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Rider Fitness and Health Contest! Win a $500 Fitness and Health Makeover!
We’re giving away two $500 Fitness and Health Makeovers in the next two weeks!
What do you do to stay fit when you’re not riding? Do you have great exercise or nutrition tips? What are your fitness goals?
Post your fitness tips, goals, challenges and ideas below and you’ll automatically be entered in our draw to win a fabulous fitness package!
A $250 shopping spree at the new Omega Alpha Store, where you’ll be able to choose from the incredible world-class supplements for yourself, your horses and even your pets! Click here to check out the new store. Good luck to the winners - it will be hard to choose from so many great products!
A $125 personalized exercise plan created for you by Claire Moscone-Biafore, Osteopath and Certified Athletic Therapist. Claire works with members of Canada’s Olympic gold medal women’s hockey team and we are thrilled that she is offering her time to help our two winners.
A $125 personalized nutrition plan created for you by Patti Bartsch, M.A., Ph.D. Patti is the founder and owner of Naturally Unbridled, a holistic life and wellness coaching company specializing in equestrian women.
Patti holds a Ph.D. in Natural Health & Wellness, a master’s degree in Biology and two undergraduate degrees in Animal Science. She also holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University. A million thanks to Patti for providing your insights for our winners!
We’ll be doing our first draw on June 23, and the second on June 30.
We’ll be drawing from all the posts, so if you have lots of tips or fitness ideas to share, post as many times as you like. All of your posts will be included in our draws!
Good luck to all!!
*A quick thanks to Elizabeth Levitt, who intended to participate, but is unable to do so.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Megan Corbett on
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I have always been amazed at what an athlete my horse has to be to participate in the sport of eventing. To fully understand this concept, I trained for a triathlon myself! I just signed up for my second and it feels great to have a fitness goal to work toward just like my event horse. It has taught me to be extra attentive to my horses physical needs as an athlete. I know how painful it is to run with a strained muscle and how much hill work burns the lungs! Don't we owe it to our horses to be athletes ourselves?
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Permalink Reply by Cynthia Boudreau on
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Absolutely! It also amazes me how the different breeds excel at different parts of eventing. I have had Thoroughbreds or TB crosses my whole life, and now I have this Irish Draught. She gets totally gassed after xc even though she seems to be quite fit overall, and she sweats like mad even though it is not truly that hot out yet (most of the time). I think xc is hard for her because she is so darn heavy, and it is so much work to carry that big body around. My pervious TB's could drag me the whole way, and I have would to work hard to prevent speed faults (going too fast), even when the horse was not "in shape". I also find it interesteing that as we age, it is harder and harder to maintain fitness, and even worse to try to improve it! I am an ex college basketball player from many moons ago, and used to be able to jump on any horse without having ridden in months, and be fine. Not so anymore!
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Permalink Reply by Gretchen Majher on
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Hydration! I go through gallons of water a week at the barn during these hot summer months. We have also started stocking the observation room with fresh fruit, whole wheat crackers and low-fat cheese to give us energy during intense riding sessions (and to keep us from hitting the vending machines)!
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Permalink Reply by Tania Sendel on
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I find that the best exercises for improving my riding are strength training and stretching. I recommend doing strength training every other day, and stretching every day. Make sure you do exercises and stretches that target different muscles in different directions over time, so that you don't create imbalances - vary your routine often! Regarding your stretching routine, make sure you hold your stretches long enough to feel a release - this may mean holding it for a few minutes.
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Permalink Reply by Carol Whitaker on
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I'm passionate about living a fit lifestyle. I love that the equine industry is promoting Riders Fitness more than every before. Being fit makes me a much saer & stronger equestrian, not stronger in my hands, but in my seat, core & legs which are the stabalizing muscles used to ride correctly and more effectively.
I make exercise a tope priority in my life, it's my special time which I set aside just for me. I workout first thing in the morning Monday thru Saturday and train my horses later in the day, Sunday is my rest day. I drink a l-arginine drink upon waking each morning, then prepare an intra-workout drink mixed with l-glutamine to drink during my workouts. I do cardio on an empty stomach to ensure my body goes into fat burning mode, then I eat breakfast and then lift weights.
In addition to training 6 days a week I keep a postive mental attitude to assist in creating a fit, lean physique. I eat clean which means I eat healthy, whole foods throughout the day. I eat a small meal every 3 hours consisting of lean protein, a complex carb and a salad with lots of raw fibrous veggies. In addition, I drink over a gallon of purified water with chlorophyll during the day to cleanse and nourish my body.
