As endurance riders, we’re obsessed with our horses’ fitness. We meticulously plan their conditioning rides, track their recoveries, and adjust their programs based on age, fitness level, season, and goals.
But when it comes to our own bodies? Too many of us are still doing the same, ineffective routine we started years ago. We’re going through the motions, but we look and feel exactly the same.
Why isn’t it working? Should you just give up?
Why You Shouldn't Give Up on Rider Fitness
Here’s the reality:
Your performance and longevity as an endurance rider – not to mention your horse’s comfort – depend on your own ability to go the distance. Whether you’re 35 or 65, coming back from an injury or chasing top tens, your fitness directly impacts both your horse’s success and your ability to stay in the saddle for decades to come.
One big difference between riders who compete well into their later decades and those who hang up their helmets is having a fitness program that actually works. One that doesn’t just maintain the status quo, but actively builds the muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and painless mobility you need to support your horse over many demanding miles.
So, if your fitness for endurance riding is stagnating – or worse, losing ground – something needs to change.
Let’s take a look at five essential elements of rider fitness programs that do work. Keep a mental tally as we go – which elements do you have nailed, and which are missing?
1. Novel Stimulus: Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone
You know the expression: Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
This couldn’t be truer anywhere than in rider fitness. It’s why doing those same barn chores year after year never makes you any fitter. Your body already made the necessary adaptations to meet those demands. If you want to progress, you need to try something new.
The right fitness program will introduce you to new movements and different challenges than you’ve been doing up until now. This novel stimulus will force your body to adapt, resulting in improved strength and cardiovascular fitness.
Think about it—your horse doesn’t get stronger by covering the same trail at the same pace every day. He needs varied terrain, different speeds, and new challenges. Your body works the same way.
2. Progressive Overload: The Missing Piece in Most Routines
Similarly, an effective rider fitness program will incorporate progressive overload. This is the concept of steadily increasing the burden on your systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous) and structures (musculoskeletal) through a cycle of breakdown and recovery.
Progressive overload is the concept I see most frequently neglected by endurance riders. So many people churn out that same 30 minutes on the elliptical, year after year, and wonder why their bodies don’t change…except to lose ground as they age.
If you don’t give your body a reason to improve, I guarantee it isn’t going to. A good fitness program will progressively push you to do more. “It never gets easier,” director Jordan Hoechlin said. “You just get better.”
Progressive overload applies at any level, from beginner to Olympian. For example, my Essential Endurance Rider Fitness program offers an extremely gentle on-ramp to rider fitness that is appropriate for fitness newbies or riders coming back from serious injury…but it still adheres to the principle of progressive overload. The end of the program feels very different from the beginning, and so do the riders who complete it!
3. Phased Training: The Science of Strategic Focus
An effective endurance rider fitness program applies the principle of phased training: deliberately cycling through different types of workouts to achieve varied adaptations and avoid plateaus.
Phases break your training into distinct segments with specific goals. For example, the gym workouts in my Full Partner Endurance Rider Fitness program cycles through 3-week phases focused on strength endurance (maintaining moderate effort for long periods), muscle building (key for anti-aging and metabolism), and rider symmetry (our horses’ favorite). All of these are important aspects of fitness for distance riders, but we achieve better results by focusing on them one at a time.
A strategically phased approach prevents your body from plateauing and reduces injury risk. At the same time, it allows you to make maximum progress with a minimal time commitment. Phased training builds you up systematically, ensuring each component of fitness supports the others and contributes to optimal performance—whether that’s for competition season or just to feel strong in the saddle year-round.
Consistency: The Unsexy Secret to Real Results
Here’s the truth endurance riders already know from conditioning horses: consistency beats intensity every single time. You can’t cram months of conditioning into a few brutal weeks—not for your horse, and not for yourself.
The best fitness program is the one you’ll actually stick with. That means finding something sustainable, not something that leaves you dreading every workout. Six months of moderate, consistent training will always outperform two weeks of “boot camp” followed by a year of doing nothing.
Your horse doesn’t get fit from one hard ride. He gets fit from showing up day after day, building incrementally. Your body works exactly the same way…only more so, because we humans don’t retain our physiological adaptations as long as our horses do.
The magic happens in the compound effect of small, consistent efforts over time.
Community: The Power of People Who "Get It"
The right group of friends can transform your fitness journey from an isolated struggle into a shared adventure.
For endurance riders, training with others who understand our sport provides invaluable perspective. They celebrate the victories that others might miss — like being able to mount from the ground for the first time in years, or finishing a 50-mile ride without back pain.
Fellow riders also provide critical support during setbacks. Whether it’s a fall off that green gelding or just life getting in the way, having friends who understand why rider fitness matters can be the difference between abandoning your commitment and getting back on the horse.
Is Your Rider Fitness Routine in Bad Shape?
So, how about it?
If your rider fitness routine is in good shape, you should be, too. But if that isn’t the case, maybe now you know why. Are you:
- Still relying on the same old farm chores and riding to keep you fit?
- Doing the same exercises you were doing a year ago, but seeing no change?
- Working out only when you feel like it, which isn’t all that regularly?
- Going through the motions without focusing on specific, relevant goals?
- Trying to go it alone…and not actually going anywhere?
If you need help implementing any of the 5 essential elements listed above, consider joining our fitness-focused crew of endurance riders inside The Sweaty Equestrian Membership. We’d love to have you.
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