50/ SEPTEMBER 2017 THE RIDER Fitness For Riders: Core Stability and Control B y


vertical spine, sitting on a horizontal one. You are moving in all planes, and supporting your back without tension is critical. Many riders’ back issues stem from poor alignment of the spine, or from absorption of too much motion (negative loading). Books like Balance in Movement (Suzanne von Dietze), When Two Spines Align (Beth Baumert) and the Centered Rid- ing books discuss these biomechanics in detail. Core strength is not just for dres-


Heather Sansom.


Fitness Tip for Riders 2017 08: Core Stability and Control Core training is one of the most


popular themes for rider fitness, and with good reason. Almost a decade ago when I was writing a fitness col- umn for Dressage Today, I developed a rider fitness training scale with core strength very close to the base of the pyramid. When you ride, you are a


sage riders. I have worked with riders in Western disciplines, endurance, polo, mounted games, pentathlon, Eventing, hunter and show jumping, driving, natural horsemanship, and pleasure riding. Every rider needs a strong core to protect the spine. Ac- tually, the basis of all sport and func- tional movement is the core. Your core not only protects your spine. It also controls where your limbs are, how you distribute your weight, and move- ment.


There are lots of options for core


training. After writing dozens of arti- cles for equestrian magazines on core


while maintaining a constant centre of gravity with the rest of your core.


Exercise 1 (Left): weighted twist seated on the ball. Sit with your weight evenly dis-


tributed in both seatbones, holding a weighted object in front of you. Slowly twist from side to side while paying attention to your weight in your seat bones and the pressure of the floor on your feet. Use your core to accomplish the twisting motion, while maintaining a straight and neutral spine (your spine rotates, but does not bend). If you find that the ball rolls a


training, I finally wrote a downloadable ebook on core training for riders (Killer Core for Riders, www.equifitt.com/ebooks4riders/), and one for runners (Killer Core for Runners, www.equifitt.com/core4runners/). Both are also available in hardcopy through Amazon. I had to write them because I was getting the same kinds of questions from readers, and seeing the same types of chronic problems. I re- alized that people were jumping on the core bandwagon and doing the handful of exercises featured in an article here or there, but they weren’t doing progressive training. They were risking injury because their training was haphazard. They were doing cool exercises for large core muscles (because those sell- they’re cool and make good photos), but didn’t have the strength in their deeper stabilizers to do those cool exercises ergonomically. Cool exercises, even bouts of enthusiastic or serious effort, are not progressive training. I ended up special- izing in integrated core training as I found that nearly all my riding and other sport clients were having trouble engaging it properly to protect their spine in motion. All of my core workouts (ebooks and the sections in Fit


to Ride in Nine Weeks) are based on progressive training prin- ciples. If you’re interested in a great resource on how your spine works and how to stabilize it and use it properly, you might like to get a copy of Stuart McGill’s Ultimate Back Fit- ness and Performance. What you want to do as a rider is work from the inside, out. If you’re just starting to take a serious look at core train-


ing, or revisiting the basics, start slowly and gradually ramp up. Also, pay attention to covering as many planes of move- ment as you can. I like Pilates as a base for core training, be- cause it trains inner stabilizers first, along with symmetry. Pilates isn’t for everyone, but as long as your workout has those bases covered first, you are in a better position to protect your spine and train with better alignment. Then you can add in some of those more cool and tough exercises that work the outer core muscles, or incorporate more movement. Ok, enough theory! The two exercises I wanted to bring


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you this month use the fitness ball, a weight, and a twisting motion. You need to be able to sit or lie on the ball while main- taining perfect balance (no movement or wiggling), and then do the motions without weight, before adding weight. You are using the ball to work on your balance and centering yourself. When you add in the movement, you are destabilizing yourself and have to use your lateral (and many other) core muscles to maintain a symmetrical and centered position on the ball (so it doesn’t roll). When you add the weight, you are also work- ing on strengthening your lateral core muscles (obliques),


pay attention to the position of the ball under your spine, and the pressure in your feet. You will find that as you shift the weight to one side, you need to counter- balance with a little more pressure in the opposite side. You are training stabilizing muscles, as well as rota-


tional muscles, and cross-body co-ordination to support asymmetrical loading. For both exercises, start out with a few repetitions


daily. When you can do 20-30 (pairs: left and right equals one movement), then you are well ready for some different exercises.


Happy Riding and Training!


You have more potential than you realise. Happy rid- ing and training!


Postal Code: Date:


Send To: P.O. Box 10072, 27 Legend Court, Ancaster, ON L9K 1P2 (905) 387-1900


email: barry@therider.com


© Heather R. Sansom Equifitt offers coaching for riders that helps with fit- ness, posture and biomechanics to help you ride better. Most services including riding instruction are available by Skype. Equifitt: www.equifitt.com


lot, you can start with it propped against a wall. You will get bonus strengthening for your shoulders if you are holding a weight. The pic- tures below show modifications of the seated exercise.


Exercise 2 (Below): lying bridge on ball with weighted twist Sit on the ball holding a weight. Lay back and walk your


feet out until you are lying on your back with the ball under your shoulder blades. Maintain some core tone and a feeling of a slight crunch as you keep your hips up (using your gluteals). Hold the weight straight overhead, then reach it out to each side turning your shoulders slightly. You will need to


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