Core is a big focus for riders for stability and balance in the saddle but we so often forget about our gluteal muscles (our bum).
Without strong gluts a strong core will not get you the position, stillness and balance you desire.
Just like a poor back end on a horse not only doesn’t look pleasing, but shows sign of weakness and inability to perform/move correctly, training our gluts is so key for us riders in developing a strong, stable and effective seat as well as eliminating back pain.
Your gluts and core work together to create that perfect posture in and out on the saddle and enable you to use your seat effectively and have the ability to feel through your seat creating that illusion of stillness, developing the perfect partnership between horse and rider.
Weak or tight?
People can often get confused between weak and tight muscles but if you are struggling for balance in the saddle and don’t currently do any training outside of riding chances are your gluts are in fact weak.
Often people get confused with tightness as your body will inhibit movement at a joint if the surrounding muscles are weak – this is your bodies protective mechanism to prevent injury. This is why I choose mobility training over flexibility which you can read more about here.
Gluteus Maximus, Medius and Minimus
That’s right there are three gluteal muscles in your behind and all work to extend and laterally rotate the hip (precisely the position we want in riding). All three gluteals work together to help control the stability of your hips.
Gluteus maximus is the largest of the three (naturally) but we need to work all three to develop correct movement and stability in the hips/riders seat.
To target all three muscles, we need to make sure we work through all range of movement around the hip not just our standard frontal plane movements e.g. squats and lunges.
How to Strengthen the Gluts for Riding
Look on Instagram/YouTube/Facebook and you are met with numerous ‘booty building’ workouts but when looking to develop your riding its important your training is geared towards function not just for aesthetics or following the latest fad training exercises because someone on social media says so.
I have developed 8 key exercises to build your back end geared specifically to horse riders to improve your stability in the saddle, deepen your seat and improve your connection with your horse.
I don’t believe in isolating individual muscles but develop workouts for my clients depending on their current weaknesses, geared towards getting the body moving and working together to develop better posture and becoming the best possible rider for their horse.
Where Can I Learn More?
You can gain access to these and many more mobility and fitness videos in my exclusive CentreLine Performance members group.
Join the awesome team of like-minded riders, where you can grow and support each other, take part in weekly challenges, fitness videos, try new recipes and ability to learn and develop into the best possible rider for your horse and ability to ask me all the questions you like all for just £1/day!
If you would like a preview or are interested in joining please click here to register your interest – places are limited but if you want to make a real difference to your riding and to your horse I would love to hear from you!
I hope you all have a really great week and I love hearing all the feedback from you guys!
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have!
Much love,
Sinead x
