Lower Back & Inner Thighs, Part 2

As riders, we all want to stay in the saddle, and to do that strong adductors (inner thighs and hips) are important. But in order to balance our bodies and avoid injury, we must also train our abductors (outer thighs and hips). Together, our hip adductors and abductors are responsible for hip stability and alignment. Women are at particular risk for weaknesses due to the Q-angle of our hips, which is the angle from the hip to the knees is V-shaped (knees go inward).

So let's review the muscles we need to train in order to improve our leg strength and make them look that much better in the rare occasions we actually wear shorts!!

The gluteus maximus is a hip extensor, which moves your leg behind you and it is also involved in the forwards and backwards tilting of the pelvis. The gluteus medius is a hip abductor, which moves your leg out to the side, and is a major player in the in controlling the sideways tilting of the pelvis.

The gluteus medius originates at the dorsal ilium, right below the iliac crest, and inserts at the top of the greater trochanter (top of femur). It is the major abductor of the thigh, meaning it moves the leg away from the midline of the body. The anterior fibers rotate the hip internally and the posterior fibers rotate the hip externally.

Gluteal Muscles

Hamstrings

Two super effective ways to train your hip adductors are unilateral exercises (using only one limb, at a time, such as a single leg squats or a one-armed pushups) and wide stance movements (when legs are more than hip width apart, such as a ballet squat).

I know you're thinking, "Get to the exercises already lady!" Here they are:

1. Goblet Squat: Stand with feet slightly turned out, hip width or a little more apart. Holding a dumbbell or kettle bell to your chest, squat down and let your elbows slide past the inside of your knees (it's ok if they push your knees out while you descend). As you stand back up, make sure to squeeze your glutes at the top (when legs are straight). Do 3 sets/15 reps, start with 10lbs-15lbs.

Goblet Squat Positions Movements

2. Single Leg Bench Squat: Using a bench or box, start in the seated position. Extend your arms forward, raise one leg and leaning forward transfer your weight into your planted foot. Once standing, sit back down slowly, and let seat touch the bench lightly. Do 3 sets/10 reps.

Single Leg Bench Squat Movements

3. Dumbbell Split Squat: Stand with dumbbells at sides, facing away from bench or box (or tack box!). Extend one leg back, placing foot on bench. Squat down, making sure your knee isn't going past your toes on foot that's on the ground, and knee of rear leg is almost touching the ground. Be sure to keep your torso upright during the movement, for it's a vertical motion. Do 3 sets, 12 reps. Start with 10lbs-15lbs dumbbells.

Dumbbell Split Squat Movements

Check out Part 3 of this series, where I'll unlock all the secrets to performing PERFECT clam shells, which will strengthen tidy up your hips and seat! Yay!

So Giddyup and become a better rider for your horse!!