And... 2025?

[Moutaineer]

Now we have made it to February, and the time of New Years resolutions has passed, who is doing what to get/keep themselves in riding shape as we head into spring?

I joined the local gym's 8 week challenge. I've never felt the need to do anything like this before, so it's all foreign to me!

I'm keeping a food diary and am on a 1400 calorie a day program from their nutritionist with a heavy emphasis on macros. The calories are easy, once you start to realize how much you mindlessly shove carbs in your mouth throughout the day. In fact I have to work to eat that much, mindfully. But 135 grams of protein a day is a lot! I think i did it for the first time yesterday...

As far as additional exercise to riding goes, I'm making it to one HIIT class a week, which is challenging, (especially bearing in mind that I'm the oldest one there by at least 10 years,) but I can keep up, with some modified exercises for my fragile shoulder and lower back. (Pluses and minuses of years of slinging hay bales and other equine bodily abuse, I guess!) And I'm trying to keep up with my home pilates.

I'm also walking quite a bit more than I have done for a while. I put a step counter on my phone which is a fun addition.

I did a full body scan at the start of the challenge. It will be very interesting to see the results of the halfway mark in a week's time. I hope to have gained or at least maintained muscle percentage, and i know i have lost fat percentage. Water percentage is NBD as I think we horse people are generally well educated on hydration.

[Chisamba]

I'm finally at a weight I like, so my challenge is increased fitness and after the nasty bout I had with Covid in January, this is proving difficult.

Right now I can barely ride ask the horses in a day that I was at the end of last year.

For this who recovered from covid, suggestions welcome

[Flight]

I've never been this fat and I can't seem to fight it. I know I need to stop eating as much but because it's never been a big (haha) issue before I can't seem to eat less.
My cholesterol suddenly went high, so I've had to start paying attention to saturated fats and avoid those.
My grandma, mother and older sister went fat at this age (onset menopause) and then just seemed to lose it a few years later so I suspect it's my turn. Except, now that I'm riding Bear, I need to drop weight because he's a lot smaller than my other horses!
I'll keep an eye on this topic, maybe I can get some ideas and inspiration.

Covid - I think you just have to wait until you recover. Took me a good few months. Try not to get exhausted

[StraightForward]

I am plugging along. I don't know if it was COVID, but whatever crap I got at the end of October took a long time to fully go away in terms of fatigue and whatnot.

I did try the Prehab app, but canceled during the trial period. It had some good exercises, but the app was cumbersome to me, and I didn't like the programming, with the same set of exercises for a week, and then changing the next week. I was getting really sore in certain muscle groups. There are some fitness influencers who have exercises I like, but I haven't figured out how to organize their videos in a way to make use of them in the gym. I'm focusing a lot on symmetry and balance. My weak/less functional left side is a challenge, but I think it's getting better. I do a lot of work on a Bosu ball, and try to get the most bang for my buck (time) with combined exercises, like doing chest presses while holding a bridge position. Right now, I feel like if I let rage fuel my workouts, I should be pretty jacked by show season

I also just bought some of those Equisk bands. So far, I've only used them on my Home Horse. It was surprisingly challenging for my hip flexors on that weak left side especially! I'm looking forward to using them in the saddle, but that might be awhile.

[heddylamar]

I've somehow managed to drop a pesky 10 pounds since August. Only 10 more to go to get back to my pre-2018 weight, when I had to stop running 50+ miles/week. I'd be happy with 5-6 pounds.

The only real change to my routine was adding B12, both oral and injections. I'm not really sure how to recreate that weight loss. I've been plagued with constant muscle spasms, so I haven't been working out as much as I normally do, and I certainly wasn't eating my best November – January.

[Moutaineer]

Chisamba, Covid knocked the stuffing out of me. It took a while of just being kind to myself. It felt like months before I was back to normal.

However, my husband, who had it at 83, (which would have scared the heck out of me if I hadn't been too sick myself to care about anyone else,) was completely fine in about a month...

