Episode #40
Katie Bleekman on Fitness for Horse Riders - Is Mucking Out Actually Enough Exercise? | Ep.40 - How to Get Rider Fit in 3 Sessions a Week - Hip Mobility: The Fix for Rider Back Pain
Rider fitness coach Katie Bleekman explains how riders should train off the horse — hip mobility, core strength and why yard work isn't training. If you've ever finished a lesson out of breath, felt your back go after a hard flatwork session, or walked into a gym and only used the treadmill because you didn't know what else to do, this episode is for you.Katie Bleekman is the founder of Event Rider Fitness, a personal trainer and rider fitness coach who competed to 3* eventing, groomed professionally at international level, and represented Team GB at the European Pony Eventing Championships. She now coaches female equestrians — from happy hackers to Olympic-level riders — from her family farm in Devon.According to Katie Bleekman, mobility is the gateway to everything: if you're immobile through the hips, your lower back ends up creating movement it was never designed for — which is exactly why so many riders live with back pain.In this episode:Why yard work is activity, not training — and what the difference actually means for your ridingThe movement screen every rider should do, and why hip mobility is almost always the first thing to fixHow many strength sessions a week riders really need (hint: it's fewer than you think)Progressive overload explained in plain English — the reason your training isn't workingWhy £15 of resistance bands beats a Peloton, and the rider fitness myth Katie wants binned for goodGrab a coffee, get comfy and watch now — or listen on Spotify on the school run, in the lorry or while you're mucking out.Find Katie:https://www.eventriderfitness.com/https://www.instagram.com/katiebleekmanhttps://www.youtube.com/@katiebleekman9712Just Horse Riders:https://www.justhorseriders.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/justhorseridershttps://www.instagram.com/justhorseridershttps://www.youtube.com/@JustHorseRidersOfficalhttps://open.spotify.com/show/7sUBwfQNIG40hRgs8hXbKi#justhorseriders #equestrianpodcast #justhorseriderspodcast #riderfitness #equestrianfitness #hipmobility #corestrength #eventing 0:00 Introduction1:15 Who Katie Is and What She Does2:08 Growing Up in a Horsey Family5:45 Pony Europeans and a £3,000 Gamble8:53 Leaving Horses for an Office Job12:35 How She Became a Personal Trainer15:01 Covid and Starting Event Rider Fitness16:27 Why Riders Feel Lost in the Gym20:33 The Rider Movement Screen Explained22:58 Hip Mobility: Gateway to Everything23:37 Core Strength: What It Really Does27:53 Is Yard Work Actually Training?31:13 Rider Burnout and Why Rest Matters36:05 How Many Sessions a Week You Need38:56 The Glass Ball vs Rubber Ball Rule42:36 What Coaching With Katie Looks Like49:26 Progressive Overload for Riders51:56 Unrealistic Expectations and Guilt1:00:08 The "No Pain, No Gain" Myth1:04:42 Hormones, Fuelling and Lifestyle1:07:11 Sleep: The Free Performance Tool1:08:20 Riding as a Mental Reset1:20:13 Being Scared to Start1:26:11 The Biggest Mistakes Riders Make1:29:17 Where Rider Fitness Is Heading1:33:41 Training Around Injuries1:39:12 Home Kit: £15 and Bodyweight1:53:33 Quickfire Round2:04:24 Where to Find Katie
