20 minutes of cardio 3x a week and a simple 10 minute pilates routine
1 Like
I agree with above about doing a pilates routine.
1 Like
When I got to my mid-40s a few years ago I realized that I needed to step up my own fitness. My jumper is a beast and is a workout in and of himself, just because he’s very powerful AND lazy, so fairly little me has to work to get him going and then keep up with him.
One thing that definitely helps, as others have said, is riding more than one horse. When I leased out my (now-retired) other horse the difference only riding one horse made to my fitness was really apparent. Not having the funds for another baby, I decided to start running. I was running 5-6 days a week on my treadmill and it made a HUGE impact on my overall stamina and strength.
The treadmill finally started to die and since I have scoliosis and actively hate running I figured I should find something that is less concussive to my poor back and that I might enjoy more. I like to be able to workout in my house whenever I want instead of doing scheduled classes, so I ended up getting an air bike- a Rogue Echo Assault Bike, aka Satan’s Tricycle, lol. It’s ridiculous how good of a workout this thing is, and it doesn’t hurt my back or knees.
I alternate HIIT sprints with longer steady state rides 6 days a week, but I think fewer sessions per week would be fine, too. I just know myself and if I start taking too many days off I won’t stick to it, as the only exercise I truly enjoy is riding. I do this mainly to help with my (horse) riding, but I absolutely do feel better in general.
In my experience just getting moving more is the first step, and then you find something that you can stick with, and see how that goes. Given how much I dislike working out something intense and short like an air bike session suits me well, but there is so much out there to do at home or in a gym for those who want more variety. Good luck! You can do it!
2 Likes
It happens. The good news is the horses give you a great motivator to do something good for your body.
I just wanted to chime in with be sure to work on stability and core strength/stability alongside your aerobic fitness. Not only is this super important for keeping you on the horse, but it will help foster good movement patterns in all your activities. This will reduce the risk of strain and injury, as well as actually make it less tiring (because if the little stabilizer muscles are doing their job correctly, the big “mover” muscles don’t have to do double duty of both balancing you and moving you, which is likely happening a lot in posting trot at this stage!) The good news is there are plenty of these types of exercises which don’t require a dedicated workout time or space… think a few lunges or standing on one leg while your coffee brews!
Good luck and have fun!
2 Likes
Boy does this sound familiar. I came back to the barn where I worked in college (more of a show/competitive barn) after a hiatus at a boarding barn. My horse had passed away and I was woefully out of shape–I have a lot of health issues, too–and boy was it embarrassing when I took my first lesson back. That was three years ago.
I started by walking. A lot. I used to be a runner, so I wanted to get back up to that. I walked every day at lunch for two to three miles in all weather. Where I work has very varied terrain, so I was able to push myself on hills and then rest on the downside.
I was in a pretty good rhythm when the pandemic hit and we all started working from home. So I started incorporating yoga (Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube) and I had old work out DVDs (PiYo and P90X) that I did several times a week. (As an aside, I started new medication for my disease and about 6 months in that really ignited a new level of can do because I felt better. I realize this won’t be true for a lot of people.)
Flash forward to this past November and I ran my first 5k in…10 years? So I was back on the running train and feeling pretty good. I then found, on Instagram of all places, a weight training program that I LOVE. It’s called Madeline Moves and it’s so doable. I started in January of this year and have seen crazy body composition changes. I’m much stronger and can now do a 45 minute ride without gasping and taking many walk breaks.
I still wouldn’t say that I’m “in shape”, but my horse is happier and I’m happier. What works for me will likely not work completely for you, but I wanted you to know that you’re not alone! I’m 34 and three years back into all of this. You CAN do it! 
5 Likes
Ohmygod, yes. I have so much of an easier time of it in a half seat at the canter. I don’t remember it being that way way back when, lol.
