Fitness Training for Training ⋆ Ride Heels Down™

I’m not even going to pretend like this doesn’t suck.

Now that I’m in my mid-30s (ugh) I’m noticing that I can’t shed weight quite as quickly as when I was younger. Plus, combined with the fact that my lungs suck at being lungs (I hate you, asthma) I figured it was time to focus on fitness if I’m going to get to Training…

Normally, I’m VERY stagnant during the day – I have a “desk job” and I work from home, so if I’m not at the barn, I’m basically sitting on my ass doing nothing. I’ve also had a lot of pretty serious injuries (including a fractured back when I was 14) that means working out hurts so I reeeeaaally don’t like exercise. Also, I’m lazy by default. Whatever.

When I was in Florida this past February, the turn out paddocks were really far away from stabling. Going to and from the first couple days was tough, and I would get winded easily. I’m what I like to call “skinnyfat” – yes, I’m thin, but I’m definitely not in shape.

By the end of the 12-day trip, though, I noticed my fitness had improved significantly just from a little bit of walking. I even noticed halfway through my Novice XC course at Rocking Horse that I was breathing normally and wasn’t exhausted like usual – cool!!

So, now that Novice is easy and Training is looking tempting, I figured it was time to work on the physical aspect of my move-up (since I seem ready mentally) and keep this fitness trend going. If I can’t be inspired to exercise for my own general health, at least riding has finally motivated me. Thanks, eventing!

When I got married in 2012, I bought an elliptical machine. I used it for a few months and then promptly never touched it again. We moved to a new house this past September and said machine was relegated to the [unfinished, non-air conditioned] basement aka “my own private workout hell.”

I have a training plan for JJ’s fitness, and now it’s my turn. I’ve committed to spending 20-30 minutes on my elliptical every day – while watching 4* XC helmet cam videos to pass the time, of course. ;) I’m hoping it’ll make my step up to Training less miserable and more attainable.