As the days get shorter and the air gets cooler here in Southern Ontario, I hear more from riders who are winding down their riding season reflecting on what went well this year and what they want to improve for next year. Even if you have an indoor arena, most of us spend less time in the saddle (and likely more time on the couch as a result!). In my own program as well as those with my clients, late autumn and winter are when I spend more time focusing on my own development so I can get to next spring feeling ready to just get out and enjoy the fruits of my labour - with long rides or hikes or even increased strength and endurance for all those farm improvement projects I want to do before the next inevitable winter!
As such, I thought it might be a good time to discuss the basic differences in different types of exercise and how they bring value to your riding, health, and overall wellbeing so that when you sign up for that gym membership or start working out at home, you are well equipped to decide where to spend your valuable time, money and energy!
Strength/Weight Training
I started with this one because it is overall the best type of training for nearly everyone I see. Strength training seems to have endless benefits for your overall well-being and is well studied. In no particular order here are some things that strength training improves:
Muscle strength and power
body composition (less fat, more muscle)
Bone density
Balancing hormones, particularly insulin
Mood - reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms
Sleep quality
Balance and fall prevention
Cardiovascular health (yes this is true!)
Overall reduction in all cause mortality
All of these are super important in both our day to day lives and our equestrian pursuits. Perhaps the best part too is how low the minimum effective dose is. Unlike some other forms of exercise, a small amount goes a long way. A commitment of 15 minutes a day is enough to see drastic changes in your body and mind.
Strength training comes with a lot of limiting beliefs so let me squash a few of those
You need to join a gym - nope! There are lots of exercises like pushups and squats that you can do anywhere without equipment. Now I LOVE when my clients invest in weights and adding weight is super important for progressive overload (you may get stuck at some point), but there are lots of heavy things around your home and barn you can lift as well, and as a Personal Trainer, I have a bunch of tricks up my sleeve to help you get more out of the equipment you do have before you have to go out shopping!
You will get bulky or look like a bodybuilder - unlikely! If you go by the scale, you might find that you actually DO put on weight when you start strength training or progressive overload, but gaining weight from adding muscle is not the same as getting fat. We need to get our head out of the numbers. Most people look leaner and more toned. And if you are afraid of getting TOO muscular, well those bodybuilders you see train day in and day out to look like that. They have crazy muscle building genetics, they eat very specifically. They take it as seriously as high level riders take their tests. You won’t just accidentally look like a body builder. Trust me.
It doesnt burn as many calories as other forms of exercise - yes, but does that actually matter? For so long we have been trained calories in calories out. That is essentially true, but there is so much at play here. Our metabolisms are constantly adapting. You can cut calories and run all day and after a remarkably short period your body has adapted to that new level of fuel and output. Strength training may not give you the big calorie count on your watch, but muscle is hungry! When you build a bigger engine, you use more fuel with every activity you do. Strength training builds that muscle which builds that engine. You do not need to earn the calorie number of your food.
Lifting heavy things will hurt (my back, my knees, my whatever…) - opposite actually! We train big lifts in the gym so that we can build the capacity to do so in our real life. So next time you have to take in a load of hay, your body says “oh I’ve got this.” You have the muscle and you have been practicing your form. Lifting in a controlled environment trains your body and mind to lift big and lift well. If you have been suffering from sore back, hips, knees, shoulders or whatever, strength training might actually be like a miracle cure for you.
Bottom line. I have no bad things to say about strength training. If you dont already base your program around strength training, you should. I can help you there, shoot me an email. Remember to use progressive overload (starting small and working your way up slowly over time), eat lots of protein, and keep trying. Consistency pays off and even when you fall off the wagon, you can always get back on (pun intended lol)
Cardio Training
When most people decide to “start working out” this is typically where they will gravitate to. Things like walking, running, bike, elliptical fall under this category but it can be basically anything that gets the heartrate elevated for a period of time. Cardio training is a great way to improve heart health (its in the name!) and endurance. It also tends to be less intimidating than strength training as it seems pretty straightforward: put on shoes, move one foot in front of the other. However, it is rarely the form of exercise I recommend to people who are just starting their fitness journey. Here are some of the misconceptions about cardio training that I want you to know about.
