Horseback riding might seem like a sport that doesn’t exhaust the rider much since you’re on a horse’s back. However, many people experience full-body muscle soreness after trying it.
Horse riding is often associated with a refreshing and elegant image, but it actually involves full-body movements that can lead to soreness.
Here, we introduce muscle training exercises that help you get used to riding faster and reduce muscle soreness. The best part is, you can do these workouts at home while doing household chores, without going to the gym, so try what you can!
Strengthen Your Lower Body While Hanging Laundry
Using the dryer is very handy when you’re short on time or the weather is bad, but why not try hanging laundry as a muscle workout too?
Even if you already hang laundry regularly, focusing on the movements during laundry can help strengthen your lower body.
Since the thighs have large muscles, training them can increase your basal metabolic rate, making it harder to gain weight and easier to lose weight, with potential dieting benefits.
Additionally, strengthening lower body muscles not only aids in weight loss but also improves horseback riding skills.
Key Lower Body Muscles for Riding
How does strengthening your lower body improve your riding?
When riding, horses walk on four legs and sway in an figure-eight motion, which can be surprising at first.
Strengthening your lower muscles helps you sit more steadily in the saddle and send clearer signals to the horse with your legs.
Also, a strong lower body allows you to send signals smoothly to the horse’s belly with your legs, improving communication and control.
How to Do It
- Place your laundry basket in front of you for hanging clothes.
- Widen your stance and point your toes outward.
- Exhale as you slowly bend your hips, stretching the inner thighs (be careful not to let your knees go forward).
- After taking the laundry, inhale and slowly straighten your hips to return to standing.
If you feel knee pain, stop immediately. Do not push through pain.
Tighten Your Abs While Folding Laundry
Achieving a toned stomach is a common goal for horseback riders. Sagging abdomen caused by weakened core muscles, overeating, or lack of exercise can hinder this.
Why not do some abdominal tightening exercises while doing household chores instead of relying solely on riding?
Tightening your abs not only helps you get closer to your ideal figure but also enhances your riding posture and core stability.
How Improved Abs Help Your Riding Posture
Compared to a sagging abdomen, a toned one has a higher muscle-to-fat ratio. A firm belly with more muscle is less prone to fat gain, whereas a flabby belly often signifies weak muscles and can cause poor posture and cold sensitivity.
Work on tightening your abs during household chores and riding, and you’ll strengthen your core, maintain better posture, and improve riding skills faster.
How to Do It
- Sit on your heels and place a pile of laundry in front of you.
- Fold one piece at a time, holding the laundry with both hands, and put it on the floor or mat, extending your arms to the sides or diagonally behind.
- Focus on engaging your obliques and aim to place the laundry farther away.
Get Slimmer Legs and Hips While Cooking
Cooking and dishwashing time in the kitchen is substantial. Instead of just standing and doing chores, you can incorporate muscle training into these activities.
Strengthening your calves improves blood circulation, relieving swelling and cold sensitivity.
Training your thighs and hips helps achieve toned legs and hips, enhancing your overall appearance.
Benefit of Calf Exercises for Riding
Well-trained calves allow for better communication with the horse, as you can send signals smoothly with your calves.
Initially, signals are sent by kicking the horse’s belly with your heels, but as your calves strengthen, you can simply induce signals by applying pressure with your calves.
How to Do It
This section introduces two exercises: one for calves and one for thighs and hips.
Calf Exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and maintain good posture.
- Lift both heels simultaneously and stand on tiptoes.
- Hold on tiptoes for 1-2 seconds, then slowly lower your heels.
- Repeat this rhythmically.
Do 10 repetitions for one set, and repeat multiple sets.
Next, for thighs and hips:
- Touch your heels together, opening your toes to about 45 degrees.
- Engage your thighs and buttocks to tighten muscles.
- Hold this position for 30-60 seconds.
Repeat several times.
Refresh Shoulder Circulation with Duster Cleaning
How often do you do dusting? While it may seem like a simple task, moving the duster around engages your arms, shoulders, and back, promoting good blood flow.
Good circulation can alleviate shoulder stiffness, constipation, and other health issues. Improving circulation also helps efficiently deliver heat energy, which can reduce cold sensitivity and promote the removal of waste through urination, alleviating swelling, constipation, and skin problems.
Dusting also exercises your entire body—arms, shoulders, thighs, calves, and lower abs. The act of squeezing the duster can also strengthen your grip, making it an effective full-body workout.
Compared to using a mop, dusting provides a more thorough clean and a beneficial exercise routine.
When dusting, keep your hands on the floor and knees on the ground to prevent back pain, and squeeze out the cloth thoroughly to prevent floor warping from excess water.
How Dusting Builds Skills for Better Horseback Riding
Dusting is not just good for blood circulation; it also employs muscles throughout your body. Strengthening your lower body muscles, including your glutes, thighs, and calves, helps you sit steadily on the saddle and send clear signals to the horse.
A strong back also helps maintain proper posture, which benefits both riding and daily life.
Additionally, supporting yourself on one arm while dusting with the other enhances your arm and core strength and develops your sense of balance.
Compared to a mop, dusting offers more physical benefits, so consider incorporating it into your routine. If dusting feels tedious, you can also use cleaning sheets or cloths as an alternative.
How to Do It
- Start in a crawling position with hands on the floor to prevent back pain.
- Support your body with the hand not holding the dusting cloth.
- Use your dominant hand to make large movements with the cloth for dusting.
- Alternate arms frequently for balanced training.
Summary
We introduced methods to exercise while doing routine household chores such as laundry and cooking. Not only do these workouts make riding more enjoyable, but they also benefit your health and beauty by strengthening muscles and improving blood circulation.
There are more ways to exercise during housework beyond what we covered, such as using cleaning sheets while cleaning the bath or holding shopping bags behind your back and lifting them slowly to strengthen your back.
Start incorporating these into your daily life gradually. When trying them, move slowly and deliberately for maximum benefit.