Using An Exercise Ball For Better Riding

I Love My Exercise Ball

I really do. I bought a Gold’s Gym exercise ball from Amazon for less than $20.00 a few years ago. And I have used it off and on when I would go through my getting in shape phases. Then I would deflate it and hide it away in my closet.

Now fast forward about 2 weeks ago and I had been thinking how cool it would be to have a exercise ‘horse’ in my house that I could ‘ride’ whenever I wanted. To be able to work out and mimic what I do when I ride, while inside seemed like a pretty cool idea. And I found a company that makes equine simulators, complete with a screen so you can ride, jump, even and even do dressage on a simulator horse.

These things look SO cool. I would love to be able to try one out. But sadly, they don’t have any near me. And then that got my brain working. How could I have my own simulator horse? Enter in the exercise ball. Sure, it isn’t as cool as the horse simulator, but it still gets me doing something similar to riding, I think anyways.

And since I have been trying to think of things that I will actually do for exercise, I could not think of anything better than to practice my riding in the comfort of my own home. Sure it isn’t the same as the real thing. But with the time change, and colder weather, I can get in a work out and work on the muscles I will use for riding. And I actually do it for longer periods of time. I call that a win.

Exercise Ball Riding

I just take out my trusty steed, aka exercise ball, and act as if I am riding, aka pretend I am riding. I practice my two point as well as posting. And the ball really does give you a good work out. It is a lot harder that you would think. Well, it is for me.

I engage my core, suck in my tummy and work on my posture while I am bouncing away on the ball. And of course, our dog Harley has to come give his approval, and get an ear rub.

I also work on my balance, and try to throw myself off balance to see how easy, or hard, it is for me to recover. 25 minutes on the exercise ball is far easier than even 10 minutes on the elliptical. And I don’t mean easy like easier to do. I mean easier because it’s fun.

Exercise Can Be Fun

I have been able to stick with this for the past two weeks now. And I have been able to do it for at least 20 minutes a day, for 5 days a week. By the time I stop, I can really feel my muscles in my butt, lower back, and even my tummy. I am excited to see if by doing this over the next several months if it will make a difference in my riding. I sure hope so!

Including The Visual Aspect

Right now I have been recording different equestrian event on our DVR, and then bouncing on my ball while I try to emulate what the rider is doing. But I have something else planned for the future.

You see I have a knock off Go-Pro style action camera that I can wear on my riding helmet. I got it for less than $50.00. And I film while I am riding. And I am planning to video when I have the opportunity to ride. Then I can make videos from the point of view of the rider. Have you seen those virtual rides you can go on with the contraption that pitches you around? Well that is what I want to create, in order to emulate riding.

I might have the opportunity to do it for a bit this afternoon, in between editing video’s for my YouTube channel.

But I thought it would be helpful, and add more to my ball bouncing. I will try it out for myself first, and if it looks cool I might make a video or two for my channel. Just to put it out there for others, in case they like bouncing on balls too. I think this could be fun. Especially since you can get YouTube on your TV now too!

When I finally get it done, I will be sure to share it with you just in case you would like to see what it’s like. It won’t be virtual reality, but it will be fun, I think! I guess I should get of my rear end then, and get out there and ride because that is the only way I will know right?

Weight Loss Progress

And to help keep myself accountable, I wanted to give an update on how my weight loss journey is going. Yes, an update from yesterday.

So yesterday I weighed in at 175 lbs. and this morning, even though I was a little intimidated to climb on the scale I was pleasantly surprised, 173.5 lbs. Not too bad. Only 3 more pounds to get to where I was when I got home from surgery back in the end of May.

And I ate what I normally would, and I didn’t deprive myself. I am not a big breakfast person, except for my coffee. I must have coffee in the morning, it’s a tradition. But here is the breakdown of what yesterday looked like:

Breakfast

• 20 oz. coffee with half and half
• 2 Glucomannan capsules (taken 1 hour after coffee)

Lunch

• 3 slices of homemade french toast with syrup
• 2 Glucomannan capsules (taken 1 hour before lunch)

Dinner

• 3/4 of a sweet potato with butter and 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 6 ounces steak
• 2 Glucomannan capsules (taken 30 minutes before dinner)

Snack

• 2 snack size packages of peanut M&M’s

And of course I drank about 96 ounces of water flavored with Mio drink enhancer (sweet tea is my go to flavor enhancer). I also bounced on my exercise ball for about 25 minutes, and ended the day with 11,430 steps. 23.5 lbs to go to get to my goal weight of 150 lbs. I am really happy with my progress so far, and I think the Glucomannan capsules are the biggest reason. I will continue to give you updates, so you can see how this stuff works! I love not being hungry all the time. Which is what the Glucomannan really helps with. If you want to learn more about this supplement, I wrote a blog post about it here.