NOT JUST FOR DRESSAGE!!
People always ask me after clinics "what's the best exercise to improve
sitting the trot?". Often sitting the trot is one of the hardest
things to do, and certainly the thing people ask about the most.
No
matter if they are kids just wanting to learn to ride better, or team
coaches wanting the ultimate from their players, all coaches and sporting
people want a great exercise to 'improve their riding', or 'improve their
gymnastics', or 'improve their running'.
But, for me, to be my "all time favourite" exercise I needed to
choose an exercise wisely, with elements of right brained, left-brained and
kinaesthetic learning, combined with perhaps neuron-linguistic
programming...but just fun for kids! An "all time
favourite" would have to be able to increase performance for all sports,
and for all ages, and be inexpensive for students, but even
more, my 'all time favourite' would have to work on every element of the
athlete: both cardio vascular/aerobic fitness, muscle strength and
extension, co-ordination, balance and timing...
FUN for our kids - Not to scary for adults
I have spent many years investigating Feldenkrais
(sometimes described as the more “up to date” modern version of the
Alexander Technique), Yoga, Ballet Exercises (and now Pilates) and
Physiotherapy...For me, they have been literally a life saver, getting me
out of hospital and back on my feet many times.
But, a lot of these exercise simply aren't fun for kids, so
the kids just don't seem to practice them. Kids want to 'hoon around'
there's just no two ways about it. A lot of the exercises I have
been given in the past to improve my own riding were simply too difficult
for adults entering the sport for the first time, or I was injured and
couldn't really do much. So if I was to have an 'all-time favourite'
exercise - it would have to be VERY easy - at least to start with.
And...inexpensive!
With so many of my pupils still studying at school or
university, and on budget, it simply means that if the program is expensive,
it doesn't get purchased, and the person misses out, so any favourite
exercise would have to be VERY INEXPENSIVE indeed.
Ideal, 'instant fix' for ALL sports.
I hate having to WAIT. If it takes years to
learn, then I would rather spend my training time actually doing the
sport itself, so for me, an 'all time favorite' exercise would have to
show me the benefits straight away, to be an INSTANT fix.
So, what's my No. 1 favourite exercise I recommend?
From the littlest child to the oldest
injured person...everyone can benefit by getting on a trampoline!
I
hadn't been on one in perhaps 30 years, and honestly I was scared, and very
sore. On the first day I just lay on my back and bent my knees and
just made it wiggle a bit. I didn't even really stand up. I know
to a kid that sounds crazy, but the older you get the stiffer you get...and
well...that's just how it feels. SCARY. And, it
hurts! But, then as you "wiggle a bit" and then stand up and
gain your confidence. Even a severely injured person like myself can
go from not being able to stand to now doing little tricks. If I
can do it...so can you.
Now, before you go too far you should have a look at
trampoline safety.
Trampolines are great for
riding camps, and very
inexpensive, great for aerobics, balance, fitness, co-ordination and timing.
And, these days the little round trampolines cost less than a horse
riding lesson!
And, for dressage
riders especially...try to learn how to bounce in time to trot music at
around 150-155bpm...then you'll see why you might be getting comments like
'rushed' on your dressage tests!
But no matter how advanced you want to make it....it's
still
FUN FOR KIDS!
