Building back strength... mine!

[Meredith_Clark]

Now that Maryland is starting to defrost, I need to get my butt in gear and start riding again. I had a stretch of 2 years when I moved my horses home (no ring), started my first teaching job, and wasn’t able to ride consistently or seriously.

Now I’ve moved them back to a boarding barn and I have an indoor and outdoor and a good trainer helping get my horse out of “feral” mode. While she works with my show horse, I’ve been riding my other horse who is an x-camp horse, a nice calm Appy to get my balance, coronation, and strength back.

It is sort of like riding a bike, it’s all coming back to me… but I’m having problems with my back. My leg strength came back very quickly and I can do 2-point fairly well. But as I ride my back gets very tired and I start to hunch. Spot doesn’t pull, he goes around on a nice loose rein, so it’s all my strength.

What can help me focus on back strength and staying straight? I wasn’t sure if someone lunging me so I’m not using my hands would help. I’m taking him to a little schooling show and we’re only doing a walk trot class or so, but I don’t want to look like sack of potatoes!

This is my Spotters by the way!

[OverandOnward]

[QUOTE=Meredith Clark;7504325]
… to get my balance, coronation, and strength back. …[/QUOTE]

That’s what I want … I want my coronation back. Whoever took it, please return it. Oh wait - I’m being told there never was one … well drat, I thought I definitely had a coronation at some point in my past …

:winkgrin:

[it was too absolutely priceless to resist - OP, I hope you find your coronation, too, I know you deserve it :yes: ]

(p.s. try holding weights (not too much to start) while doing air-sits, hip joint over heels as much as you can balance, holding yourself up mostly with your butt muscles - those support the back )

[JER]

[QUOTE=Meredith Clark;7504325]
I wasn’t sure if someone lunging me so I’m not using my hands would help. [/QUOTE]

First off, I’m quite angry about the ‘coronation’ malaprop because it made me laugh, and I’m recovering from surgery and ohgod it hurts to laugh. Such entitlement, wanting the return of one’s crown.

Then your message becomes muddled. You envision yourself being lunged; however, it’s unclear if there’s a horse involved. I don’t want to think about what you’re doing with your hands.

More seriously, for back and overall core strength, I think this is one exercise gizmo that is totally worth it: Lifeline Power Wheel. You do have to do the exercises carefully (start with minimal efforts) and with proper form (there’s a video) but it doesn’t take much time and you can keep it in your office and do short sessions when you have a few free minutes.

After you’ve built up some strength, you can use it 2-3x/week to maintain.

[Derby_Lyn_Farms]

I just saw a post on facebook about back strengthening. You think I can find it now? It was specific to riding too. I will keep looking for it.

[Derby_Lyn_Farms]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po01ke9kdDE&feature=share
I didn’t look through all these videos but maybe something in there.

There is also a book Pilates for Riders that looks interesting. I found some things when I searched Equestrian exercises on pinterest. Still not finding the one I wanted. Exercise balls seem to be popular.

[PonyFever]

I’ve been swimming to build up my core (swimming laps 2-3x’s per week). It makes me feel very flexible and “stretched out” afterwards. It works on my body symmetrically because if I’m not working both sides equally I won’t be swimming in a straight line. And it allows me to work on my stamina.

My children are swimming with me as well. My daughter is the lucky one who has been taking lessons this winter in a heated indoor (we still have over a foot of frozen, compacted snow on the ground (ugh!)) and I’ve noticed an improvement in her position and stability in her legs lower body. Also it’s great for isolating the movement and position of the upper body from the lower body.

Check out what your local pool has for adult classes and/or swim times. Our pool offers a fabulous “learn-to-swim” program for adults (where the goal is to learn to properly swim laps), swim coaching times for adults who are not at the masters level, as well as masters swim times. None of this has to be super expensive.

Pilates is also another good suggestion. I’ve done both but I’m enjoying swimming a lot more. Besides, swimming is more fun to do with the kids!

[bornfreenowexpensive]

It likely isn’t your back…it is your lack of core. There are TONS of exercises you can do for your core…both on and off the horse. Planks, sit ups, yoga, etc.

Find what works for you…and up your core strength off the horse and it will help you on.

Then make sure you stretch both before and after you ride.

[scubed]

What BFNE said. Your back gets sore because your core isn’t strong enough to support it. Pilates is great. There are lots of videos. These exercises, designed for cyclists are also excellent for riding muscles http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/8-core-exercises-for-cyclists
http://www.murdochmethod.com/the-core-of-the-matter/ may be too much of a specific program, but has some good thoughts. I like Pilates because it is more overall and alignment, not just strong central abs.

[frugalannie]

Man, I would think that balancing your crown while riding would build all the strength you could possibly need, once you get your coronation back.

Anyway, the fittest I’ve been as an adult was the result of trot sets in two point: Once to rehab a mare from a tendon injury (starting with two 2 minutes trots in a 30 minute walk and adding a minute to each every day until I was doing 30 minutes trotting in two point). The other time was getting another mare fit for long format. While I felt it in my back initially, as my core got stronger, that went away. I would make it a point to change the angle of my body while in 2-point as well.