Cardio is for fat loss because it burns the most calories per hour - its true, going for a run for 30 minutes is going to burn more calories than 30 minutes of strength training. The problem here is that it perpetuates the belief that we have to earn our food, or punish ourself with exercise for bad food choices. This unhealthy relationship with food and training leads to a lot of dissatisfaction, self loathing, and failure. Also, our bodies are highly adaptive. When you use it more, its going to find ways to balance that deficit. You are going to be more hungry, or if you dont feed yourself you will lack energy and motivation to do the other little movements in your day, your body may even pare down “expensive” muscle tissue and save the fat because fat is fuel, muscle consumes fuel - and if your body thinks its going into a famine or has to maintain a high workload, its going to save that fuel!
Cardio is good for preventing injuries - Because of its simplicity, a lot of people believe that cardio training is low risk because its something we should in theory, know how to do naturally. Born to run right? The problem is a lot of us have lost touch with good form due to our work and living environments. Repeated stress on a poor posture will only make it worse and increases the risk of injury.
All you need to be healthy is walk - I have heard this a LOT. Now, I want to say that if you are a sedentary person, going for a walk is a great piece of advice. When training feels daunting, going for a walk is a low intimidation, low risk win. Building confidence and consistency is a great way to build an exercise habit, but don’t stop there. Once you get regular, try adding some things that challenge you. Of course I am saying strength training - because walking does not do a lot to build muscle or bone density which is critical to a good life. If you are an equestrian, chances are you already have a daily step count too… adding more likely has little to no benefit.
Everyone needs to do a minimum amount of cardio - I hear from consults and clients that other PTs they have interviewed with wanted them to invest in treadmills, do 30 minutes of cardio a day, and do high intensity. What these other trainers failed to recognize is that horse people in particular already have a lot of activity in their daily lives. Adding 30 minutes on a treadmill to someone who already gets 20k steps a day doing chores is a big ask. Unless you are specifically training for a race, adding more cardio likely is only going to burn you out. Your time is better invested in strength training.
Now, with all those out of the way it probably sounds like I hate cardio and its useless. Far from the truth actually! I love cardio myself to the point that I am actually training for an ultramarathon (eventually). I love being out on the trails and moving my body. I love pushing through the discomfort and feeling my heart pound and breath become rhythmic with my steps. That is why I can say with absolute certainty that most people expect the wrong things out of their cardio. Since starting training, I have gained fat, injured myself, and questioned my life choices on more than one occasion. But I love it anyway and I have more energy in my day plus my runs are becoming easier to enjoy because I am fitter at that specific activity. That’s why you should do it… if you love it, if you have performance goals (ie not be winded after posting trot for 60 seconds), if you have the time or are willing to make the tradeoffs, then cardio is for you. However, this is not something to be done exclusively. Always support it with strength training and mobility work to help prevent injury and to perform your best. Had I not been doing these, my injuries which were little niggles only setting me back a week or two at a time, could have been much worse.
Bottom line: make cardio the adventure, not a punishment.
Mobility & Stretching
This has been a super hot topic lately, the word “mobility” is the trend de jour. Look it up (or have it come across your feed) and you probably get a lot of incredibly fit and beautiful influencers performing pretzel like feats that don’t seem humanly possible. However, I am here to tell you that is the end result of years of training… regardless of them telling you to “do this every day for super mobile hips!” Ummm yeah, if I could do that then I wouldnt be searching for mobility exercises right?!
So let me tell you about what I like when it comes to this stuff. First, we need to understand that mobility isnt the performative displays you see on instagram or tiktok. You aren’t trying out for cirque de soleil if you are here. For the average person, mobility is simply the ability to get into a deep (or deeper as its relative) range of motion AND to be able to get back out of it. This means that we need to spend some time at the limits of your current range of motion, and add strength training. Yup, this is another bait and switch to strength training. Lifting weights can help you push to this end range of motion, and then gain that strength to get out again. A good example here is a bench fly exercise. A lot of us work at desks and tend to be tight in the chest. Doing this exercise, the weights plus gravity help to challenge your range of motion and get that stretch at the bottom, then strengthen on the way up. Thats training mobility!
