4 minute read
Working Out With BJ
HEALTH & FITNESS
Working Out With BJ
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BJ Ward is the lead trainer at Woodside Health & Tennis Club in Kansas City, Missouri. He received by BJ Ward, Contributor his B.S. in Health and Human Performance from Fort Hays State University, followed by year long placement in the sports science lab at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland.Welcome back to your hips straight up into and make your chest our series on training the air until your body and shoulders straight the core! In part 1 we forms a straight line. (In and square. Now simdiscussed spinal stabil- the beginning, you can ply walk forward slowly ity and its importance to Side Plank: Feet Un-Stacked use your knees as your taking deliberate steps maintaining good pos- This is a classic exercise start point instead of and ensuring you stay as ture. In part 2 we will for good reason! Begin your feet.) At first, hold tall as possible. It’s as discuss the core’s abil- the movement by ly- this position for 10 sec- simple as that! I have ity to RESIST rotation. ing on your side with onds, 3 reps per side. clients do walks of 30 yards each; the weight needs to be heavy enough that making it 30 yards with good posture is a struggle. Our thanks to Hallie for demonstrating the Side Plank and to Macie and Emma for demonstrating the Suitcase Carry. n
Side plank: Feet un-stacked. Suitcase carry. Photos: Deanna O’Byrne
Most think of the core as a group of muscles that produce movement, but one of their main functions is to resist movement. This is important for a competitive rider due to the demands of maintaining posture in the saddle. Here are two exercises that work to train anti-rotation, or your body’s ability to resist rotation through the core.
your forearm flat on the ground directly under your shoulder. “Unstack” your feet by putting the top foot down in front of the bottom foot. Your forearm should be pointing away from you at a 90-degree angle to the shoulder. Put your weight on your forearm and your feet, then lift When you get stronger increase your reps to 4, 5, or even 6 per side.
Suitcase Carry
Grab one or two heavy weights. This can be a gallon of milk, a heavy dumbbell, etc. This exercise is really only limited by your imagination. Stand as tall as you can,
When you win a horse show on a horse that you trained entirely yourself, there is no prouder moment.
When training a green horse you will need a lot of patience and experience. Green horses can be stubborn, playful, or skittish depending on the day. Your focus needs to always be on gently correcting your horse to Illustration courtesy Dana’s Doodles teach him what appropriate behavior is. the saddle. Your horse may whinny An untrained horse or dance around at horse has a lot more energy shows, which could than a finished horse so make an inexperienced you will need to be at the rider lose composure in barn every single day “ ” getting him to settle down. If you are an inexperienced rider, you should not ride a green horse. A good rule of thumb is “green Green + Green = Black & Blue! plus green equals black and blue,” meaning you are putting yourself and your horse in what could be a dantraining and riding him gerous situation. Until to relieve that energy. If you are an experienced you miss a day or two, rider, stick with an expeyou may get naughty be- rienced horse – you will havior like playful buck- learn more, and be safer ing, or have a tough time in the process. n
Greenwillow Equestrian Center
Lee’s Summit, MO Now open for general public lessons!
Huntseat, equitation, dressage lessons - beginner to advanced. Stunning facility, safe and quality lesson horses, 30+ years teaching experience/D.C. Call for pricing 816.463.9549 www.hhtrc.org
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Liberty Meadows v 2015 Hillview v Liberty, MO 64086 816.415.0755 barn janetg@janetgreenstables.com 816.415.9954 house www.janetgreenstables.com
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