JULY 2020 THE RIDER /43


Rider Fitness: Easy Moves for a


Strong & Stable Core and Hips


By Dr. Heather Sansom


News: you can now purchase the Fit to Ride in Nine Weeks complete rider fitness training plan as an ebook directly from the publisher at Horse and Rider Books.com Doing so supports a privately owned business, and the author.


Monthly Rider Fitness Tip This month’s tip comes to you from the


third ‘week’, or workout, in my Killer Core Work- out for Riders (available in ebook or paper form). Regular readers will notice that we are working our way through this workout plan because your core is the foundation of your fitness as a rider. Each month I’m highlighting the main themes of one of the progressive workouts, and giving you the key exercises that target that theme. I especially love to highlight points about exercises that are either uncommon, or so common that I frequently see them being done incorrectly, or incorrectly for you as a rider. This month is all about your haunches: yes, that part of human design that we like the least.


When I became a specialist in fitness and


equestrian biomechanics about 13 years ago, I was constantly surprised by how many generic fitness instructions and assumptions needed to be thought of differently from the perspective of rider condi- tioning. So many riders, especially female, long to lose some weight in the lower body to achieve the legs of an equestrian apparel model. Most of us could be healthier with a little less ‘loose ballast’. However, instead of hoping to get a flatter fanny, riders need to aim at getting a strong backside- just like you try and train into your horse. For some, it isn’t intuitive. Why do you need power from be- hind, when you are not the one powering across the ground with your own feet? There are a few very important reasons. The


first is that your skeletal structure is supported by soft tissue. You likely knew that. Where it gets in- teresting for a rider however is knowing that you have these powerful muscle groups that cross through your hip area connecting your torso to your legs. The psoas or hip flexor muscles do this in the front of your body. Technically, they actually connect the front of your upper thigh to your lower spine. They are strong because they are a key player in human motion. They are usually tight as well because we don’t use them enough with our seated lifestyles. If your muscles were rubber bands holding


up a model skeleton, the hip flexors would be the extra strong ones, even when they aren’t doing very much. Besides needing to stretch them, you also need to counterbalance them with opposing structural strength. That comes from the equally hefty gluteal muscles and hamstrings. The problem is, these guys are often not so hefty. They atrophy when we sit on them all the time, and don’t use them regularly to power up hills and stairs or, push a plow through the earth, or to sprint after our food. Building your gluteal strength counterbalances the force from the hip flexors, and helps keep your hips and spine aligned structurally. Strong gluteals also provide a solid base for your legs and torso. I like to think of the part of a rider filling out the back of the breeches as the anchor for everything else.


No anchor = weak back, weak leg aids. After working on some foundational core


exercises in the previous two newsletters, we are ready to power up. The exercises in the third ‘week’ of the workout build on previous skills. For example, having mastered some cross-body co-or- dination with abdominal engagement, the workout now asks you to take it to the next level by incor-


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Side Lying Leg Raise


porating a balance challenge and additional body- weight on the exercise ball. For the gluteals, three key exercises are the side leg lift, the squat, and the walking lunge. The side lift uses the same starting position as the side crunch from the previous work- out, but targets your gluteus medius (side of hip, at top) with more intensive work. The squat re- visits your spine alignment, while targeting the gluteus maximus- with bonus benefits for your hamstrings and quadriceps. The walking lunge continues to challenge the gluteus maximus and hamstring, while also integrating the gluteus medius and inner thigh muscles to control your hip position. There are other exercises in the workout. The guideline for this workout is to aim at


4-5 days a week, with 2-3 sets of 15-30 repetitions for each exercise (depending on your fitness level). One way that many clients use my workout plans is to cycle through the series with relatively light workout intensity, and then cycle through it again increasing the effort or challenge with exercise modifications.


Squat with Ball Raise Stand with your legs just past shoulder


width apart. Bend your knees poking your seat back (as if you were aiming to hover over an out- house hole without sitting on it). Keep your knees back behind your toes. A


common error is for knees to drive forward, but this strains the knee and disengages the gluteals. Once you can do the squat portion of the ex-


ercise with your seat well back, lift up the ball with the goal of straightening your back as much as pos- sible. A straight back with the right bend in the hips will be about a 45 degree angle to the ground. The goal is to work your back muscles, con- nected to your lumbar area and gluteals. The ball adds extra weight. If holding the


ball causes you to round your back at first, then do the exercise at first without the ball.


Forward Walking Lunge Stand with your feet together and talking a


Side Lying Leg Raise Lie on the ground with your knees bent, and


alignment in shoulder, hip and ankle. You will need to engage your stomach mus-


cles. Reach your hand over your hip and reach


giant step forward, shifting your weight over your front foot while bending your knee. You will have to tip forward slightly to use your glutes and ham- strings to carry your weight. Do not let your knee go forward to or be-


yond your toes. You should be able to look down and see the front half of your foot. Once your weight has shifted to the front foot, you can lift your lagging leg off the ground


toward your ankle as you raise your leg. Keep your foot parallel to the ground. A common mistake people make is to raise


the toe toward the sky, which causes the hip flexors to lift the leg, rather than the gluteus medius and other lateral muscles.


Squat with Ball Raise


and pull it towards you as you stand up. ‘Walk’ for- ward by alternating which leg you lead your lunge with.


Only make your step as big as you can sup-


port through the movement without strain to your knee, and while keeping your hip from wobbling to the side. Many people drive the movement into their knee instead of using the glutes and thigh. The more you are in need of improving glute usage as a rider, the greater your body’s tendency will be to overload the knee, and the more you will need to be vigilant about your form.


Forward Walking Lunge


If 2020 is the year you would like to see re-


sults, don’t let geography stop you. Remember that Equifitt offers personalized fitness and wellbeing plans and live one-on-one coaching via the inter- net, virtually anywhere. You can also obtain riding instruction (if you have internet in your riding area), life coaching, or book a talk or workshop virtually!


Equifitt: it’s about balanced approaches to better living and riding. Be your best. Safe and Happy Training!


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


Leading Equestrian Fitness since 2007. Fitness, Wellbeing, Biomechanics. Available for clinics & individualized online coaching.


Send all your news in for the next Rider. Deadline is July 26th


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