my first lesson in ten years

Y

yankeeshannon

New Member
Apr 13, 2004
7
0
0
New York
Visit site
I had my first lesson in over ten years on saturday, and today,
i cannot walk! the trainer had me posting trot for about 20 minutes and when i got off my legs were like rubber. Does anyone have any suggestions for strengthing these muscle groups? I hike and swim alot but i guess im not in as good of shape as I thought!! :(
 
nope, not a gym member. No time, i have a full time job and a house and a seven year old. I need something i can do in the evenings at home. OUCH!! I just want to be able to go to my next lesson without the fear of the next-day agony. I expected some soreness, but not to this degree. IM getting old!:mad:
 
Ooh, I know how you feel!

I started riding again in December after a break of over 10 years. I asked a similar question to yours, and got some really helpful responses which were:
  • Trampolining (there's a big one in my bosses back garden!)
  • Cycling
  • Lots of no stirrups work (especially on a lunge, if possible)
  • Jogging
  • Rowing machine
I've copied these (edited) posts from the thread I started (which was called Strengthening legs (mine)! under the Training of the Rider category):

(From TBEventer2002, edited) As I am a hunter/jumper, I am very adament about having a stable lower leg. Since you are dressage (and I know two types of dressage people: those that rely soley on their seat and could care less how high their heels are or where their lower legs are and those that work on getting that wonderful long stable leg), I will have to break you into the world of jumping for just a minute.

LOTS and LOTS of no stirrups work and two-point jumping position. You can do all that in your dressage saddle, don't worry -- in fact, since it is harder in a dressage saddle, you should get very good at it!

For jumping position, concentrate on dropping the weight of your body through your heels -- don't jam them down! It might be easier for you to raise your stirrups a couple of holes at first so that you can raise your rear out of the saddle. Don't be afraid to balance on your horse's crest so that you aren't hanging onto their mouth. Try to grip with your thighs, but don't pinch with your knee (if you pinch, you'll lose your lower leg away from your horse's body and the exercise will be pointless). Do that at all three gaits.

Do lots of no stirrups work as well. Once you are good at two-point and no stirrups, try doing both at the same time (VERY hard, even for me!).

A little while at those exercises and you will have the tightest, prettiest legs out there! Good luck, and have fun!
Click to expand...
and:
(From Tangle, edited) Another horse-back one, which is probably a variant on TBEventer2002's....

Start out with your stirrups normal dessage length, then raise them 5 holes. A neck strap is a really good idea to help you balance without using the reins. Starting stationary, stand up straight - when you're balanced go up onto tiptoes, then drop into your heel - you're aiming to see how much range you have without loosing your balance. You should be trying to get all your weight through the back of your legs and into your stirrups. If you try and force your heels down you'll fall over backwards. As your flexibility increases you should be able to stand straighter until you can push you hips slightly forward.

Once you've got that sussed, move onto walk and trot and just try and stand up as straight as you can. In order to balance you'll need to let your ankles act as shock absorbers. Use the neck strap and don't over do it - you don't want your muscles to burn.
Click to expand...
It all works, but you've got to be tough with yourself! I use a thigh master type thing too, when I'm working at my desk - very handy, provided everyone knows what you're doing! :D

Tanith
 
I hadn't ridden for 10 years when I started lessons again about a year ago - and I was HORRIBLY stiff and sore!:eek: :eek:
I think it's worse when you know how to ride but haven't done it for ages, because you try to use all the muscles you used to use, and they're no good! Swimming and yoga are about the best preparation exercises because they're the only ones that use all the parts that rising does
- apart from short, regular riding lessons, that is. Thinking back, I would have been better off doing a half-hour private lesson each week, instead of a full hour.
 
yoga is great as a compliment to riding.

It's the one time the "chair" position is good! It is a great leg strengthener. Here's how to do it:

"Stand in Tadasana (regular standing position). Inhale and raise your arms perpendicular to the floor. Either keep the arms parallel, palms facing inward, or join the palms.
Exhale and bend your knees, trying to take the thighs as nearly parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will project out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the thighs until the front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs. Keep the inner thighs parallel to each other and press the heads of the thigh bones down toward the heels. "

(you are basically squatting down with your arms stretched out in front of you, kind of as if you were in 2 point position)

There are also several balancing poses such as eagle and tree poses where you stand on one leg with the leg muscles sort of "tightened" around the bones. done correctly, you are also looking up and lengthening your body up and down at the same time. Combined with breathing correctly, the yoga poses can really help your strength and balance and flexibility- there are some hip-opening exercises too. Try and take a look at the book Yoga for Equestrians- very inspiring.