Now what about stretching? I have heard every school of thought here from always to never, and my opinion on this is…. sometimes! I actually love stretching but not necessarily for what you might think its for. Stretching on its own often helps with pain relief due to knots and tight muscles, however the effects are often temporary. We often get these tight spots because of weaknesses in other places in the body, and/or other stressors, compensation patterns, and daily habits. So stretching alone isn’t going to fix all these problems. Yes, it will bring some temporary relief, but it does need to be combined with strength training on the problem areas to have a dramatic effect. Oops, I recommended strength training again!
Another thing I love about stretching is just the fact that I am spending time inside my body. Many times I do just stretching in a session with my clients even though I am so pro-strength training. Why might I do this? Because I have noticed a lot of the people I train have become very disconnected with their bodies. Stretching allows them a safe, low intensity block of time to just check in with their physical being. It can be paired with breath or meditation techniques to bring awareness to little things that may be creeping up in their bodies which could turn into injury if they continue to be ignored. It also helps us to feel muscles and body parts that we may have tuned out. This helps us connect with these muscles when we start adding the strength training. For example, I know a lot of riders who are disconnected from their glutes and post the trot using their thighs and hip flexors. Doing things like figure 4s and glute pulls helps them feel where they are on their body, which helps them engage them when working out, which develops them for better riding efficiency and posture down the line!
So how do I use stretching in my programs? As a warmup and cool down to strength sessions to check in with the body before and after the workout, as an active recovery activity, and if the client is just so overwhelmed with life stuff… a chance to check in, slow down, and connect with themself again.
Plyometrics & Agility
Riding requires us to be agile, absorb force, and move quickly. How many times have you had to dart out of the way of a spooking horse when leading it past a scary object? Something I have heard from several clients is that their injury was not from a fall or lifting something too heavy for them, but going for a quick sprint to catch a loose animal (or child!). This is where plyometrics and agility come in. We need to incorporate it a bit because as the old adage goes… if you don’t use it, you lose it! So we train it.
Plyometrics as a training method include things that add a little speed and force. Things like adding a jump or a drop, a quick sprint or lateral movement. Think burpees, speed skaters, skipping rope, jump squats and so forth.
However, we need to be smart about adding this into any program. I don’t recommend this training for anyone just getting started. The risk of injury is too great. I know I said it might help prevent injury, but it definitely is a higher risk training style! Instead of starting with plyometrics, I go back to (yes!) strength training in similar movements. So instead of jump squats, we do a safer version of squats like a box squat. We want to train the movement to be correct before we add any speed or force to it. We practice these until they are boring. We also want to eliminate any mobility issues that could cause us to do this badly. We find the gaps and we work on the gaps.
Once we get to that point, we do a small amount of it. We want the body to work up to it slowly. So say in a 1 hour session, we would maybe spend 2-3 minutes on this. That’s it! Its the cherry on top of your program, not the program itself.
However, if you want a way to add in a little bit of plyo that is quite safe, start skipping. Like… loo loo skip to my loo skipping. Go for a walk and every so often pepper in 10 strides or so of skipping. Your neighbours will think you are crazy, but you will be building a more resilient body!
Balance Training
My thoughts on this one is right in line with how I feel about Plyometrics and Agility, and has a lot in common with Cardio as well. That is, its great for performance in the saddle and can have a great impact on your everyday life, however, it shouldnt be the first place you go.
A lot of balance comes from strength and coordination. Both things that are trained when you pick up weights. You get it, weight training are the big rocks here. Once you have a solid foundation in strength training, we may choose to add some instability into your program. This might be through things like a bosu or other rockers, more single leg stance activities, or even just eyes closed.
The problem that I see a lot is that riders get hyper focused on balance and think it is separate from the rest of what we train. So often they will skip those big rocks of strength training, favouring activities that challenge the balance. Its not completely wrong and you will get something out of it, but skipping ahead to this type of training without working on the fundamentals leaves a lot on the wobble board.
