Side Bend: The goal is to increase flexibility in ribs and obliques, which attach to your hips. In this photo, Valerie is curving her ribcage over the side as far as she is able to. The goal is to get as close to being horizontal, or parallel with the ground, as possible. However, it is important to increase flexibility incrementally. Before riding, you can modify this stretch to a flowing motion movement to loosen and warm you up. A mature rider who has a little more difficulty with balance might choose to do this stretch seated in a chair.
-
- Valerie demonstrates a lunge with chair for balance.
- © Heather Sansom
Lunge With Chair: This exercise is one part stretch (for the hip flexors of the straightened rear leg) and one part leg strength/warmup (for the front leg). Done slowly and relatively shallow, it can be used as a warmup. Repeated 20 to 30 times, it can be used to strengthen legs while opening hips. If you have knee or hip issues, it is important to respect the range of motion advised by your physiotherapist or doctor, while keeping your body weight tending straight down over your seat bones in order to keep load off of your knees. The chair in this photo is just used for support. Valerie does not actually use a chair in her regular routine.
-
- Valerie demonstrates squat with a chair to assist with balance.
- © Heather Sansom
Squats With Chair: The goal is to stick your seat bones back while remaining upright in the chest area--similar to a two-point position. This exercise develops leg and hip strength, as well as the back muscles engaged in correct riding posture. Using a chair, wall or more solid prop to maintain balance is not cheating, since your body has to do all the same work. Doing them without support is better balance training, but it is always more important to err on the side of safety--so you can keep riding, of course! Depending on your fitness for this activity, you may start with five to 30 squats per day. "Twinges at the hinges" indicate ligament and joint issues, which should be respected. Better to do less than you think you can and slowly push the envelope than to do too much at once and create injury. Mini-squats are a good option if your knees cannot take deep bend. I have successfully helped clients recover from hip replacement using daily repetition of a handful of chair-supported squats of only an inch or so at the start of the program. Slow and steady wins the race here. Ligaments take a lot longer to strengthen--and heal--than muscle.
Heather Sansom owns Equifitt.com Equestrian Fitness, offering personalized coaching through clinics and convenient online coaching available anywhere. She also offers a free monthly fittips newsletter and new e-books, Complete Core Workout for Riders and Handy Stretching Guide for Riders, at Equifitt.com.