I am also passionate about assisting others in creating their dream body through health, fitness & horseback riding, I am always happy to share my success with those who want to improve their quality of life too. Riding is an excellent way to add additional exercise and conditioning to tone & balance the body, mind & spirit. When I make time to exercise I feel empowered, stronger and happier, which makes me a better wife & mother. Regular exercisie is a must for any avid equestrian. I have improved my life in remarkable through diet & exercise. Living a fit lifestyle is truly life changing in every way! :)
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Carol Whitaker ~ Living a fit lifestyle is a must for me. Living fit has improved my quality of life in miraculous ways! :)
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Vegetarian diet!
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I take my dogs for long walks through the fields and woods on our property. During the walk I have a fitness type trail set up, where in different areas I do situps, push ups, streches, brisk walks up the steep hills and so on. I get tired out and feel great and the dogs do also.
For food intake, I watch what I eat, only good nutrictious foods.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Meulemeester on
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I like to dance to the Biggest Loser C.D.'s and I also lift weights 3 or 4 times per week. I just hope no one ever sees me dancing away in my kitchen!
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Permalink Reply by Carol Pullum on
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Two years ago, at the age of 49, I lost 50 lbs.and got back in the saddle after 20 yrs. It's been amazing. I did it by doing lots of walking and some strength training. I ride regularly now and stay fit to ride at 51 by continuing the walking and adopting healthy eating habits. Oh, and the chiropractor visits help too!
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Permalink Reply by Marcia Brunning on
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This would be a God send to me as I'm 100 pds over weight, lost in depression because of it and no idea of how to get out of the eating rut for comfort. I desperately want to ride my 5 yr old who is the most amazing horse I've seen in many many years of showing on the 'A' circuit......HELP
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Permalink Reply by Cat Peare on
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I am entering my late 40s, but people think I'm as much as 20 years younger than I am. I'm a Co-Manager of a barn, and I train horses and instruct riders. Currently I do 4 feedings each day for 21 horses, clean 21 paddocks, 19 stalls, scrub auto-waters, fill water buckets, and I clean the rest of the barn in general, and sometimes I have no help with turnout or bring in. I also ride daily - up to 3 horses per day - and teach half a dozen lessons a week. Not so long ago, I ran every other day (5+ years). In the days of my youth I did such things as gymnastics and figure skating (and other sports). Further, my back and neck were injured in a car crash several years ago. Plus, I fractured my ankles just over a year ago, and had to keep working after only a couple of weeks off (no sick time in the equestrian industry), and I rode my young horse for 3.5 months unable to place my feet in my stirrups. Nearly 3 months ago, falling onto my bottom and pushing one hip upwards, I tore my sacral iliac, hip flexors and other things and was unable to walk for about a week, particularly as my hip was coming out of joint and I had to keep self-manipulating, but I have since continued to work, and still find it difficult to sit (a horse is much easier than a chair though).
My advice is keep going, keep moving, eat regular nutritional meals, take a multi-vitamin, and consider taking "Recovery" to help your body recover from injury. If you've ever met Joy Richardson, you'd know how strongly she can nag. It took her a very long time to talk me into taking Recovery, as I hate taking any kind of medication. I only take a Tylenol or an Ibuprofen if I absolutely feel I must (avoiding that as much as possible). To cope with my hip injury I purchased "Core Shorts", and wear them daily. They give my pelvis needed support; they help my problems with sacral iliac, adductors or hip flexors, oh yes, and sciatic pain!
Further advise I'd like to give is to read "The Stark Reality of Stretching", by Dr Steven Stark. It explains the dos and don'ts of stretching. Essentially, what I summarised from it is that it is better to stretch isolated muscles or muscle groups (simple stretches). If you feel the stretch near a joint you are injuring tendons and/or ligaments. Feel for a subtle stretch in the middle of the muscle you are trying to stretch. When you feel the subtle stretch ease, that is when your muscle has relaxed into the stretch, and you can stretch it a little more or you can end the stretch there. You know those calve muscle stretches we equestrians are urged to do? Well, make sure your heel is supported on the ground and your ball of your foot lifted on a ledge (i.e. a thick book) only an inch or two, and go for just a subtle feel in your stretch.
My long term ambition is to compete to the highest level I can in dressage (I think I have to stop risking jumping). My short term goal is to build my muscles in my left arm to balance with the bigger muscles I have in my right. LOL!
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