I have a jumper that I am able to ride 3-4 times a week, but I always wish there was more I could do off the horse to improve my strength, my timing, my eye… I wish I could either ride one of those mechanical practice horses, or that I had 5 horses like most of the kids at my show barn. How to get more practice/strength without over-jumping your horse? What do you do?
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Pilates and core work have improved my riding so much. Along with focused cardio. My guy is a big, STRONG horse, and being fit myself has made it so much easier (and enjoyable) to ride him!
I have the Peloton app so I use that for classes, but YouTube has plenty of options too.
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I do pilates too. What do you mean by focused cardio? Like, interval training?
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Sorry, yes! I meant to put interval training/HIIT, but forgot to add it in 
normal strength training on a 3 day cycle (legs, shoulders, biceps/triceps, repeat)
Along with running in a combination of “longer” runs (really not long at all, just 2.5+ miles) and sprints. I’m not really a runner but it helps me especially in the show ring. I’m a jumper as well.
I also try to do stretching/mobility at least once a week but I’m not good about it at all lol.
Since I’m in school and ride 2-3 horses a day I don’t have a ton of time to work out so I only really do strength training Saturday and Sunday, but over the summer I work out 3-5 days a week
eta: even though I get to ride a lot, I’m not jumping a ton. On my horse I jump 1-2 times a week but I don’t really jump the other two horses. I make my flats count by being really mindful of what I’m doing and what my horse is doing
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Old bat here —I do 70 min a day: 30 cardio, 20 mobility (balance, stretches), 30 weights --different muscle groups each day. --I use an on-line program --too lazy to go to a gym. I figure if I can ask my horses to work, I can at least do my part.
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I’ve been swimming lately & I can tell it has improved my riding. I’m trying to decide if theres something else I should add in. We have a gym onsite at my new job & am considering trying some of their workout classes during the day - if they had pilates it would be a done deal, but they don’t.
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Yoga once a week, pilates twice a week, and gym once a week for strength/cardio. I used to get to the gym twice a week, which was better, but we moved further from it, and moved the horses to the farm, and…well, it’s just not as easy to get there as it used to be.
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I started Rider’s Pilates Club around 9 weeks ago. I do that four days a week. I know some riders say they can feel a difference after the first few sessions. Not me. However, after about seven weeks, I really could tell. I can definitely feel that I’m holding my body differently and I do feel much better riding. So, for me it was a slow process. But I am super focused on doing the videos and it’s working. I also do a short power walk during lunch whenever I can, but it usually ends up being 3 days a week. I consider mucking stalls my strength training. And lugging feed and hay around the farm. 
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Starting this year, I really wanted to up my game so now I do reformer pilates once a week in class and then 4x/week I go to crossfit.
I came to realize that I’m not motivated in the gym when I go by myself. But you put me in a class setting? Game on. I’m going to be the best person in that room at whatever we’re doing, even if it kills me. 
IDK what that says about my psyche but I’ve found that it’s more than the specific workout - it’s the intensity and consistency that actually makes or breaks whether it’s effective.
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70 min a day is not lazy!
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That’s 80 minutes, not 70!
I have a bunch of horses, so have plenty to ride when I’m home, but I travel for work a lot (usually 3ish days a week, 3 weeks a month). I walk and run. I am a pathetic runner and I hate literally every single step of every single run, but it keeps me feeling good when I get back home and get back on the horses. I usually walk hills for a mile and run flat for a mile (almost always on treadmills in hotel gyms - rarely do I venture outside). That routine seems to keep me feeling good when I get back to the horses.
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@Barnacle --I am a creature of habit. I rise at 6:00 AM, do my cardio, turn on computer and do my exercise stuff with stretching and weights. Done.
I have gal-pals who go to the gym, but from my POV it is the same workout, minus the people, minus the drive there and back and minus the dressing to look presentable and combing hair. Sometimes I go straight from my morning work out to the barn to do horse stuff --many riding pants are stretchy enough to use as workout pants.
I have been doing this routine since 2019 --started slow with just doing a 20 min on the spin bike (husband’s), then added the stretching and weights gradually. Most recently I’ve been following a program designed to increase muscle mass (bulk) --at 70+ I felt like I was losing muscle. Now, after doing the “muscle density” on line program religiously for 13 weeks (started Jan 1), I see and feel a big difference. Weight is down maybe 5 pounds, but everything has shifted around --smaller legs, bigger arms, no more muffin top, and I feel great.
Any exercise is good, I think, but finding something that really works is great. If “going to the gym” is your jam, great --but I’d rather save the extra time and ride. Of course I have my horses in my backyard and my “gym” is set up in my basement --spin bike, weights, mat, computer.
@jump314 --yep, math error.
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Since buying our own farm, I’ll admit I don’t keep as regular a workout schedule as I used to (but hey, mucking, stacking hay, and schlepping jumps around has to count for something, right?!).
That being said, I have 3-5 to ride a day. I also try to supplement with at least 2-3 days of yoga (more if I can manage), 2 days on the spin bike, and 2 days weight training
Before we bought the farm, I was at the gym daily, and I did 5 spin classes a week. The bike definitely helped with a lot of the same core strength as riding, and is great with improving cardiovascular stamina.
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Pilates, swimming, and running. It’s time consuming (and doesn’t always feel great at the time) but it pays dividends in the saddle.
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I’ve had really good results with pvolve. I was doing pilates on youtube (moves with nicole is great) but I’m getting better results with pvolve. I think the focus on stability is really helpful in the saddle, as is the planks and core work, and the internal/external rotations. I have more awareness of my hips and how I’m sitting and that’s been helpful. It’s a little pricey, but I’ve been really happy with the depth of classes.
Interesting! I’ve gotten a million Instagram ads for Pvolve.
they are SUPER annoying in their advertising and I was pretty sure it would be a rip off, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I like the gear, but they have plenty of classes without. The one thing I like most is the slant board, It’s interesting how a little slant can really mess with your proprioception.
I need ALL the feedback that tells me what I’m feeling may not be what’s actually happening, i.e. no I did not pull coming out of the turn, looks at video… oh wait, yes I did.
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If it will stop me from pulling coming out of the turn, I am signing up right now.
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