2 Likes
Like other posters, I can relate! I came back to riding after 17 years two summers ago at 40, and was VERY out of shape. I had lost maybe 50 pounds just walking before I started riding again, but I had very little strength or real cardiovascular fitness. I started running and working out with a trainer at the gym following a program loosely based on the book “The Rider’s Fitness Program” until I tore my meniscus and had to scrap the running. I switched to a recumbent bike, and kept up with the trainer and PT. It was amazing how much cross-training helped… then the pandemic hit. I also got to pick up some rides flatting for other boarders most weeks, and that helped too.
Now with the pandemic, I don’t cross train anymore and my fitness has nosedived. Lessons can be grueling, especially as I don’t get as much saddle time anymore either with my new job (which I started during lockdown). Going from 4-6 rides a week to 2-3 really didn’t help. So, while nothing can replace saddle time, I find other workouts to be extremely helpful to me when I am in the saddle. Need to motivate to get back into it myself!
3 Likes
I’ve had a lot of anxiety about my heart the last few months. I haven’t done much of anything active for several months too. I started freaking out because my heart rate would hit 170s easily while riding. Then I started having panic attacks at night where it’d jump up to 160 to 180, and now if it goes higher than 130 I get nervous (I think because it feels like a panic attack). I haven’t even ridden in a couple months because I get bored walking but it jumps up so quickly just at a trot (heck it hits mid 150s to 160s just walking around at the barn).
I’m working on walking more every day, I’m noticing it’ll bounce between 120 and 130 walking around our neighborhood. I’m trying to do little bouts of getting it up higher to get desensitized to it too. They did a cardio stress test and it was all normal, so nothings actually wrong, but try telling my anxiety plus lack of fitness that 
ETA I’m fairly young, turn 30 this year. And maybe slightly overweight but just barely.
2 Likes
@TwiSedai - Have you tried mindfulness techniques for the panic attacks? I use Headspace - recommended to me by a horsey mental coach I enlisted after a fall spooked me. Helps a lot! Also - remembering to breathe. Sometimes I forget to breathe when I am riding and it causes my heart to race and adrenaline to pump and it feels an awful lot like a panic attack. Mental coach recommended circle breathing at the walk before a course… and my trainer often reminds me “breathe” or “deep breath” in the corner or turn during a course or exercise when it is clear I am holding mine. Fitness is definitely helpful to avoid that feeling but sometimes it is me, holding my breath as I make my way to the fences.
3 Likes
One very easy habit to develop (won’t improve your aerobic fitness, but does good things for your legs). When you are home watching TV, stand up and sit down repeatedly every time there is a commercial on TV. Or, if there’s a run of commercials, get down and plank for the duration.
I actually found a use for commercials just as it became possible to stream TV without commercials!!!
7 Likes
Better yet, stand and sit without using your arms. Great for your core.
1 Like
I’m right there with you! I have a horse in training out of state, so I also ride in a program at home. Right now I ride a very sloooow horse who needs a LOT of leg. I have to monitor my heart rate on my Apple Watch because it gets up to 200 in the heat from the incredible effort it takes to get this horse going. I even blacked out in a lesson one time. I’ve been pretty down on myself for letting myself get this unfit, etc…. The other day I had to cut my lesson short after 35 min. I felt like I’d black out if I keep going. It was only 81 degrees outside, too.
This weekend I’m in Florida where it’s 10 degrees hotter and storming on and off - the type of weather where you’re soaked just standing there due to the humidity. The rider in the lesson before me called her lesson quits early as it was so hot and humid. I was thinking this wasn’t going to be good. Then I got on my horse and OMG I was amazed at how little work I had to do! I was able to keep going without the breaks I normally need to take and my heart rate only got up to 176 (and that was after a LOT of activity with no break). I wasn’t winded, I wasn’t exhausted. I’m not as unfit as I thought.
I had no idea how much effort the horse at home took until I rode my horse. So, chances are it’s not you! It really is your horse making it tougher for you. I feel your pain!
3 Likes