Flight, the key for me at the moment seems to be the food diary. It's the sort of thing I can get a bit obsessive about so it keeps me engaged in the whole process. It's made me really aware of what I actually eat, vs what I think I'm eating. I'm using the myfitnesspal free app. It has calorie and nutrient contents for a bazillion different food items, so it's very easy to use once you've established your baseline requirements, and you can link it to Google Fit for step counts, etc.

I get it on the rage fuelled workouts, SF. If my hands and feet weren't so arthritic I think I'd take up kick boxing.

[heddylamar]

Last time was relatively moderate, and it still took me 6+ weeks to kick covid. Paxlovid helped a ton, plus a combo of antibiotics and steroids. The first time, it was 6+ months.

[Moutaineer]

I've just done my first ever yoga class. And it was an hour long.

I may never walk again.

[Chisamba]

I do a sort of physiotherapy combine simple yoga routine daily or a minimum of three times a week. It's the one exercise schedule I am quite committed to. Yesterday I managed to ride six horses without feeling exhausted so in happy about that. The baby is 27.2 and I admit I mostly did groundwork, then got on for the first time ever and walked a few circles. Does that count as riding.

Three things really helped my weight loss.
Counting calories.
Knitting when chatting or watching TV to keep busy not snacking.
Tight pants. I threw away all my big clothes and as soon as my clothes got loose, bought a size down. I no longer even keep a stash of fat pants. When your clothes feel tight you stop eating.

So the kmitting...find out when you overeat.for me it was when I watched TV or hung out with friends. Replace the eating behavior with something else you enjoy. Play games socially instead of eating socially, fire example

[Srhorselady]

Heddy a barnmate recommended magnesium citrate to me when I had muscle spasms! The citrate is important for absorption. They didn’t go away 100% but are MUCH improved. Magnesium is also one of those supplements suggested for horses with muscle soreness.

[Moutaineer]

I take potassium to help with foot cramps at night. It seems to work. I'm also trying magnesium for my sore muscles. Not sure it is making any difference yet.

Yes on the knitting! I'm halfway through a sweater at the moment.

[Moutaineer]

Mid-challenge check-in and body scan on Monday. 12lbs of body fat mass lost, 6lbs of skeletal muscle mass gained.

I'm pretty happy with that.

We will see how part 2 goes. I suspect the rate of change will slow a bit as the low-hanging fruit has been picked... (And I'm heartily glad it's no longer hanging so low )

I'm feeling pretty good, too.

[goldhorse]

I am one of the rare individuals that has yet to get Covid. Or if I did, it was without symptoms. I count my blessings.
My exercise regime is 3 days a week on the rowing machine for 30 minutes. Sometimes, I do intervals and sometimes I row for endurance. It appeals to me because I'm OCD about technique. Maybe that's why dressage appeals to me. That is followed by some strength training. Pre-Covid, I lifted in the gym but I haven't been back. So I invested in some quality adjustable dumbbells and either follow a routine from the New York Times or make it up myself. It always involves a push, a pull, a squat, a lunge, and a deadlift. Then I do Rider Pilates Club about 5 days a week. That has been a tremendous help to my symmetry and my core and back strength.
The biggest change was going on tirzepatide and losing almost 50 lbs. Piggy thanks me. I feel so so much better. Endurance is up. Knees feel better. Off of my blood pressure and blood glucose meds. It is a miracle drug but not to be taken lightly. I am open about using this drug and willing to share my thoughts about it if you want to know. I wish I could have lost the weight by diet and exercise but it didn't happen and my health was getting scary. So at 67, I now am at my high school weight
Also, I have taken Magnesium for years for muscle fatigue and cramping. My physical therapist told me that we used to get our magnesium from greens like spinach but our soils are now depleted of minerals so we need supplementation. I use magnesium glycinate.

[Tanga]

Ya'll with a lot of cramping--get your ferritin checked. It was BAD when mine was low, and the restless leg was out of control. I have almost none now. Maybe iron is your answer. I also take magnesium glycinate at night to help with the D absorption, which I am also low in.

I am up almost 15 libs since the summer, probably from not being able to do anything. I am back to doing most of my work--doing my hour long fitness class four days a week, walking the horses to and from the pasture (instead of riding) and riding both. It seems to still be going up.

I eat a lot better than I used to, but, sigh.