# Keeping fit



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If you have access to a safe location to swim....pool or safe waters...
Swimming uses every muscle in the body. I refer to really swimming, not playing in the water...
Laps, many laps swum several times a week will keep your muscles toned from head to toe along with breathing control, exercising that heart...
I swam as a teen in school {school had indoor pool} for PE classes.
Our PE classes were 3x a week and if no labs on alternate days then I also worked in the weight room...
I was toned year-round as was my choice....then I went home and really worked out taking care of my horse myself kept in the backyard.
🐴...


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## Vaquera (Jan 16, 2020)

So I don’t workout for riding but a lot of what I do ends up translating over. I train in Olympic weightlifting and hope to compete in it in the next couple of years. The sport requires incredible hip and ankle mobility which does aid in riding. Used to I’d get sore if I didn’t ride for a while- now I don’t. Other than that I guess increased strength for barn chores although I doubt I’d ever need to snatch anything in the barn haha.
As far as pull-ups the best way to train is to just hit it once multiple times a day. I “cheated” by jumping a little to get my first pull-up and eventually it developed into a real One and I worked up to six before I stopped working at it. Also ditto on the swimming!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yoga with Adriene on Youtube! Not equestrian specific (though she does have one that is supposed to be for equestrians, but it's not really different than the others), but excellent for stability, core strength, and flexibility. I have a bad back and it helps tremendously


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## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Well I don't exactly do anything extra for work outs, just the normal farm chores that keep me pretty well fit! Currently I lift 4-6, 75lb hay bales, 15-20, 5 gallon pails of water. Plus I walk 1/4km just to get up to the barn and another 1/4 km to get back to the house. Then I work with the donkeys and chase sheep and pigs around (I love to chase animals! My dad calls me his 'dog' lol), plus working at the rescue which involves riding(yay!), lifting more water pails, and bales of straw to a bunch of critters. So no, I don't 'work out', I get enough exercise as is.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I really hate exercise for exercise's sake in the form of push-ups, sit-ups, yoga, etc. I know it would be helpful but I just can't make myself do it. So I go for LONG, brisk walks instead. I have a great little road near me that winds through the woods and has lots of little hills, so it's challenging enough without feeling like a lot of work. Frequent movement will do a lot to help strength and flexibility and I do notice a big difference in my riding when I'm doing a lot of these walks. I usually go anywhere from 5km to 10km when I go out.


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## PinkPrancer (Nov 10, 2020)

I do mostly calisthenics since I can do it from the privacy of my own home and I don't have to buy any pricey equipment. I would like to start adding some light weights, but since I don't have a regular routine yet, I'm choosing to wait until I get a little more fit. 

During the warmer months when the sun is out longer, my husband and I also go for 2-mile walks in the evening.

I also dance! Again, from the privacy of my own home, haha! I specifically wanted to add in more cardio, but I hate hate HATE running, and again, I wanted something free. So I looked online and found the Fitness Marshall on Youtube, and his dances are specifically geared toward those who want to use them for working out. He's also hilarious and adds new dances every single week, so it's a great way to keep things fresh.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

Today I am going to dig 3 more post holes and bang in 12 T posts, just like yesterday
A couple of gallon milk jugs full of water weigh about 8.5lbs for those who would like to lift some low cost weights. Michael Jackson's Thriller album is great just go crazy dance music.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I walk. I either go to a neighborhood nearby that has really big hills and walk up and down them (often while reading a book, as walking in a neighborhood is boring) for 2-3 hours, or I go on nature hikes of about 4-5 hours where there isn't quite so much up and down but there's a lot of scree and difficult footing. 

I don't know if it really helps my riding, but it helps me. I'm not on the younger side of things any more, and I have found that it's much harder now to get and keep muscles. But I have stronger leg muscles now than I ever have in my life. Probably somewhat due to riding but a lot due to that walking. 

I board but I've set it up so that I'm responsible for a lot of my own things. So, hauling feed, manure, hay. Trimming hooves is a lot more work than you'd think, too.

I have a set of stretches I do every day. I also have some back and core exercises and stretches that I try to do every day but it really ends up being twice a week maybe. But I can really feel the difference when I've done them consistently.


