In 1 month I leave for a  2 wk riding trip. I have not ridden horses for over a year. How can I get fit quick?
94889
Try the "Get Fit Stay Fit" by David Zinczenko (www.absdiet.com).  It has many good, overall body strenghening exercises.  I ride horses, and have found these workouts to be the most beneficial for riding fitness.
160912
If you go to a riding stable for a one-hour or afternoon trail ride, you will most likely be riding a horse wearing a Western saddle, who is accustomed to different riders.\n\nMost of the places I visit to do this are fun, because I look for well run, clean barns with well cared for horses and friendly staff.\n\nStay away from any place where the horses look sick and the people are surly.\n\nIf you decide to take riding lessons, some places teach using Western saddles, others use English saddles.  English saddles are smaller, lighter, do not have a saddle horn to hold on to, and you learn to use your legs and your balance to move in rhythm with the horse.\n\nI have taken lessons and leased horses long term.  It's worth the money to go to a well-run place and learn properly.  Then if you want to go for a trail ride, you'll be able to ride at a trot or canter, instead of just a walk.\n\nI always wear a riding helmet.  Even the most experienced riders fall - remember Christopher Reeve?  He was a million times better than I'll ever be.  \n\nAs long as you use common sense and choose your stable carefully, horseback riding is the best fun in the world.
542162
a your just going to have 2 start drinking more WATER and exercising i recommend 3-5 days a week of running or cycling or aerobics for 30-60 minutes\n3-5 days a week of weight bearing activities..... lifting weights or something\nand stretching\nand eating less Junk
629614
That much weight in that short of time is really not good for you.  Not to mention you will hate soup and exercise and you will gain it all right back again after those two monthes.  \n\nTry this, No soda, no fast food, lots of chicken, fish, fruits, vegies, whole wheat stuff, yogurt. Not so many cakes and donuts and cookies. Basic common sense for eating, you just need to enforce it. Get all the bad stuff out of the house right away, just toss it or give it away while your still motivated. No alcohol if that applies. Lots of water, 4-5 liters a day, not all at once, but spread out. Its really easy to down a liter or two while your watching tv or on the computer. Also drink some after you eat the bigger meals of the day, it helps your body pick out the nutrients in food when your food is more spread apart. \nAs for exercise, lots of cardio. Find something you like. If you have never exercised much before, start with walking 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace. Move on to different terrains that include hills and increase the time spent. After a week or two, try jogging the route. No matter what find an activity you enjoy. Walking to jogging is just an example, try hiking, rollerblading, biking. Once you get into a regular routine, if your not happy with the level of difficulty, try signing up with a gym. Spinning, pilates or kickboxing classes are great. It will also introduce you to working with weights. Talk to a trainer for instruction before using any weights. A cheap investment is a balance ball, it works you stomach while your just sitting on it, like at your computer and its great for posture. There are hundreds of exercises you can use it for for your entire body. I can give you some ideas if you want, just email me. Good Luck!
707007
No problem!  Change your diet a little.  If you don't drink water, go ahead and start instead of drinking caloric drinks.  Go walking veryday.  This is really simple!  If you want, you can jog 5 mins, then walk 5 mins and keep doing this until you are able to jog 20 mins straight.  You can do it, but I bet just drinking water and walking will be enough.  Eat more veggies and less saturated fats!  Good luck!
481746
Try yoga at first to limber up and then move on to include step exercises.  Go for a brisk walk too after a few weeks of building your stamina.  If you have not been active in a while and if you are over weight - do things slowly so you don't burden your heart with undue stress.\n\nModify your diet!  i cut out refined sugar in my coffee....4 cups with 2 teaspoons a day was a lot and now a month later I am alittle nicer to be around says my family.  No soda!\n\nEngage a friend to walk with you.  My Mom did this with me and we looked for decorating ideas in the various windows\n\nGood luck to you - asking is the first step - I bet you are on your way!
715744
Congratulations on getting started with an exercise program!  15 minutes a day was a good start, but I suggest you work up to 30 minutes every other day and walk at a pace that challenges you (increased breathing and elevated heart rate).  As your fitness level increases, try walking every day, increase your walking time to 45 minutes, add in hilly terrain, etc.  \n\nMake sure you have a good comfortable pair of walking shoes.\n\nGood luck!
217940
wow..train hard.\nbut it really depends on how in shape you are.\nif you are like 40 lbs overweight and havent trained in years than you will most likely keel over in the race.\nIf you havent gained any significant weight and are significantly fit then you may want to try doing some strength training to build up muscle in your legs and of course run , run,run!!
