No time? No problem: the 4-minute workout to help riders stay on top of their game

In the second part of a new series, Connor Clennan (pictured below), a qualified nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach to professional sportspeople and private clients explains why time is our biggest enemy

Time — our biggest enemy. This can certainly seem the case in terms of nutrition and fitness. When putting together the ShowJumping Blueprint we spoke to a lot of riders and they all say one thing — they don’t have the time.

Truthfully, this isn’t exclusive to riders; the world we live in is so fast-paced and demanding that time is precious and at a premium. We are always chasing the next goal, the next target, the next job and often, before we get there, another is thrown our way.

This is definitely true for anybody who owns even one horse, let alone if you own/care for multiple horses. You start your days ridiculously early, mucking out and turning out and often that pretty much starts a day of mucking out, riding, bathing, feeding, bringing in from the field etc. Not to mention if you’ve got a day job/school to squeeze in among all of that!

Exercise?! Healthy eating?! Where on earth are you supposed to find time for that?

I totally empathise, and a lot of people believe that you need lots of spare time to train and stay fit. If you had to get changed, travel to a gym, be there for an hour and travel back for example, there just wouldn’t be enough time in the day with everything else, and as a rider and lover of animals, it’s understandable that your horses are made a priority over yourself.

I’m here to tell you that this isn’t necessary! You can have a great workout in four minutes, from your horsebox, yard, stable or even your feed room.

Here’s a four-minute workout you can do anywhere which will help improve your fitness, your performance riding and in the long-term get you into great shape too when combined with the right nutrition habits, which we promote in the blueprint:

• 20 seconds of squat jumps
• 10 seconds of rest
• 20 seconds of lunges
• 10 seconds of rest
• 20 seconds of mountain climbers
• 10 seconds of rest
• 20 seconds of squat hold
• 10 seconds of rest

Repeat from the beginning twice through.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

6 obstacles riders think stop them from improving their fitness and nutrition

In the first of a new series, Connor Clennan, a qualified nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach to professional

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Please note:

• The 20-second work stations must be done to the maximum of your ability for this to be effective — remember it is only 20 seconds at a time and less than three minutes of exercises in total — you can do it!
• Do not perform these exercises if you have any health issues or injuries which make it unsafe.

For more similar workouts and tips on how to overcome your obstacles keep an eye out for our upcoming articles in the Horse & Hound and follow Integrum Nutrition and #ShowJumpingBluePrint on social media.

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