As a kid, I had an instructor who would have us lean back in the saddle (on standing horses) until our shoulders touched behind the saddle and do sit-ups from that position without our legs leaving the ideal spot. THAT was a killer, and I’m quite sure my aging back would never allow it now (not to mention my OTTBs not thinking it’s a great idea).

[JER]

The back is part of the core. There seems to be some confusion here about this.

If you do a core muscle strengthening program, you will strengthen your back – provided the exercises are balanced through the various components of the core. This is where you have to be careful.

Take swimming, for example. Great exercise, but swimmers invariably do dry land exercises to keep their muscles in balance. Swimming tends to build the upper shoulder muscles and the front of the body rather than the back. You’ll find that your shoulders are creeping up toward your ears while the muscles along the spine in the mid-back go neglected. Not what you want for riding at all.

Nor is swimming a quick fix. Swimming takes a good long time to show any return (the technique issue is considerable) and it’s a major time suck on the average lifestyle. Drive to pool, change, swim, shower, change, drive home. I swim 4-5x week, BTW, and it’s the reason why I have to spend time on exercises that isolate my back and lower shoulder muscles.

Pilates also takes time, both in terms of doing and seeing returns. You need a proper instructor, you need to learn proper technique, the exercises start small and you build slowly. Great exercise it is. Also expensive, as you’ll need to do it several times per week.

The major obstacle for most people to exercise – or, in this case, supplemental training to support normal training – is time. The time for it simply doesn’t exist, and requiring additional hours per week makes it unfeasible.

I suggested the power wheel because you can keep it under your desk or next to the TV and use it for a 5-10 minute session 2-3x week and you’ll see improvement relatively quickly. That’s doable for most people.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Power wheel is good (I’m thinking of ordering one)…but so are doing just some of the basic moves (planks etc). A foam roller is also a great tool (and even cheaper).

Only thing that worrries me about tools like the power wheel is that your postion and form are still critical with these exercises. And unless you have worked with a good personal trainer and know the proper position you should be in…and know the signs of when you should stop v. when to push…you may hurt or strain yourself.

If you can swing a couple of sessions with a good PT…they can check your form and give you a plan. That is one of the best things. OP–there is a really good PT in Unionville/Coatesville (near the resturant The Whip) who works with a lot of riders. I can highly recommend her. But going to a Personal Trainer is expensive and takes time…similar to going to a riding lesson.

[subk]

I would add glutes into the equation as well. I’ve been working out with a guy for the last 2 years who is big on squats and related exercises and have found them extremely helpful to how effective I am in the saddle. When done correctly squats are actually very similar to your jumping postion!

[JER]

[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;7504913]
Only thing that worrries me about tools like the power wheel is that your postion and form are still critical with these exercises.[/QUOTE]

It must have slipped by you, but I did note in my first post the need for proper form, and I also linked to the Lifeline USA video that demonstrates proper form with and use of the Power Wheel.

Again, this is the video on YouTube. It’s very clear. If you do the exercises for the first few times in front of a mirror, you should be able to achieve proper form quite easily.

A plank series is also good but IMO, optimal form is more difficult to achieve and maintain than with the power wheel. The tendency with planks is to go for time rather than to focus on quality and maintaining alignment using the correct muscles.

For all-over bodyweight strength (now that sunk brought up glutes), I would also recommend a barre class if you have time for a class. About six months ago, my friend shanghaied me into doing a weekly class with her and the results are so much greater than I expected.

[Meredith_Clark]

[QUOTE=OverandOnward;7504481]
That’s what I want … I want my coronation back. Whoever took it, please return it. Oh wait - I’m being told there never was one … well drat, I thought I definitely had a coronation at some point in my past …

:winkgrin:

[it was too absolutely priceless to resist - OP, I hope you find your coronation, too, I know you deserve it :yes: ]

(p.s. try holding weights (not too much to start) while doing air-sits, hip joint over heels as much as you can balance, holding yourself up mostly with your butt muscles - those support the back )[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

That’s what happens when I post at 1:40am! Although, finding my coronation would absolutely help get that crazy horse of mine back in line!

I’ll look into the core exercises, I haven’t really been into working out hard core since college (my roommate was a Kines major), so that’s about 5 years without a trainers input at the gym.

[Meredith_Clark]

I added a picture of us.… I wasn’t wearing my crown at the time :winkgrin:

[Diamontaire]

What a cutie- and I have SERIOUSLY been thinking of gluing my tiara to my helmet.

[Foxtrot_s]

Remember the plank thread?? I’ve been doing that, but do not in any way have my goals set at three five minutes…I’ll settle for less.

I’m more to the thinking that an overall fitness plan is the best, but you do have to start small and proceed with small increments. A class is good for maintaining motivation. Core strength is the key to all fitness.