Thinking & exercising your way to better riding

Written by Lisa Champion, MSc (Exercise Science) and Anna-Louise Bouvier*, BachAppSc(Phty) MAPA Physiotherapist. In conjunction with

Larissa Chadwick, Grand Prix Rider and NCAS Level 1 Coach.

© Physiocise

A Stable Core

If you have had any exposure to the fitness industry or perhaps had the chance to attend Pilates classes in recent times, you will have heard the buzz word ‘core stability’. Stability in this area allows the arms and legs to function independently and leads to the look of softness and stillness that is so apparent when you watch really good riders in action. These gifted riders, who naturally have incredible stability in their core (usually without even knowing it!), make up only a slim percentage of all riders. The other 95% of riders need to work on improving the stability of their centre through specific exercises.

What happens if you lack core stability when riding?

If your core is unstable it will affect your riding in many ways. You may grip with other muscles in your body that are strong, for example your arms or legs. You may move around too much in the saddle. You may compensate for one movement of the body by moving another or you may compensate for the horse’s movement with excessive movement of your own body. With all these compensations your riding posture will be compromised (as will your posture in general), with the result being a lack of effectiveness and sometimes even back or neck pain. Some riders also have trouble breathing when riding. In short, a lack of stability in the core will show up as a host of problems both on and off the horse.

Anna-Louise categorizes the three most common postural problems off the horse as the Swayback, where you have an increase in the curvature of your lower back (Photo 1); the Slumper, where your shoulders are collapsed forward and the upper back is rounded out (Photo 2); and the Sideways Curver, where you have a mild curve in your spine which results in lots of subtle muscle imbalances between the sides of your body.

Over time some muscles become weaker, other tighter until the posture becomes increasingly fixed.

Posture and your core

I had been aware of the need to develop ‘core strength’ and was absolutely shocked to discover that great core stability had nothing to do with being strong. In fact, because I was strong, I was using lots of different muscles in my body instead of my deep core - I needed stability, not strength. Stability is being able to hold your trunk, balanced against gravity for long periods of time without getting tired. Imagine your core as a corset around the middle of your body. The front of the corset is a muscle called your transverse abdominus (TA) which acts like a belt running horizontally around your centre and provides stability to the abdomen. The back of the corset is made up of the deep back muscles that work together with the TA to provide stability to your back. The top of the corset is your diaphragm, the primary breathing muscle, and at the bottom of the corset are your pelvic floor muscles, the sling of musculature that is at the base of the pelvis.

Signs of a weak core are excessive gripping, tilting, tenseness, and the need to constantly push and pull when riding. Riding exaggerates the inadequacies of our core stability, because when the body has to cope with the dynamic movement of the horse there is a lot more compensation needed.

So how can you stabilise your core?

These exercises will help any rider gain better core stability and control. They target the three elements of the core- that is the "lid" or diaphragm, the walls or TA and finally the floor, which is the pelvic floor (this is not only women’s business – men have pelvic floor muscles too and need to strengthen them just as much!). It is vital that you train each part of your core, as each element is totally interdependent on the other. It’s not enough to have a great TA if you can’t breathe when you use it!

Breath work- activating the lid of your core

In the fast paced world we survive in, our breath tends to get ‘stuck’ in the top 1/3 of our chest. To work on your breath, you have to first sit properly. Anna-Louise calls this Balancing Your Bottom Bones (BBB) which, as any rider knows, is an essential element of a good seat. Using the edge of a chair, sit down and allow yourself to sit like a Slumper. Now sit up very straight and allow yourself to sit like a Swayback. Now, find the middle of these two positions. You should now be balanced perfectly on your sitting bones. You may need to place your hands under your bottom as you do this to really feel where your bottom bones are. This exercise in itself can be done each time you sit down in a chair or in the saddle.

Now place your hands on your lower rib cage. Without straining or forcing your breath, try breathing deeply and softly into your rib cage. Breathe in through your nose as you imagine that your rib cage is gently pushing your hands sideways. It is also very helpful to imagine that you are allowing your back to open and the breath is filling up your back. Use your hands to give you feedback about whether the breath is travelling in the correct direction. Remember not to strain or force the breath and to keep your shoulders relaxed. Once you have practiced this deeper breathing (which opens up your diaphragm) in a controlled way, you can practice it regularly throughout the day as you are just going about your business. Once you get on the horse, you can practice the breathing at the start of your ride as you are warming up, and then whenever else you can remember to do it!

