develop and maintain the muscles necessary to ride properly AND effectively. Anybody who says otherwise is a fool.

(http://www.functionalmovement.com/exercises/chop_from_half_kneeling_with_fmt)

(http://www.functionalmovement.com/exercises/lift_from_half_kneeling_with_fmt)

(http://www.functionalmovement.com/exercises/reach_roll_lift_assisted_with_fmt)

 

Got to Legacy Sports Clinic half an hour early today, the same time the receptionist arrived. So I waited in my car like a dork for another 15 minutes, then got out and managed to set off my own car alarm in the process. Embarrassing moment of the day number 1! I then spent the next hour with Dr. Priestly, who assessed my shoulder, back, hips, neck and knees. He came to the conclusion that all my nerves, joints, and ligaments work and move beautifully, and other then the minor issues I’ve had with my lower back and shoulder, there is nothing wrong with me. He got me in the one of Legacy’s two chiropractors for Active Release treatment this friday, which is basically a combination of acupuncture, chiro stuff, and really deep tissue massage. He said it’s a bit painful, but usually effective. He also said that because all my joints are so flexible, I need to up my strength training a shittonne. Well, he didn’t use those words exactly, but that was his point.

So, I have 39 days left to complete my transformation into superwoman.

I called my AT after my assessment and we discussed what comes next. She agrees with the Active Release, so I’ll be doing that Friday afternoon. And she is going to help me get back into strength training. We plan to start off where we were before things got bad again, and work from there. I’m going to start biking, plus aquafit classes starting tomorrow and then add weight training back into my schedule. We’re moving Willard back home to Carman next week, so things should get easier with him here. It’ll free up a lot of time that I previously spent driving 45 minutes there and back to ride 3-5 times a week. Let’s not mention the gas money.

I’ll need to focus a lot of time strengthening my legs, as the equestrian sport demands a lot from our legs and core muscles. While I already have decently strong legs, there is always room to improve. Especially in my hips. So lots of squats, bridges, lunges, and balance work are in my near future. I’m actually excited to get back into an intense training routine- there’s nothing nicer then seeing improvements in your riding when you’ve been doing extra strength work on the side. Because it really does help. I believe every rider should have an exercise routine outside of just working horses, even if you ride everyday seven days a week, there are some muscles that need more attention then what you do on the horses back, and you’re equitation will thank you for every squat, plank, bridge, sit up, lunge or core work out you do.

Long time no post, eh?

I worked with Charlene all weekend. My Saturday lesson went very well. Mom brought Monty up and hacked over from Bluebear with me.  I galloped for about 3/4 of a mile with Willard, and he was hardly even puffing. It’s nice to have a superbly fit horse sometimes! Since we did most of our warm up hacking over, Charlene just had us to some basic warm up and then we got right into jumping work.  We did a two stride exercise consisting of a pole to a gate vertical.  This exercise really helped us establish our pace and enabled us to see the distance every time coming to the gate. Then we galloped to a wall off the diagonal going away from home after the two stride gate. He backed off the first time, but I rode him forward and he jumped it after his moment of hesitation. We then continued onto a log vertical off the other diagonal, which he also handled well.

Then it was time for line work. We started with a small oxer in going away, with four strides to a pole out. Then built up to a vertical out.  Charlene made up a plan for me.  If I got in deep to the oxer in, I was to quietly sit and hold his stride and wait for the 5 strides out. If I got a medium distance in, I relaxed my hold and let him open his stride a little. If I got a long distance I didn’t touch him. Throughout the exercise, I don’t think we had one ugly distance in or out. I credit this to the first exercise we did, because our pace was superb the whole lesson. After working this exercise for a while, we moved onto the single wall jump, this time going the other way.  Facing home the wall was white with white poles on top, about 3ft. White jumps look more impressive to horses.  Willard decided to drift out and away from the jump the first time, and the second time (which he had no reason to do). The second time, however, I caught him and he got a good smack.  After this he was happy to jump over the scary white wall.

Our lesson today was probably the single best lesson I’ve had to date. We worked on much of the same exercises as Saturday, except the jumps were a hole or two bigger. The boy went to every single jump perfectly the first time, and continued this trend.  We had our pace, and I was able to see every distance and make good decisions in the line and throughout the course. Usually my lessons run and hour and a half, this lesson however lasted 30 minutes. The only way I can describe how things felt is perfect. Just perfect. Hopefully we can carry this on to the show next weekend! That’d be fantastic, and it’d certainly make up for the last show.