As we start to come out of Winter (yay more daylight hours!) and even though competitions aren’t quite on the calendars yet, our focus turns to fitness when it comes to our horses.
But these months can also be a great opportunity to work on our own fitness too!
I know, I can hear the groans from here – no one wants to work out after they’ve mucked out, worked all day, done the housework etc.
As horse riders our own health and wellbeing is usually last on our priority list.
And why would we – the world of physical fitness can blow your mind! There are so many differing opinions out there about what works best, but as we know working with horses; we aren’t all built the same.
So who benefits from what?
What suits you best depends on your somatotype – you’re body type.
There are 3 main body types, but as always we don’t always fall into one category – you might be mostly one type, with a little bit of the other thrown in.
That’s absolutely fine! It’s all about trial and error, you need to work out what works best for you.
Ectomorphs
Are you tall, slender, find it difficult to put weight on?
If so you’re most likely an ectomorph.
You guys also mostly have a light frame and are mostly built for endurance type activities. The long runs, cycles, gymnastics – anything that needs a high amount of stamina!
However this body type does tend to struggle with building strength. This tends to result in being a lot more prone to injuries than the other body types when it comes to weight training.
To help build strength it’s worth giving body-weight exercises a go, such as Pilates to help not only build muscle but also stability and control, leading to a lot less injuries!
Mesomorphs
Mesomorphs tends to be quite broad-shouldered and square-faced, and are also powerhouses when it comes to exercise! They have the ability to lose and gain weight without much effort, and their muscles adapt quickly to exercise.
You guys also respond really well to cardiovascular and resistance training – the athletic jackpot!
This body type finds workouts such as HIIT (high intensity interval training) very effective in getting them in shape, as it works multiple muscle groups at once.
They are also built for speed, so sprint training is also something that works well for them.
Endomorphs
Endomorphs tend to be a little softer around the edges (I say this with love, as I myself am an endomorph!)
We tend to struggle losing weight, and hold it around our middles – but we have no problem putting weight on though!
Building muscle mass is not a problem for us, so we’re suited for strength training. However we do tend to struggle building up our cardiovascular fitness (both speed and endurance – lucky us!), and this is something we do need to work on.
Of course as I said, this isn’t a cookbook recipe – you might find that you’re a mesomorph but you can run long distances with relative ease. You might find you’re an ectomorph but weight training works well for you.
The best thing you can do is something you enjoy – this will give you the best chance of succeeding!