At 15:26:20 on 16.02.10, RockinRhapsody wrote:
Hello everyone. I'll be sure to post an intro very soon and update my profile, but I wanted to jump right in. This thread is very interesting and relevant to me. I haven't ridden my mare in about a year and a half. No time, no confidence (there's a back-story there...) and a million and one excuses. One of which is - you guessed it - I'm overweight and under-fit. I need to lose about 50 lbs altogether, although I would probably consider riding again after I lose about 15-20. As things stand now, I can't haul my fat butt up into the saddle and, if I manage to get there, I feel like a big sloggy sack of potatoes flopping around. The fear of falling is really intensified because, being so overweight, I know it would hurt like nobody's business. Been there, done that, don't want to do it again. So anyhow, I got looking at the youtube videos of hoopnotica dancing. VERY cool! I could never quite figure out hula hoops, but I think maybe that could be my little project. I taught myself how to wolf-whistle, I taught myself how to back up a trailer...I can learn to use a hula hoop. I hate situps, but I love dancing. :) Thanks for the idea.

At 12:29:45 on 14.06.10, kibby wrote:
hmmm,exercise.. yea i'll do it.. but later... thats how it always goes here.. luckily i was blessed with a fast metabolism but i would love to get fit fit, and improve my riding.. going to try the pilates videos on here..

At 13:00:02 on 20.06.10, sophieandcallum wrote:
I cycle to and from the horse everyday thats 8 miles a day 7 days a week - that is what keeps me fit! Lots of hills...hooray! but it has to be done

At 15:16:04 on 20.06.10, Colex wrote:
I agree with the wii fit thing :) the workouts are good and it also tells you if your centre of gravity is off and make you more aware of your balance. I really like the idea of the ball at a computer desk, I have a spacebouncer haha, reckon that would work?

At 08:01:16 on 30.07.10, Flicka wrote:
I thought this article was interesting-The US Eventing Association states in it's rules that "In the interests of the horse, the competence and fitness of the rider shall be regarded as essential." and the writer goes on to explain why Pilates is so good for the rider and takes you through an essential Pilates exercise 'the roll down', for balancing the muscles around the spine and to give you more awareness of this area. This is a really good one for me as I have a scoliosis of the spine but I also work on a lot of riders backs and nearly all right handed people have a much bigger muscle down the right side of their spine and I usually find that their horses reflect this imbalance. The more aware we are of our own bodies the more we can help our horses.
http://tinyurl.com/2bd774u