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ahhhh! Help me strenghten my lower back!

Well you could try my method. Buy the Pilates book, put it on your nightstand or under your pillow, feel great the next morning!

No really, it sounds like you would benefit from some “professional” exercise starters. With your back history you don’t want to be the do-it-yourselfer. Do you still have the stretching exercises I sent you way back when?

For under saddle work, I suggest you do your walking, trotting warm-up totally in two-point. Don’t let your butt touch the saddle for as long as you can stand. Grab a little mane if you have to. Be sure not to pinch with your knees and do let the weight fall down the back of your leg. Do your transitions from this position and everything. Not only will it secure your base of support in your lower leg, it will strengthen and secure your upper body.

Your finishing picture really doesn’t look bad. I wonder if you are throwing yourself to far forward as you jump. Unless you are doing the Puissance Wall , from your two point the horse should be rising to meet you and you should not have to close your hip angle much more.

Good luck!

“The older I get, the better I used to be, but who the heck cares!”

Yoga! It will help ALL your muscles and it’s a nice way to stretch out your entire body. I’m always more secure and flexible in teh saddle following a session. There are a bunch of great tapes out there that can be watched and mimicked in the privacy of your own home…

Fairweather,

As a Gold Card member of the Bad Back Clique (i.e. have had TWO surgeries, what joy), I got to give you a serious caution about any and all ab-back-core exercises. They have to be done EXACTLY right or you can re-injure the weakened area. Pilates, yoga, exercise balls, they can be wonderful but they can be harmful. Find a couple of hours, find a good PT (did I already tell you about Michelle Altemus?) and get the PT to show you exacly how to do things, with hands-on corrections. Then do not deviate an inch! That means, do not push yourself to do one more crunch at the cost of putting just a teensy-weensy little arch in the low back, you follow me? The Clique will be watching you!–s.

To strengthen you abdominals torso muscle groups, try the Pilate method. You can get lots of tapes on it. I’ve found that many of their exercises help. Also, yoga.

In general, cross training and free weights help as well.