One thing I do really love about balance training though, is that people tend to find it quite fun! Its more like play because you have new toys and bobbling around seems silly and we could all use a good laugh. Don’t underestimate making your workout fun! But also dont neglect the fundamentals too!
Classes and Group Exercise
While these are not forms of exercise in of themselves, I thought it worth adding it to this list because when people start to consider working out, a class is often the first place they go. Now classes and group exercise has a ton of benefits. The social aspect of classes is great for your mental health, a structured class takes away the analysis paralysis, and often having a group expecting you improves accountability. This is super important because moving your body should be enjoyable and rewarding. Being consistent is the #1 factor for success in reaching fitness goals. Group training and classes are often less expensive than one on one personal training so it is a good option for those on a budget.
However, there are some things you should consider when signing up for a workout class. Aside from the obvious considerations, I would look at below.
1) What type of exercise is involved? Is it strength training? Cardio? Stretching/yoga? Does the format of the class actually fit your goals? Is it going to challenge you enough to make progress? Refer to what I wrote above about the different forms to decide what works for you.
2) What level is the class or group? Are you a good fit with the group? Do people actually look like you there or just what you hope to look like in your wildest dreams? Does the instructor or trainer take the time to ensure you are a good fit for this group? Often a group that is for “everybody” just means it may not be specific enough for anybody. It might be a good starting point but not something so long term.
3) Does it incorporate rest periods and progressive overload? A lot of classes rely on entertainment for engagement, meaning they keep you busy nonstop and perpetuate the idea that rest is unnecessary. It is actually a very necessary part of the process to build muscle! Yes, thats rest BETWEEN exercises, not just when you go to bed at night or taking a day or two off between classes. Progressive overload means that you are gradually increasing the workload over weeks and months - so are you doing more reps, lifting more weights, running faster or anything else as you continue to return?
4) Do you do different exercises every time? In a good strength training program, we actually dont mix up the exercises that much! Every couple of weeks we will change the workout, but in the middle we are working on the same things. Muscle confusion is NOT a thing (or at least its not particularly helpful) unlike what marketers will tell you. Like I mentioned in the previous point, entertainment gets sneakers in the door but doesn’t get you the best results. Look for classes or groups that spend time working on a skill/movement and progressing it (much like you do with your riding instructors… hello 20m circles!)
5) What are the values or what is the culture of the group? A lot of classes I see are geared toward weight loss, because hey, it sells. Internet searches for weight loss comprises an enormous piece of the wellness and exercise world. However, even if you do want to lose weight, a lot of these methods are not particularly effective (see the cardio one again!), but also can eventually become demotivating. Being in an environment that focuses on calories burned or weight loss is still perpetuating the idea that we need to earn our food, or burn off our perceived failures. We really don’t need to attach morality to food or exercise, but if you are surrounded by that messaging it can be hard to escape. Choose a group that values what you value, and speaks in a way that makes you feel good about yourself.
Now, I do have a very small group that I do group training with. We occasionally have other people join us and if you shoot me an email, we can do a consult to see if you would fit into the culture, level and format. We operate with rest periods and structured progressive overload (we talk all things horses and dogs and farm during the rest periods, no further entertainment required!) If you have a couple of friends you would like to set up as group training with me, I do that too! As I said, classes can be a great way to do exercise but a lot of them focus on entertainment rather than actual progress. Picking the right one makes the difference between long term success and another false start.
Ok, I know that was a ton to go through but I hope you gleaned some useful tips from it and feel more confident picking the form of exercise that will give you the most benefit and help you get started. I hope you take away that exercise is more than calorie burning as well, and that the different forms can be added in different doses to help you get your desired results. Lastly, I hope you reach out to me with any questions you may have, I offer free consultations that are no obligation. Yes I would love to work together, but if there is a better option for you, I am not afraid to give you some free advice or refer you on to someone better suited as well. I am so excited for you to take this step!
Cheers
Sarah