Activating the TA- training the walls of your core

Sit on a chair, one hand on your rib cage and one hand on your tummy. Let your tummy fully sag out. Take a slow breath in through your nose and as you breath out, imagine that your tummy is moving gently in towards your spine. Try to keep your back still as you activate your tummy. Repeat the cycle of allowing the tummy to sag as you breath in and then moving your tummy towards your back as you breathe out. Remember not to force the motion and do not ‘over breathe.’ With practice, your tranverse abdominus muscle will stay quietly activated, even when you are not thinking about it. On the horse, this translates to a postural position with more integrity, supported by an activated TA!

Strengthening the pelvic floor- training the floor of your core

In order to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, you have to have a clear understanding of where they are and how they work. Think of the pelvic floor as the muscles that connect the front of your pelvis with the back of the pelvis, like a sling. When the pelvic floor muscles activate, the TA and the deep back muscles activate as well. If you can link this action in with good breathing techniques, your core stability is on the way to greatness! Both women and men have pelvic floor muscles that will benefit from being strengthened.

The positions that Anna-Louise uses to isolate the pelvic floor vary but it is good to start in a lying position with your feet together and your knees apart. Place your hands as you did for your seated TA activation work - one on the rib cage, one on the tummy. Bend your knees up and place your feet on the floor.  Imagine that the sling of muscle that is connecting the front of your pelvis to the back of the pelvis has a straw in the middle of it, running up towards your belly button. At the end of the straw, there is a pea. Take a slow breath in from the nose as your rib cage opens. Now, as you slowly exhale, draw the pea up into the straw. Relax, let the pea drop back down the straw, and repeat. It takes quite strong visual imagery to get the breathing and the muscle activation coordinated! As you are exhaling and the pea is being drawn up the straw, you should feel your tummy lower. Once you have mastered this technique, you can challenge the pelvic floor muscles more by lowering the leg on the out breath. As you lower the leg, you will feel that your whole body wants to roll in that direction. Concentrate on the pea coming up through the straw and your tummy moving towards your spine. This will stabilise your core so the leg can act independently. As we need good core stability for so long while we are riding, build up to doing 30 or more of the leg drops on each side.

You can also strengthen your pelvic floor in a standing position. Support your upper body on a chair or table and let your tummy drop. Then use the exact same cues to activate the pelvic floor (pea up the straw on the out breath). You can do these exercises any time of the day!

Strengthening the pelvic floor does NOT involve squeezing the gluteal muscles (the ones in your bottom), or using your adductors (the muscles on the inside of your legs). Try to keep these global muscles turned OFF as you concentrate on the deep muscles of your corset. One hint that you may have weakness at the base of your core is that you use the global compensating muscles, such as the adductors to compensate when you are riding. This will manifest itself as tenseness in the legs and a tendency to have to grip with the inside of your legs rather than being able to keep them soft and relaxed as you ride. In the beginning you may have to do these exercises with your eyes closed, just to concentrate fully on the correct technique. As you get better at them, work towards doing them with the eyes open, so your eyes can take in your surroundings while you are focusing on your core (more like you’ll need to do when you’re riding).

Remember: Strengthening your core takes time and lots of practice. Because you are retraining your postural muscles you may not feel very much. Close your eyes and try to visualise the movement, and you will gradually feel a "drawing" in feeling. Anna-Louise finds that often it can take clients up to 10 weeks to feel they are developing any real core control, depending on whether they have had previous injuries or if their posture has been very poor. Relate it back to your riding experience. You know how difficult it can be to develop good control in certain skills, approach training the pelvic floor in the same way.

The riding application

Because these exercises require concentration, they are not easy to do while you are riding. You can use time that you are just sitting on your horse to practice them, but more practically, it is the work you do OFF the horse that will teach your body new patterning that will AUTOMATICALLY help when you are on the horse. If you are willing to make the commitment to improving the stability of your core, you will most definitely see the difference over time to your posture and your riding position.

The Core Stabiliser Workout

Remember to try and do the breathing, pelvic floor and TA exercises at any time of the day, sitting, standing, lying, driving and riding. If you want a specific program, try this:

1) Sit in a chair and Balance you Bottom Bones (BBB)

2) Perform 20 Repetitions of the Rib Cage/Back Breathing

3) Do the TA Activation exercise for 20 Repetitions

4) Lay down on the floor and perform the ‘pea in the straw’ pelvic floor exercise for 10 Repetitions without moving the leg

5) Progress to doing between 10-30 repetitions with the leg dropping (do all the reps on one leg before switching to the next)

6) Stand up and do 10 repetitions of the Standing Pelvic Floor exercise

Go about your day with your core activated and your mind aware!