Outside the Box Abs

Building Abs on Horseback

Often times we measure our physical health with how our mid-section appears. We pay for expensive gym memberships, we put ourselves through strenuous workouts, and diet ourselves crazy. What if I were to tell you that you could get a better abdominal workout in a less strenuous way and look cool while doing it?

It’s a little known fact that horseback riding is one of the best exercises to strengthen and help stabilize the trunk. In the fitness world, one of the best exercise strategies is to utilize isometric exercises in order to build stabilizer muscles. While on horseback, your body is constantly adjusting and using different muscles in the trunk to maintain balance. According to Dr. Alison Stout, horseback riding is an isometric exercise, which means it uses specific muscles to stay in certain positions, in this case, keeping balanced on the horse, as a result, postural strength becomes very important in horseback riding.1

As a rider progresses in skill, they begin to add more speed to the ride beginning with a trot, then lope, then full speed. As a horse’s speed increases, the difficulty of maintaining balance increases.1 This increase in difficulty forces the rider to develop the core strength necessary to maintain balance during the ride. This exercise helps with good overall muscle tone and flexibility. In fact, Dr. Stout says this type of muscle strengthening can be as effective as a typical weight-bearing exercise. Proper posture ensures that the rider uses the correct muscles to stabilize the body while the horse is moving.2 When not using proper posture, just like in the gym, you can experience injury, typically in the lumbar region of the spine. Riding properly is paramount to strengthen the correct muscles and reduce strain on the rider’s spine.

To increase physical fitness, you have to work your muscles. However, you do not have to do so in the gym. There are a multitude of ways that you can increase your physical fitness and horseback riding is just one. Personally, as a form of spinal therapy, I have been using the horseback method to strengthen my core to help prevent further injury to my spine. The results that I have been experiencing are phenomenal and I have yet to step foot in a physical therapist’s office. If you have access to a place where you can ride, I urge you to give it a shot and see how you feel afterward.

Resources:

Stout, A. (2016). The Physical and Mental Rewards of Horseback Riding. evergreenhealth.com. Retrieved 12 April 2016, from https://www.evergreenhealth.com/the-physical-and-mental-rewards-of-horseback-riding

Warne, S. (2012). Rider Fitness: Finding that Pain Free Feeling | eurodressage. Eurodressage.com. Retrieved 12 April 2016, from http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/11/24/rider-fitness-finding-pain-free-feeling