Anyway, you will get used to it pretty fast. My legs used to almost collaple after I got off when I first started riding (in fact did twice!)

Best thing is that you can do yoga stretching or hold a few poses while watching tv. Sometimes in my yoga class, we hold each pose for 2 minutes- I love that because at the end of 90 minutes everyone is so relaxed that we can hardly get up off the floor to go home! You can probably tell what my 2nd most favorite activity is!!
 
This is the painful way to get over sore legs..

After hardly riding at all for almost 10 years, third time back I went hacking and enjoyed it so much I booked another one for the following day. The next day I was in pain but persuaded myself to ride anyway. Instructor claimed if you ride three days in a row then you quit getting sore muscles after every ride from then on so I did it. Hurt like h*ll for a couple of days after but that was the last time I had really sore muscles after a ride. If you're going to try this one I would recommend doing it by hacking three days in a row rather than lessons because that would just be too much pain! I still occasionally get sore after a hard lesson now but even after an hour lesson without my stirrups I'm only a bit sore rather than the serious pain I had before.
 
thanks to everyone for your help! i found that stretching the
muscles in yoga positions definately helped. Its not quite warm enough to jump in the lake yet, but as soon as it is, i will swim my behind off! I have another lesson day after tomorrow, i will try
stretching before and after the lesson and hope that helps!
One thing is... my instructor is rather fond of " tighten your knees!" and "pretend there is a hundred dollar bill between your
knee and the saddle, dont let it go!" Yet, everything i have read seems to contradict this thinking. Any thoughts on that?
 
This again could be something lost in translation. No, you don't want to pinch with your knee as it will send you leg back & put you off balance. Ideally, your legs should always be draped around the horse with even contact.

However, its quite possible that at the moment your leg isn't even on the horse so he is over-exaggerating what to do in order for you to get you what is correct.

Best advice - ask him exactly what he means!
 
You definitely don't want to pinch with your knees, but sometimes instructors do use extremes to try to get people past an opposite problem (for example, if your knees are turned too far out normally), so it's worth asking if that's really what he means.

In the meantime, I'm inclined to agree that stretching and more time in the saddle tends to help more than anything. Doing out of the saddle exercises that build leg strength can be good for your riding in the long run, but you're still likely to be a little sore if you haven't been riding in awhile.
 
I did ask about the pinching with the knees thing, and you were
right. I didnt not realize that my right leg is always sticking out.
It seems I can trot to the left ( on a lunge line) but when i try to trot to the right i am like a total spazz. I am hoping time and persistance will improve this. At my lessons i have all these little 7 or 8 year old girls peeping over the fence watching me and ALL of them can ride way better than me. :rolleyes:
 
I've found the kids are very accepting of us adults. They are fascinated by seeing us start off riding. And why not? I think it's relieving and somewhat amusing for them to see that adults struggle too, but I think they also just get a kick out of seeing an adult let loose and risk trying something new. In that sense, consider yourself a model to them of how to work hard toward a goal without taking yourself too seriously.
 
YankeeShannon - I have been meaning to ask you, where in NY are you? I'm here in NYC & Tootsie is in the Saratoga Springs area. I was wondering if you were anywhere around us.

Oh & horses are the great equalizer. Doesn't matter whether you're young, old, novice or experienced. Accept the fact that frequently you'll look ridiculous & move on:D :D
 
I live in Pawling, but I ride in Brewster. Where in the city? LOVE
Saratoga!!, great place to see a concert, best ribs in the world at PJ's BBQ Pit!!. I am actually looking at property up in that area. I was lucky enough to buy my house on the lake when property value was not much and now i can sell it and still have enought to pick up 100 or so acres upstate...think horses....would love to OWN my own!!!
 
Lucky you - that sounds like a dream come true. I actually live right NYC (the Village) but I ride out in NJ. It's a heck of a commute to get out there:mad:

Tootsie is right around Saratoga - I'm not sure where exactly.

Hope the riding continues to go well for you:D
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back