I’ve been working out on a regular basis since October. I started
with 20 minutes of cardio twice a week. Cardio is my least favorite work out but
it always gives me the best results. I have a workout buddy at the office who
keeps me accountable for our standing appointment Tuesday and Thursday at lunch.
Over time we increased our cardio time to 30 minutes and have plans to push to
35 minutes next week. After the holidays I added 2 days of weight lifting, an
exercise that I enjoy. I started working out again because I no longer have the
metabolism that I did in my 20’s and after a few years of carrying extra body
fat I am ready to dump Frump Girl and reclaim my Inner Goddess. One side effect
that I noticed in the first week was how working out consistently improved my
time in the saddle.
In October I noticed that on the afternoons I rode
after working out at lunch I just sat better in the saddle. My body made sense
to me; I didn’t have to spend the first 20 minutes of the ride finding my seat.
The more consistent that I became with my workouts the more consistent I became
in the saddle. Over the winter I have found myself understanding more of
what Sarah says in my lessons. When she tells me to soften my back I know that
I need to engage my core and I can actually do it. I have a “feel” that I don’t
remember having in the past. During our lessons I have multiple ahh-haa moments
and often stop to let Sarah in on them. 2 weeks ago I caught myself dropping the
contact each time I asked for a lope transition. I’ve been doing this for years
and for the first time I actually understood why it was happening and how to
correct it. A week later I found that every time I wanted to slow my horse down
I took my leg off her completely again dropping contact this time with my legs
instead of the reins. My horse then dropped her back, lifted my head almost to
say “Where did you go”. This has also been going on for years and I finally
felt it. I’ve had some of the best rides on my mare in the last few months. I know
when I am doing it right because it suddenly becomes easy, I can communicate
with my entire body and not just my hands. Grace is moving better than ever and
is becoming the horse that I look forward to sitting on in the show ring.
There are times in the gym when I get upset with myself for
letting my body go for so long. I used to be stronger and was able to easily
lift twice the weight that I struggle with now. I never had to think about the
food I put in my body because I burned all the extra calories without having to
work at it. Then I remember that the super fit body of my 20’s was also
incredibly crooked in the saddle and I lamed up more than one horse with my
imbalance. I am once again grateful for the little bay mare that is my teacher
on this journey.
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