Customer Reviews

The Rider's Fitness Program

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a week-end rider, I eagerly anticipated the release of this book because I wanted to target my riding muscles to help me improve.

The first disappointment came when I realized I needed to belong to a gym. They do give you home alternatives for some, not all, of the exercises but many are not workable, requiring anchor points at specific heights for the resistance band alternatives. I supposed I could tap a bunch of screw eyes into one wall and the ceiling, but I bet my landlord wouldn't be too happy!

There was also a pretty complete set of equipment you were expected to own; benches, free weights, weight bars, ankle and wrist weights, exercise balls, medicine balls, resistance bands, tilt boards, rollers, etc. The helpful web link to sources of the equipment took me straight to one of the author's equipment sales web page. I had about half the equipment needed and am being resourceful for the things I don't have. Free weights, exercise balls, medicine balls, resistance bands and tilt boards are all going to be needed.

The second disappointment was most of the exercises were the same old same old. Some of them were packaged a bit differently and toward the end of the six week series, the exercises look more interesting, combining strength, balance and posture in one exercise. (I have read the whole book and have completed week one)
At first, I thought the layout of the book was a bit awkward, but as I began to use it, it bacame clear the variations in routine (One of the things I really like about the book) makes the layout necessary. There is a warm-up/stretch section without a lot of instruction, so I just used what I thought was appropriate for that days workout.
A good bit of information is included in the Introduction so read it carefully.

I was hoping for something a bit more revolutionary, but if you are lifting weights and doing a core based workout such as Pilates, you won't find anything different in this book.
I am planning on doing the whole six week series as directed, so if something exciting occurs down the road, I'll come back and amend my review.

As an avid huntseat competitor, I try to stay in shape and maintain a level of overall fitness. However, I'm not very good at coming up with my own exercises to do at home or at the gym. Nor do I practice Pilates or Yoga. I just want some exercises to help me maintain my riding strength and stamina as I reach the "mature" riders division. Thankfully, this book does just that. I do belong to a gym, so I was able to make use of those suggestions. For someone like myself who's motivated but just needs some guidance for appropriate exercises to do out of the saddle, I found Ms. Dennis' book very worthwhile.

I am a very competitive weekend rider who knew that I needed to do something to improve my fitness level. I bought this book with the hopes of getting into a routine that was flexible, convenient and easy to understand and this book offers this and much more.

The information in the book provided me with an understanding of the areas of fitness I really needed to improve, such as balance and flexibility. I found the workout routines were very easy to follow and even though I don't have all of the equipment shown, I have been able to creatively improvise and get the benefits talked about in each section. The descriptions of the exercises along with the accompanying photo provide a great reference for following along. The pull out fitness guide provides an excellent way to track my routine. Even though the exercises are some I have been doing, the combination and diverse pattern keep it interesting and fresh. I am half way through the six week program and have been achieving the results I have been looking for.

I took this book to my physical therapist who thought the book was awesome. I wanted to see if I could do all of the activities in the book, since I'm in therapy for shoulder injuries (from horses). With a few modifications, they thought that I could do all of them and inquired about where I got the book. They said they'd like to have a copy around for other equestrian patients.

This is an interesting book with loads of excersizes but a bit too many gadgets are involved. In order to follow the program it means buying alot of equipment if you do not have a well stocked gym at your home. Take this into consideration when purchasing the book. The time that it would take to go through all the warm up excersizes as well as the actual programmed excersizes is considerable. I took what I could from the book but I have a full time job LOL.
Reasonably well written and most the time the excersizes are well described.

some excellent excercises to do that really help muscles needed in riding but the book is hard to follow day by day and some of them you really do need fancy machines to get real benefit

I really like this book! i have just flipped through it since it arrived today and look forward to reading and doing the exercises in this book.
i would suggest that you had a gym membership because i find the equitment they say a basic gym should have, wouldn't be very pratical to have in an every day household.

i also like this book because it covers all areas of riding. so barrel racers, pleasure riders, hunter jumpers, dressage, trail riders, etc.


there are 74 exercises that work your whole body and it tells you why its important. theres also liek the title suggets a weekly log that tells you what areas to work kinda. :)

every rider should own this book!

I absolutely love this book. I have a few different books on fitness in general, but this is the only one that has the routines set up for you. I have only managed a workout once a week, although they recommend three times a week, yet I can still feel the difference in my body. One of the things I really like about this book is it tells you what each exercise is supposed to do... such as help improve your balance in the saddle, or increase your muscle strength for posting or jumping. I know a few reviewers have complained about having to have a gym membership, but this isn't a problem for me, as I have a gym close by. There are alternate "at home" versions of some of the exercises, which requires the purchase of some equipment, but again, I don't see that as a problem. If you are serious about riding, a little bit of expense on the side is worth it, IMO, if it makes you a better rider. I am a beginning adult rider, and need all the physical conditioning I can get. This book is perfect for helping me to achieve this.

Great book. Detailed weekly program. Only downfall is that a lot of the workouts require equipment that you may or may not have. Pictures of exercises and explanations are excellent. easy to follow. This book is a keeper!

This book is very well written and can be appreciated by novices and experts. Exercises are well demonstrated and explained.