Someone who’s never been on a horse in their life might think the experience is similar to a car ride on a bumpy road, but that doesn’t do the sport the justice it deserves. It’s often a very involved, fun, and engaging activity, doubly so when ramped up to the extreme level of horse racers!
Can Horseback Riding Help Weight Loss?
You won’t find a professional horse racer who’s overweight (fortunately for both them and their horses). After this article, it’ll be obvious why. Horse riding is a highly effective exercise that will keep you coming back.
Burn Calories at Racing Speeds
Let’s put things into perspective. Riding a trotting horse for 30 minutes burns 105 calories. Riding a long-trotting or cantering horse for the same amount of time does almost double that at a whopping 207 calories burnt per 30 minutes of riding! It’s an incredible full-body workout that activates various important muscles but especially those in your legs and core.
Your abs work to keep your hips, ribs, pelvis, and entire lower back stable. Your obliques keep you balanced on the center of the horse, and your glutes help control the balance of both you and the horse. The cardio training provided by riding gives jogging a run for its money, reaching an average of 163 beats per minute. And, to top it all off, it relieves a ton of stress and weight off your joints when compared to jogging or even walking, making it the ideal cardio for anyone who has problems with their knees or calves.
Make Exercising Fun
The reason people don’t lose weight isn’t that they don’t know how to. It’s because they don’t want to do the things that make them lose weight! If you find yourself having to talk yourself into it for 30 minutes before finally going for a jog, there’s bound to come a day where you decide the effort isn’t worth it. It’s only natural!
Deep down, people don’t want to exercise. People want to be healthy. The trick is finding an exercise that you enjoy! Something that you like doing for its own sake and just happens to have the bonus of making you healthier, happier, and closer to the body you’ve been dreaming about! Horse racing is that thing.
Plus, if you really saddle up and take it seriously, there’s a lot of money to be made on the tracks! It’s an unmatched feeling having crowds of people in the stands betting on you and your horse, cheering you on to take home the gold and the green! GoodLuckMate.com offers a small taste of what that feeling is like, along with a chance to make some good cash to kickstart your new passion.
Always Have a Workout Buddy
Researchers from Michigan State University discovered that dog owners are 34% more likely to fit in 150 minutes of walking per week than non-dog owners. If you think about it, it’s not hard to see why! Exercising alone is a bummer. Plus, if no one else cares whether you exercise, it’s that much harder to convince yourself that you should. Luckily, horse riding has a built-in solution to both these problems in the form of a majestic equine eagerly awaiting you every exercise day.
Become an Equestrian, Become Healthy
Are you ready to trade in a few pounds of weight for a trusty steed, hours of fun, and healthier life? The science is there, so the excuses can’t be! Give it a shot if you’re not sure. Once you feel your heart pumping, the wind blowing through your hair, and the raw power of a race horse, you’ll be riding off into the sunset and living happily ever after.
