Human Fitness

[MoOTTBEventer]

I’m new here so Hello

Anyway, I’ve been searching all afternoon pretty much, and I’m not entirely sure this fits in this section, but I’m going to ask anyway

What kind of fitness/workout/nutrition “Plan” do you follow to keep yourself fit? Riding takes up a lot of my free time, but my boyfriend feels the need to go to the gym and if I’m going to be his “support system” and go with him in the evenings, I would like to focus on something that’s going to better my riding. I’ve heard pilates is good, strength training, I don’t go to the gym, ever, so any kind of ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I have an 11 year old OTTB I event with if that’s helpful information at all haha.

[dungrulla]

[QUOTE=MoOTTBEventer;8677799]
I’m new here so Hello

Anyway, I’ve been searching all afternoon pretty much, and I’m not entirely sure this fits in this section, but I’m going to ask anyway

What kind of fitness/workout/nutrition “Plan” do you follow to keep yourself fit? Riding takes up a lot of my free time, but my boyfriend feels the need to go to the gym and if I’m going to be his “support system” and go with him in the evenings, I would like to focus on something that’s going to better my riding. I’ve heard pilates is good, strength training, I don’t go to the gym, ever, so any kind of ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I have an 11 year old OTTB I event with if that’s helpful information at all haha.[/QUOTE]

I rock climb twice a week and found it greatly helps with core strength. It’s also pretty social and go-at-your-own-pace, which appeals to a lot of people.

[Palm_Beach]

If you are eventing, you need a whole body workout! Plus cardio.

[Scribbler]

Core work, balance, cardio.

If the gym has a personal trainer, book up an appointment. Go in ready to explain the kinds of moves that you make in riding, the muscles that you use, any weaknesses that you want to work on. Have the trainer suggest a plan. You will need something like this anyway if you just arrive at a gym for the first time (and so will BF) otherwise you will just be mucking around with no plan.

I did this at my local community center, gym trainer found it all quite interesting, but then I never followed up on it as I am tired enough from the horse!

But there are a lot of exercises that were clearly helpful.

[ReSomething]

You will be surprised how much it can improve your riding unless you were already working out for sports at school. Upper body and core work, strength training, balance such as Yoga and stretching and of course the endurance granted by cardio. Some people like free weights because you have to control the weight through the cycle, other people like machines, Pilates is a system of exercises, google it. See what works for you, most good gyms have a trainer on site.

[MoOTTBEventer]

[QUOTE=dungrulla;8677839]
I rock climb twice a week and found it greatly helps with core strength. It’s also pretty social and go-at-your-own-pace, which appeals to a lot of people.[/QUOTE]

I wish our gym had a rock wall, but the membership to the gym in town which does have it was more than I wanted to spend and their hours wouldn’t work. They’re basically only open when I’m at work =p I already go out and ride at 4:30 in the morning because it’s the only free time I have most days anymore lol.

[541hunter]

I work out a few times a week (try to do 3-4, but it’s usually closer to 2-3). I do a warm-up on the treadmill (either interval sprints or brisk walking forwards and backwards at a steep incline) and then lift for about 45 minutes. A good chunk of my barn buddies go together after lessons a few times a week and I just started tagging along.

I’ve also done some workout classes at my gym (included in membership) which I love. PiYo is great for core strength, and I LOVE bootcamp style classes which combine cardio and lifting for a FAST full body workout. I used to do those exclusively in college which gave me a pretty good basis in lifting technique – if you’re new to lifting, that might be a good way to learn proper form and get comfortable with the equipment.

Bodybuilding.com is a great resource – they have lots of workout plans that are easy to follow and often include short videos to demonstrate the exercises. I just keep a couple open on my phone and refer to them while I’m working out all the time. It helps!

ETA: re: nutrition. I mostly try to eat intuitively (counting calories or macros tends to make me obsessive in an unhealthy way!) and focus on putting in lots of veggies for vitamins and fiber, complex carbs, and proteins. If I can include all 3 in two out of my three daily meals I call it a win.