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

Vaquera said:


> So I don’t workout for riding but a lot of what I do ends up translating over. I train in Olympic weightlifting and hope to compete in it in the next couple of years. The sport requires incredible hip and ankle mobility which does aid in riding. Used to I’d get sore if I didn’t ride for a while- now I don’t. Other than that I guess increased strength for barn chores although I doubt I’d ever need to snatch anything in the barn haha.
> As far as pull-ups the best way to train is to just hit it once multiple times a day. I “cheated” by jumping a little to get my first pull-up and eventually it developed into a real One and I worked up to six before I stopped working at it. Also ditto on the swimming!


I’m not able to do pull ups yet, I tore a few things in my shoulder so even just hanging makes it incredibly sore. It doesn’t help that I don’t have full range of motion either. After my accident I couldn’t even hold my hand out straight for more than 5 seconds. Getting to do one push up had me over the moon and again with 5!


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

horselovinguy said:


> If you have access to a safe location to swim....pool or safe waters...
> Swimming uses every muscle in the body. I refer to really swimming, not playing in the water...
> Laps, many laps swum several times a week will keep your muscles toned from head to toe along with breathing control, exercising that heart...
> I swam as a teen in school {school had indoor pool} for PE classes.
> ...


The school gym is only available for students doing sport as an elective or year 11 and 12 students. We have a pool but since we’ve been away for a year I have to get more salt and chemicals before I can actually swim in it.


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

AbbySmith said:


> Well I don't exactly do anything extra for work outs, just the normal farm chores that keep me pretty well fit! Currently I lift 4-6, 75lb hay bales, 15-20, 5 gallon pails of water. Plus I walk 1/4km just to get up to the barn and another 1/4 km to get back to the house. Then I work with the donkeys and chase sheep and pigs around (I love to chase animals! My dad calls me his 'dog' lol), plus working at the rescue which involves riding(yay!), lifting more water pails, and bales of straw to a bunch of critters. So no, I don't 'work out', I get enough exercise as is.


My farm day is similar to that too. I usually jogged 3km to get the horses and I’d walk/jog them back to the house and after a ride I walk them back out again, them a few hours later I either walk out with the feed or drive because it’s heavy. It’s was great training for the school cross country


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

AragoASB said:


> Today I am going to dig 3 more post holes and bang in 12 T posts, just like yesterday
> A couple of gallon milk jugs full of water weigh about 8.5lbs for those who would like to lift some low cost weights. Michael Jackson's Thriller album is great just go crazy dance music.


Music is the best to workout with! I put a random playlist on shuffle and change exercise between each song and do a few sets. It’s kinda annoying and painful when Movment 1 comes on because it’s lasts 15 minutes 😂


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

At them moment yoga, walking, some running, online workouts and target archery (around 100 arrows with a 40Ib bow). Ideally, exercise needs to be a part of an enjoyable pastime as I struggle to stay focused on a treadmill. Riding is on hold due to the lockdown.

Normally, my job requires a certain level of fitness. If required, I need to be able to keep moving with heavy equipment throughout the day. It was getting harder due to age and old injuries so I need to keep moving as much as possible while I'm working from home.


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## Kailee TheCool (Feb 1, 2021)

AJ Yammie said:


> Hullo People! I’m just curious to know how many of you exercise or workout and if so what do you do? Do you do exercises directed for riding or not? I’ve always just done sit ups, push ups, squats and lunges. I did 5 push-ups for the first time in 2 years after my accident! I still can’t do a pull up yet though. Anyway, keen to here what you guys do!


I kind of just go to a gym and do whatever I can without getting sore! That's not very specific, but how I work out isn't very planned or specific either!! 🤪


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

I don't do any strength building exercises any more (I'm 71). But I do a hard shadow boxing routine for 15 minutes, pushing my pulse as high as 160 BPM. Shadow boxing, as if I were in a real match, helps with my reflexes, which I think is extremely necessary when one is riding an animal with such quick reflexes as a horse. Also sliding from side to side, back and forth, helps my balance for horseback riding.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

In the heat and humidity of Texas my cowboy husband taught me to trim the fronts one day and the hinds the enxt day.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

I feel sorry for these 'lockdown' people. Rural folks in SW Oregon USA do whatever they want. Wear masks into stores thats about it. You can;t even ride your own horses? It's outside!


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

Really you can’t ride!! I just spent a double session at the indoor basketball stadium! Only schools and churches don’t need masks which I think is dumb


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

@AragoASB and @AJ Yammie - People can ride horses and be with them if they are local and rely on you for welfare; the horses I ride are around 10k inside another local authority area, which is illegal to cross and they have others on site. If they were closer to the boundary line, within 5k, I could cross and ride as part of permitted daily exercise.


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