APRIL 2020 THE RIDER /55 Rider Fitness: Shoulder Challenge


By Heather Sansom This month’s exercise tip


focuses on strengthening your shoulders- the right way. Many riders develop shoulder tension as the body tries to support you, without enough strength in the right areas. Shoulders that are strong in the correct ways protect you against strain injury working around horses, and help you use your shoulders and body-weight effectively in the saddle without resorting to heavy, hard, or stiff hands. With strong shoulders, your neck can stay relaxed, and your hands stay soft. I’ve lost count of the riders


I’ve worked with who had tension in their trapezius muscle or neck area. One of the reasons riders can become so tight in that area is a paradox: it’s not from riding re- quiring it, nor is it from being strong. It is from having insuffi- cient shoulder strength in other muscles. Also, we live in a culture where shoulder tension accumu- lates through the week through ac- tivities such as working on a computer or driving a car. The body starts sending firing signals to that area, and before we know it there is a super-highway of neuro-muscular connection that


quickly after you start stretching. However, without building up the missing strength in other shoulder area muscles, those big trapezius muscles will remain the primary ‘go to’ for tightening signals. The fol- lowing illustration shows the trapez- ius muscle from the front view, in a rider who is tense in that area and scrunching up her shoulders. The deltoid muscles on the shoulder it- self are the ones we want to target for strengthening instead.


Neck and


Shoulder Muscles An exercise I use frequently


to target the deltoids is a simple lat- eral raise. The easiest way to start out is to do them standing in a spine neutral position: legs shoulder-width apart, pelvis tucked, core engaged, and a feeling of pushing your shoul- der blades down your back as you lift the weights. When you do the exercise this way, you will not be able to lift as much weight. Practice one arm at a time so that you can use your free hand to check tension in your trapezius. This is easy to do by placing the fingers of your free hand on the trapezius muscle. Try the ex- ercise with no weights first, so that you can easily raise your arm to shoulder height without defaulting to tightening up that trapezius. It should remain relaxed and rubbery- feeling if prodded by your fingers. When you are sure that you can lift your arm while keeping your shoul- ders themselves ‘down’ without ten- sion in your neck or trapezius, you are ready to add weight. You may need to practice one arm at a time.


© Heather Sansom Asymmetrical Lateral Raise Seated on Ball


sure you can control which muscles are engaging, go ahead and add dif- ficulty and variety to the exercise by: 1. 2. 3.


Perform the exercise with both arms at once Perform it standing on a balance challenging object


without losing your balance (remember to engage your core!) 4.


Perform it with one arm at a time while seated on a fitness ball Perform the same exercise as #3, with one leg raised.


engagement of her core to keep her position aligned despite the shifting position of her arms and the weight. Contact me


through


www.equifitt.com or at personal- training@equifitt.com about coach- ing by video online, or joining a video online small group ! You can get help and support anywhere with internet. Equifitt clients live and ride all over the world. Don’t let rural/remote living keep you from being and riding your best.


© Heather R. Sansom, PhD. www.equifitt.com


Leading Equestrian Fitness since 2007. Fitness, Wellbeing, Biomechanics. Available for clinics & individual- ized online coaching.


Send us all your dates in for our next


issue! © Heather Sansom, illustration first published in Sansom, H. Fit to


Ride in Nine Weeks (published by Trafalgar Square, available through Amazon, Horsebooks.com, or http://equifitt.com/fit2ride/ ) Weight Handover With One Leg Raised


Simple Symmetrical Lateral Raise The image here shows the weight being transferred from one hand


to the other, overhead, so that the model can continue to perform the ex- ercise using her other arm. She has one leg raised to further challenge her balance. This variation also creates a need for consistent and constant


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© Heather Sansom, illustration first published in Sansom, H. Fit to


Ride in Nine Weeks (published by Trafalgar Square, available through Amazon, Horsebooks.com, or http://equifitt.com/fit2ride/ )


triggers whenever your brain sig- nals a need for strength in your upper body. You can train your body to have an ‘off switch’ to this response by stretching the area frequently, and teaching your body to relax more and more


The right weight load will make it possible for you to repeat the exer- cise approximately 15-20 times without tension developing in the neck/trapezius. You should actually start to feel a burning sensation or fatigue in the deltoid. When you are


in print AND online!! Call


© Heather Sansom, illustration first published in Sansom, H. Fit to


Ride in Nine Weeks (published by Trafalgar Square, available through Amazon, Horsebooks.com, or http://equifitt.com/fit2ride/ ) Happy Riding and Training!


905-387-1900 or email


barry@therider.com


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