22/ FEBRUARY 2026 THE RIDER Rider Fitness: Bilateral squat raise start’


Improve Co-ordination, Balance, and Functional Fitness to Stay with Your Horse’s Motion and Give Clearer Aids


Bilateral Squat Raise 3


they promote mental acuity. For riders, this means keeping up the mental stamina to remember jump courses or dressage pat- terns, while still juggling loads of other details in the ride, including the ones you didn’t plan for such as your horse spooking at some- thing ringside.


LET’S DO IT! The basic steps to perform


19th Anniversary of Equifitt this Year!


This issue of the Fittips


Newsletter is inspired by fitness challenges I’ve noticed in the off- season. In Canada where I am based, it is too cold for most peo- ple to be doing much of the rid- ing that they want to. In the Southern Hemisphere where I have also been training lately, it is too hot! In the slump season of the December/New Year’s holi- days it’s easy to get a little off track in riding fitness. As long-time readers know,


I follow the fitness trend of not focusing on New Year’s resolu- tions. However, the start of the year is always a great time to identify intentions for your train- ing, especially before the next competition season. My own rider fitness priorities are increas- ingly shaped by my Gen X age group, so I tend to favour exer- cise suggestions that will work well for the needs of the mature rider, as well as others. This month, I had fun getting some feedback on my exercise pick from the 20s to 30s crowd as well. There are multiple benefits for all age groups. Rider fitness is one part uni-


versal: horse and human anatomy are the same regardless of disci- pline or age. The other part is as variable as any horse-rider team, as riders and riding coaches know! The exercise of today aims at some of the more univer- sal challenges that all riders face. These include: - The need to have strong enough joints and backline mus- cle systems to support self-car- riage so you can o


ahead) of the horse’s motion o


stay with (not behind or not shut down or interfere


with his movement, especially freedom of back muscles - Ride the two sides of the horse simultaneously (with sometimes different things going on with your seat, torso, and all four limbs- all at once)


Better shoulders and backside shape are side benefits. The exercise for today is a


squat with alternate shoulder press and leg lift. In a standard gym routine, the emphasis is on shoulder and leg/gluteal strength. There are additional benefits specifically to riders. To break it down, the exercise involves sev- eral components with different benefits: Upper and lower body


movement, and left/right side of your body movements that are different: Training your neuro- muscular pathways to manage different movement in all four quadrants of your body helps you manage appropriate responses to the four corners of your horse so that you can respond with an aid, while maintaining steadiness elsewhere in your body.


Bilateral Squat Raise 2 Bilateral Squat Raise No Weight Modified version -


this exercise are: 1. Stand with legs about shoulder width apart, torso aligned over your legs (you should feel easily able to step in any direction with weight even front to back of foot) 2. Lift weights to shoulder height, palms toward front, or head 3. Step sideways into a squatting position, seat back! Keep your weight toward your heels, and your knees behind your toes so that the work happens in your hips. In order to keep your torso upright, you will have to arch your back. This works your back muscle. [ only squat as deep as you are able to be pain free in knees and not wobbly] 4. Shift weight to one side and begin to move back to the upright position, raising the weight-free leg up, while you raise the oppo- site arm overhead. Only raise the weight as far, and only use as much weight, as you can safely control the position of the weight directly over your shoulder with- out wobbles. 5. Once returned to the standing neutral position, perform the squat in the other direction with the opposite limb pair. You can use bare hands,


Bilateral Squat Raise Side


weights, objects, or exercise tubes tied to each foot with the hand holding the other end. It is preferable to use a weight or re- sistance load that still allows you to achieve full arm extension overhead.


riders of all dis- ciplines. While jumpers


and


eventers need to have the stamina to stay above the sad- dle for the ride, dressage riders can have signif- icantly


im-


proved seat and leg control with upper


thigh


Shoulder strength: Managing free weight shoulder presses helps you focus more on body awareness and movement con- trol. You need to use a weight that might be less than you would on a machine workout, because of the need to control its position and the potential increased strain on small supportive muscles such as the rotator cuff. This builds functional fitness in your shoul- der that you need for all kinds of scenarios handling horses and their heavy feed and equipment, especially with age. Since free weights are less stable than a ma- chine, it’s important to only use the amount of weight that you can keep balanced, and in accu- rate position. This may be less than you might be able to shoul- der press on a machine.


Gluteal and thigh strength: Upper leg strength is essential to


strength. Also, the gluteals are


the anchor for the back, AND, building strength in the hips sup- ports bone density which is espe- cially important for mature riders.


Back strength: The muscles controlling torso position are es- sential for managing weight and directional aids, such as seat weight and position (dressage), and shoulder position that man- ages the horse’s direction (all dis- ciplines) independent from the seat. This exercise builds back strength by maintaining the up- right torso position through the squat, in order to keep the body ergonomic for the shoulder lift.


Lateral coordination: Moving weight from a standing position to a side-step, then through the squat back to a standing position shifts your body laterally, build-


ing coordination and strength in muscles involved in lateral movement. For a rider, these are muscles that are also needed to work across the body (e.g. from left thigh to right shoulder) to apply effect leg aids, and to coor- dinate leg and hand.


Lots going on: Exercises with several different movements are known to be especially beneficial to mature age groups because


Note: you can keep both fists with weights at shoulder height, or drop one down for balance


MODIFY IT Many riders have already


acquired shoulder issues, or are weak in the shoulders. You can use as little weight as you can manage, or even just your fists to start. The exercise requires coor- dinating many different move- ments that could each be considered separate exercises in their own right. I recommend


practicing each part separately before putting it all together. For example, practice getting squat technique,


then sidestepping


while keeping your balance, then the sidestep squat with fists at shoulders, then the movement with just the arm or leg lift alone, and only finally putting it all to- gether, and then adding weight. You can work your way up to it by doing a series of in-place squats followed by standing shoulder presses to get exercise, while reinforcing the different parts of muscle memory that you will later combine. This is the same approach that would be taught in martial arts or dance. If your shoulders are very


frozen, you can also work on opening them up by using shoul- der stretches in your routine, be- fore you start adding weight load to the movement. Riders who are unstead on feet should consider having a weight or exercise tube handle in one hand only, while the other hand maintains light contact with a stable object such as a wall or fence rail.


AMPLIFY IT (UP THE CHALLENGE!): If you’re pretty fit with good muscle memory for functional training movements, you can amp up this exercise by perform- ing it in intensity intervals, or in- creasing the weight. Images used are with per-


mission by the rider fitness par- ticipant, and are not to be copied or shared other than within the context of this article.


Step 1 - Bilateral Squat Raise Start Step 2 - Bilateral Squat Raise 2 Step 2 - Side View Step 3 - Bilateral Squat Raise 3 Modified version - Bilateral Squat Raise No Weight


Safe and Happy Training! © Heather R. Sansom, PhD. www.equifitt.com


Contact personaltraining@


equifitt.com if you’d like a per- sonalized online program design or coaching, or to zoom me in for a workshop! Check out the leading 9


week rider fitness plan book (complete with anatomy illustra- tions)- available in print or as a d o w n l o a d ! : www.equifitt.com/fit2ride/


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