871509
Bruce just live, exercise is part of normal life. if you don't move enough your body will not work well. even going to the toilet is funtioned by good movement. you must find a good motivation, walking, running, cycling, swimming, I am disabled to certain degree 30%, but I try to move as much as possable, walking in the mountains cycling along side a river. I have to go to hospital next week for a knee replacement in the right side, unyet I spent a week looking after a friends dog, in a high mountain, walking, and enjoying fresh air, since I know what movement I have now, I will have the benifit after my operation. you must not let your muscles fail at an early age, you will be worse as you get older. enjoy life, exercise also gets a control on depresion, which if you are not getting out enough, I would say you are suffering with. you will enlarge most muscles and blood supply, which I am sure you know you need to enlarge****
479495
Try eating HEALTHY every 4 to 5 hours. This will keep the metabolism up. Also, don't eat if you're NOT hungry. Add activity into your life as well. Take the stairs instead of elevators (if it's not too many flights), go out and play intead of sitting in the house. take up a sport that you like or think you could grow to like (if you keep it up through high school, it could get you a scholarship). Mainly be active and know your body. Don't eat too much or too often. There's nothing wrong with not clearing your plate or saying "No, I'm not hungry." The first couple of times your family may look at you like you're sick or crazy (mine did), but they'll get used to it. And you're doing something better for yourself. You'll enjoy the benefits of being healthier for a long time to come. But remember, you're not going to lose 100 pounds or anything crazy like that. Take it slow, believe me it's much better and long lasting if you just transition to a healthy lifestyle instead of crashing. Also, have discipline and set a goal. There are 12 weeks in the summer, plus May and June before you go to middle school. You can only lose 2 pounds a week the healthy way so a good goal would be 40 pounds and that's pretty damn good for one summer. So good luck and take it slow and be healthy. Hope this helps, hope you got this far down to the bottom. Sorry it was so long. But I know how it is to be overweight, and to lose it. Good Luck!!
851282
Race horses are not ridden every day.  Generally after a horse races or works out they will get 1-2 days off.  On their days off the horses will usually be hand-walked in the morning and afternoon and taken out to graze.  Some trainers use roundpens as small turnout areas as well.
286241
Put an exercise bike in the shower, wear three to four layers of clothing with a rain suit to cover it all, and ride for about three hours a day. Eat nothing but ice cubes (helps to make the body think you are eating), and take lots of laxatives. I lost 45 lbs. in less than two weeks. It isn't safe, but it's the fastest way I know of to do it. After that just keep up a simple routine and the weight will stay off.
1006445
No real help for this weekend. Step up your program.  Run up stairs for 15 minutes to tone and shape your legs and thighs.  Power walk for 1 hour a day three days per week.  Wear leg weights to increase the benefits.  Crunch daily.  Race your bike for 10 minutes and ride rapidly for 10 minutes.  Alternate like that for 1 hour four days per week.  Drop all added sugars.  Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day.  No sugary drinks.  Try yogurt as your breakfast five days per week.  Do not eat anything more than carrots or apple slices after 6 pm and nothing at all after 8 pm.  You will be ready and fit by August.
650526
Been there, done that ( a few times). You just have to get back on the horse and do it again. I let myself slip back into old eating habits and quit running. I decided in January to get back in shape (yet again), and signed up to run a half-marathon. It was hard, but the race is this weekend, and have lost over thirty pounds and I am fit and happy again ( and only about 10 pounds away from my goal weight, which will be the least I have been in over 20 years)
40119
It depends on how you define fit. Ten miles in 45 minutes is a great start. But I don't measure my workouts/rides in terms of miles. I measure it in terms of duration and quality. If you do a ten mile ride, and a majority of it is downhill, then you're really not getting much of a workout.\n\nI focus on the quality of the ride. I mix things up, mainly because I race.\n\nIn terms of weight management, I tend to work on long, slow base miles over the winter months. This helps the body learn to use fat as a source of energy before burning up other valuable energy sourecs. This also prepares the body for more intense workouts as the season progresses. That's when the intensity workouts kick in - things like sprint workouts, intervals (multiple reps at a higher, fixed intensity), hill repeats. This, combined with racing helps me raise and maintain my fitness and speed.\n\nTo translate it into something you can use, the basic message here is that whatever you do, increase the distance and/or intensity of your rides SLOWLY - this is to prevent injuries. Keep at it, and you'll find your fitness will improve. You'll find that you can ride farther and with less effort over the same distance as in the past.\n\nGood luck!
643409
Try a vegetarian diet for about two months, along with moderate to heavy exercise. This is how a number of my friends stay fit.
48129
This a sign your out of shape..breathing heavy or sweat more than normal...you can just keep playing till you get that wind back..or you can jog for about 20 minutes(note: anything more than 20 min is extra and the longer you go the better condition you'll get in(wind),1 or 2 times a week...(for least 20 mins)...hope this helps...