Strengthen Your Sides Use this 5-Minute Fix to lengthen and strengthen both sides of your torso evenly. Do this exercise just before you ride to improve your straightness in the saddle. Remember the feeling of pulling on the band whenever you notice the urge to collapse. 9 Training Aids Stretchy band, post Do you: Feel crooked when you ride? Cock one hip out to the side? Feel as if one side of your body is stronger? Feel like one hand wants to curl inward? Think one leg seems longer than the other? All of these problems may stem from your rib cage-to-hip connection. Here s a quick tip to help lengthen your sides, evenly tone your torso, control the wayward hip, and level your shoulders. Notice what happens between your rib cage and pelvis (the waist area). Is one side shorter than the other? Do you collapse toward your right or left side? Does this correspond to the shoulder that is lower? Does the hand on the shortened side tend to curl inward? Do you use your arm and leg more strengthen Your Sides 35
strongly on the collapsed side in order to become more stable? Do you have trouble getting your horse to go straight or bend to the right or left? When you collapse to one side, you shorten the distance between that shoulder, ribs, waist, and pelvis (fig. 9.1). Reach down sideways with one hand and feel that everything on this side moves closer together. This is important to do when you want to bend over to pick something up or tie your shoelaces, but not when trying to sit squarely in the saddle. You want to strive for symmetry on your two sides so that you don t get thrown to one side as the horse moves. (If you have a scoliosis, take heart because by doing this exercise you can be functionally straight even when you are not physically straight.) Therefore, you need to be able to expand the ribs and create a firm connection between your torso, pelvis, and leg by lengthening through both sides. 9.1 I am collapsed on my right side, causing my shoulders to appear unlevel. Trying to level my shoulders without correcting my torso is futile because that is addressing the symptom and not the cause. EXERCISE On the Ground Test yourself to find out which side is easier to lengthen. Stand on one leg and then go up on your toes still on that foot. Can you go up easily, without holding onto something? How long can you stay there without straining? Feel how you remain firm from your foot to your armpit in order to maintain your weight over the standing leg. You probably instinctively picked the leg you habitually stand on for this test. Stand on the other foot and find out what happens. If this is the side you usually collapse, it might not be so easy. Do you wobble, tilt, or lean on this leg? Typically, it is harder to stand over the collapsed side. Notice if your pelvis sways out to the side when standing on this leg. This exercise will improve your ability to lengthen and become more stable on both sides. You will need some type of stretchy material. I use the black Equiband (see p. 198), but other materials will do (see Fix 32, p. 126). The stretchy band needs to be fairly strong but not overpowering. Alignment is more important than pulling on the band. If the band is too weak, you will 36 section 2: chest and upper back
9.2 Use a stretchy band tied to something solid, like the fencepost here, for toning your sides. 9.3 Stand on one leg to increase the difficulty of the exercise. Start with the leg closest to the fence. Make sure you keep your pelvis square underneath you. 9.4 Incorrect: Don t let your body tilt or your pelvis sway out to the side! 9.5 To further increase the difficulty, stand on the leg furthest from the post. Keep the other leg away from the standing leg with the knee bent, and your foot behind and off the ground. not feel any resistance. If it is too strong, you will throw your entire body into the exercise, which defeats the purpose. As you get stronger, you can increase the strength of the band by doubling it over, or you can get a stronger band. Tie one end of the band to a solid object such as a fence. Stand about one foot away from the fence (fig. 9.2). Make sure the ground is level so you don t lean. Keep your shoulders down, elbows close to your sides and at a right angle (90 degrees) so your forearms are parallel to the ground while holding the band. With both feet on the ground, pull the band across your body, using your arms. Think of lengthening your spine as you pull. Slowly release the tension on the band and repeat several times (see Fix 1, p. 2, for ways to lengthen through the neck and head). Turn to face the opposite direction and pull the band across your body again. Is it different when you face this direction? strengthen Your Sides 37
Next, stand only on the foot closest to the post (fig. 9.3). Pull the band across your body. (You may need to decrease the band strength when you stand on one foot.) Slowly release the tension. Feel how much more stability you need through your side from pelvis to armpit when on one foot. Make sure you don t lean, tilt, or throw your hip out to the side (fig. 9.4). If you can work in front of a mirror, you can see if you are maintaining your alignment. Repeat, facing the other direction. At first, you might find you cannot do this exercise at all. If this is the case, put the palm of your hand on the post and push against it as you pull the band. Think of lengthening upward as you pull. With practice, you will learn how to balance firmly on one leg without using the other hand for support. To make the exercise more difficult, stand only on the leg furthest from the fence (fig. 9.5). Again decrease the band strength in the beginning and make sure you maintain your alignment. On the Horse In the saddle, remember the feeling of length and stability through both of your sides so that your weight is distributed evenly on both seat bones (fig. 9.6). Then return to your old position and find out how much the position of your ribs and pelvis has changed (see also Fix 15, p. 63, for help leveling your seat). Go back and forth a few times until the feeling of length becomes more comfortable. Ride in both new and old positions and find out how your horse responds. Which does he like better? When you are stronger and more even through the sides of your body, your horse will track straighter and circles will become more symmetrical in both directions. (Combine this lesson with Fix 7 on p. 27 to create a frame for your torso with your front, back, and both sides forming a firm but not rigid rectangular box. Then add the lessons on the shoulder joints Fix 22, p.88 and hip joints Fix 19, p. 76 so there are four wheels at each corner of the box.) 38 section 2: chest and upper back
9.6 My shoulders are level because I am even in length on both sides of my torso. strengthen Your Sides 39