Training for riders: how to build seat, core and leg strength

If your thighs are shaking after an hour in the saddle and your back starts to sag, the limiting factor is usually how long your trunk can hold a position rather than anything the horse is doing. Riding is isometric endurance — muscles holding tension for minutes while the body absorbs impact several times a second. That makes off-horse training look rather different from a standard gym routine.

What the saddle actually asks of you

At trot and canter the pelvis takes a rhythmic impact that something has to absorb. If the hips and trunk don't do it, the lower back does, and that is where most riders first feel it the next morning.

Almost all of the work is isometric. The adductors and glutes keep the leg where it belongs, the deep abdominal wall and spinal extensors keep the torso upright, and the shoulders and back maintain a steady contact. Very little of it resembles a tidy set of ten reps; it is mostly the ability not to give way.

Heart rate is a separate matter. Jumping and cross-country push it far higher than it looks from the ground, close to what you'd see in interval work. Conditioning belongs in the plan rather than being tacked on at the end.

The seat starts at the pelvis

A good seat is not a grip with the knees. It is the ability to tip the pelvis forwards and backwards on purpose, then hold it neutral while everything underneath you moves.

Test it on a hard chair. Sit, find your seat bones, and roll the pelvis slowly forwards and back ten times. If the movement only happens in your lower back, or you have to hold your breath to produce it, that's the first job.

Hip hinge patterns and a slowly performed squat train that control directly, because both ask the pelvis to stay still while the hips move. Add hip flexor length as well — a half-kneeling lunge position with the torso upright, 2 × 40 seconds a side. A short hip flexor drags the pelvis forwards and the seat falls apart no matter how many sit-ups you do.

Core work that holds a position

The demand in the saddle is anti-movement: not letting an impact bend, tip or twist you. A hundred crunches trains something else entirely.

Four exercises cover most of it. Dead bugs, 3 × 8 a side, slow, breathing out as the limbs extend. Side planks, 3 × 20–40 seconds. Bird dogs, 3 × 8 a side with a two-second hold. And a Pallof press on a band, 3 × 8 a side with a three-second pause at full extension.

Progress with time and resistance, not repetitions. When a 40-second side plank feels easy, put a small weight on your hip instead of grinding out two minutes.

Legs, adductors and staying power

Legs need two qualities: basic strength, and the endurance to hold a position for a long time. The strength comes from squats and the deadlift, 3–4 sets of 5–8 reps, twice a week.

Then single-leg work, because in the saddle each leg does its own job. Bulgarian split squats or reverse lunges, 3 × 8–10 per leg. A step-up to a knee-height bench is a good substitute if squatting bothers you.

The adductors are usually the weak link. A Copenhagen plank from the knee, 3 × 15–25 seconds a side, and a ball squeeze between the knees, 4 × 20–30 seconds, hit exactly what the saddle asks for. Build them up gradually — groins react badly to a sudden jump in volume.

For endurance, add wall sits of 3 × 45–60 seconds and holding a light seat on the spot for 3 sets of 60–90 seconds. That last one is the closest thing to what you actually feel on the third circuit.

If the front of the knee complains during squats, don't push through it. The usual causes are fixable, but they need changes to depth, tempo and volume before you touch the load.

The side-to-side problem

Years of sitting slightly heavier on one seat bone leave a mark, and nearly every rider has some version of it. The test is simple: stand on one leg, hands on hips, eyes closed, and count to 30. A gap of more than ten seconds between sides is worth working on.

A second check is the unloaded single-leg Romanian deadlift. Do as many clean reps as you can on the weaker side, then match that number on the stronger one. Keep that rule for every single-leg exercise: weaker side first, stronger side matches rather than overtakes.

Don't expect it to shift quickly. A visible change in balance and symmetry usually takes 8–12 weeks of consistent work.

Fitting it into a week

Two 45-minute strength sessions plus one short 15-minute block for core and adductors covers what most amateur riders need. More than that starts competing with time in the saddle.

Keep heavy leg days well away from important rides or competition — leave at least 48 hours. For general fitness, 20–30 minutes of easy running or cycling once or twice a week, plus one short interval block such as 6 × 1 minute hard with a minute's recovery.

Coming back after time off or an injury, start at half the volume you think you can handle. And if your sleep goes, your morning heart rate creeps up and you stop wanting to ride, those are signs the total load is too high — not a reason to add another session.

When to see a doctor

After a fall involving a blow to the head, loss of consciousness or nausea, get seen the same day and stay off the horse. The same goes for neck or back pain immediately after a fall.

Book an appointment if pain lasts more than two to three weeks without improving, if you get pins and needles or weakness down a leg, if a knee swells or locks, or if back pain wakes you at night. Groin pain that hasn't settled in a month deserves a proper look rather than another round of stretching.

The short version

• The seat is pelvic control, not a knee grip — train pelvic tilting and hip flexor length.
• Train the core isometrically and against rotation: dead bugs, side planks, bird dogs, Pallof press.
• Two leg sessions a week at 5–8 reps, with single-leg work included to address asymmetry.
• Add adductor work gradually: Copenhagen planks 15–25 seconds, ball squeezes 20–30 seconds.
• Leave 48 hours between a heavy leg session and an important ride.