I know, I know, I have been bad. Somehow I have managed to
neglect the blog for an ungodly amount of time that I would rather not cite. In
the last couple weeks I have gone through some major life changes; not only
have I been off of horses since December 19th, I have also had my
jaw broken and screwed back together! I must say, the first 48 hours were
pretty hellish but it seems that I am on my way to looking almost normal. With
the swelling down and my spirits up I can’t help but obsess over every aspect
of my horse's training. It is hard to be the observer. It is hard to relinquish
my grip on the reins. It is hard, but it is necessary. I have been proud of my
training with Finn. I also recognize that there comes a time when someone else
might be able to find some buttons that you just can’t find. When I went in for
my TMJ surgery I knew that the dynamic between Finn and I was about
to change. I knew that I was going to have to trust the professionals and
accept the fact that he might grow more quickly than he had in my hands.
Most of
the focus in Finn’s training as of late has been on elevating and balancing his
canter. Finn has a great canter, and always has, but like some horses he has
struggled with truly engaging behind. While I have been able to get some pretty
impressive trot work out of Finn, I really believe that Megan (trainer at Bit’
O’ Woods farm www.bitowoods.com) can get
much better canter work out of him than I can. Finn is currently only in three
days of work a week because I am poor and applying to college because of
some constraints, but he seems to be doing pretty well. However, it does seem
that he is a litttttlllleeeeee too perky outside. Some things
thoroughbreds never change.
Now
that I am feeling better I have started to think about what to do with the next
eight seemingly useless weeks of my life. I mean, come on, what even is life
without horses? I have decided that it is time to get fit. After reading some great
posts from upper level event rider Meg Kep
I have come to the conclusion that my horse really does deserve a healthy rider!
We ask our horses to be fit, we tell them they need to workout and we manage
what they eat. If you asked any person in the barn what their horse eats they could tell you, so why should we treat ourselves any differently? I have decided to come up with a workout plan for myself and become as fit as my horse. I will
be combining a ‘Couch to 5k’ workout with a weight training regime as well as a
diet plan. I have decided to include both in this post but before you read further I feel the need to also
say that fitness and weight loss are very different. My goal is actually to
gain weight:muscle weight. Becoming fit isn't about getting skinny or looking good in leggings, it is about being the best you possible. Below are some stats and the diet plans that I am
looking to follow.
Starting Stats
Age: 17
Height: 5 foot 3
Weight: 98 lbs.
Goal Weight: 115 lbs.
Goals: 5k Tough Mudder Run, Novice 3 day event, American
Eventing Championships, Dressage @ Devon
Work Out!
Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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Brisk
five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes
of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
~push-ups
3 sets of 12
~
Military press 3 sets of 12 @ 40 lbs.
~frontal
raise 3 sets of 10 @ 25 lbs.
~
Upright row 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
~Lat.
pull-down 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
~bicep
curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
~hammer
curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
~kickbacks
3 sets of 12
~dips
3 sets of 12
~swimmers
3 sets of 50
~crunches
3 sets of 50
~oblique
crunches 3 sets of 50
|
~leg
extensions 3 sets of 20 @ 80 lbs.
~squats
3 sets of 20 (with bar) @ 100 lbs.
~leg
curl 3 sets of 20 @100 lbs.
~lunges
3 sets of 20
~leg
press 3 sets of 20 @ 100 lbs.
~swimmers
3 sets of 50
~crunches
3 sets of 50
~oblique
crunches 3 sets of 50
|
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of
jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
~swimmers
5 sets of 30
~crunches
5 sets of 30
~oblique
crunches 5 sets of 30
~push-ups
3 sets of 12
~lunges
3 sets of 20
|
~push-ups
3 sets of 12
~
Military press 3 sets of 12 @ 40 lbs.
~frontal
raise 3 sets of 10 @ 25 lbs.
~
Upright row 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
~Lat.
pull-down 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
~bicep
curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
~hammer
curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
~kickbacks
3 sets of 12
~dips
3 sets of 12
~swimmers
3 sets of 50
~crunches
3 sets of 50
~oblique
crunches 3 sets of 50
|
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of
jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
~leg
extensions 3 sets of 20 @ 80 lbs.
~squats
3 sets of 20 (with bar) @ 100 lbs.
~leg
curl 3 sets of 20 @100 lbs.
~lunges
3 sets of 20
~leg
press 3 sets of 20 @ 100 lbs.
~swimmers
3 sets of 50
~crunches
3 sets of 50
~oblique
crunches 3 sets of 50
|
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then run 1 mile for time.
~swimmers
5 sets of 30
~crunches
5 sets of 30
~oblique
crunches 5 sets of 30
~push-ups
3 sets of 12
~lunges
3 sets of 20
|
REST
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Meal Plan! (General-you can cheat a little bit!)
