Oh, the Insanity
Every once in a while I go on the COTH forums and take a peak at what people are talking about. I'm always intrigued by the threads about rider fitness. It seems everyone struggles with it and no one has a great answer. Sure there are lots of fitness things you can, but it really comes to having the motivation to pursue it long enough to get fit.
I've been involved in other sports at random intervals in my life. I typically get obsessed with another sport when I'm not riding very much....mountain biking and running in my twenties; yoga and snowboarding in my early 30s. But I've never been obsessed with the idea of fitness. I think I have finally given up on the idea of reclaiming my 18 year old body. Now I just like having hobbies, things to do and look forward to when I'm not working. Hello, horses.
But with riding, rider fitness is important. It's no fun running cross country and feeling weaker and weaker in your position as you go; huffing and buffing as you cross the finish. Now that I am in Maryland, I have run out of excuses not to be exercising (beyond riding itself). My commute to the barn is 20 minutes each way (no longer the 50 minutes it was in Charlotte). I work at home, so no commute to and from work. Lack of time is no longer an issue; its just a matter of motivation.
Lucky for me I have Mike. This past weekend he pulled out his Insanity workout DVDs and we started the 60 day program. Insanity is insane....and painful...and strangely rewarding. The whole system is a crazy set of interval training sets. There is a LOT of jumping. It's funny as an adult just how little jumping you do with your body. It is crazy hard.
Shaun T's cut crew of athletes struggle with it too. If they need to take an unscheduled break, then I definitely don't feel bad when I do it. Shaun T doesn't give you any lame pep-talks about how great you'll look in a bikini if you keep with it; it's just about hitting it hard for 40 minutes. "Give me as much as you can." That's it! So Mike and I hit it hard for 40 minutes. We yell, we grunt, we sweat buckets, we take unscheduled breaks and then jump back into it.
We just finished day 3. Our muscles hurt so bad this morning, we talked about skipping today. But we did it and actually my muscles feel better now, so much looser. I'm thinking this 60-day regiment will greatly enhance my fitness level. I'm also secretly hoping I can shed 10-15 pounds :)
Leo update!
Leo got a new farrier and got a new shoe glued on his hoof this morning. He'll get turned out tonight and then I'll start riding him tomorrow.
Last week, I got to the barn and his skin was all bumpy and swollen. I called the vet and I described it to her. She said it was rain rot. Rachel explained it has nothing to do with cleanliness. His immune system is likely stressed from the move north and that helps the bacteria take hold. If that's true, then it could also explains why his hoof took so much longer than normal to get better. Then the rain rot probably spread because of bug bites and the humidity.
His body is disgusting right now. He has to be bathed daily. He's bathed in a medicated Micro-Tex shampoo every 4 days. In between, he gets bathed with Selsun Blue. Luckily his dark hair kind of disguises what's happening. Rachel said it would be 2 weeks before I started getting it under control. UGH. He hates it. He hates being touched and scrubbed, and is constantly dancing around and trying to kick me. After a week of stall rest, he is just miserable for each bathing session. So I am I!
I've been involved in other sports at random intervals in my life. I typically get obsessed with another sport when I'm not riding very much....mountain biking and running in my twenties; yoga and snowboarding in my early 30s. But I've never been obsessed with the idea of fitness. I think I have finally given up on the idea of reclaiming my 18 year old body. Now I just like having hobbies, things to do and look forward to when I'm not working. Hello, horses.
But with riding, rider fitness is important. It's no fun running cross country and feeling weaker and weaker in your position as you go; huffing and buffing as you cross the finish. Now that I am in Maryland, I have run out of excuses not to be exercising (beyond riding itself). My commute to the barn is 20 minutes each way (no longer the 50 minutes it was in Charlotte). I work at home, so no commute to and from work. Lack of time is no longer an issue; its just a matter of motivation.
Lucky for me I have Mike. This past weekend he pulled out his Insanity workout DVDs and we started the 60 day program. Insanity is insane....and painful...and strangely rewarding. The whole system is a crazy set of interval training sets. There is a LOT of jumping. It's funny as an adult just how little jumping you do with your body. It is crazy hard.
Shaun T's cut crew of athletes struggle with it too. If they need to take an unscheduled break, then I definitely don't feel bad when I do it. Shaun T doesn't give you any lame pep-talks about how great you'll look in a bikini if you keep with it; it's just about hitting it hard for 40 minutes. "Give me as much as you can." That's it! So Mike and I hit it hard for 40 minutes. We yell, we grunt, we sweat buckets, we take unscheduled breaks and then jump back into it.
We just finished day 3. Our muscles hurt so bad this morning, we talked about skipping today. But we did it and actually my muscles feel better now, so much looser. I'm thinking this 60-day regiment will greatly enhance my fitness level. I'm also secretly hoping I can shed 10-15 pounds :)
Leo update!
Leo got a new farrier and got a new shoe glued on his hoof this morning. He'll get turned out tonight and then I'll start riding him tomorrow.
Last week, I got to the barn and his skin was all bumpy and swollen. I called the vet and I described it to her. She said it was rain rot. Rachel explained it has nothing to do with cleanliness. His immune system is likely stressed from the move north and that helps the bacteria take hold. If that's true, then it could also explains why his hoof took so much longer than normal to get better. Then the rain rot probably spread because of bug bites and the humidity.
His body is disgusting right now. He has to be bathed daily. He's bathed in a medicated Micro-Tex shampoo every 4 days. In between, he gets bathed with Selsun Blue. Luckily his dark hair kind of disguises what's happening. Rachel said it would be 2 weeks before I started getting it under control. UGH. He hates it. He hates being touched and scrubbed, and is constantly dancing around and trying to kick me. After a week of stall rest, he is just miserable for each bathing session. So I am I!
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