No time for exercising

Make time. Wake up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later.

I workout at 3:30am. It's the only way I'll get it done.

You either make time or make excuses.

FredMikmik wrote: »

I wake up at 6 and have to be at school 730 til 5 and then I go straight to my horses and end at 8. The problem is I also got homework. But ok I guess I just need to get up earlier or go to bed late...

I'm at the gym at 5, because thats when I make time to go.

What are you doing with your horses...most people I know who have horses are exercising their horses...and at the same time exercising themselves. Not to mention moving feed around and hey bales and whatnot.

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Do you have a lunchtime at school? Are there team sports you could join in or a gym you could use? Failing that, stairs you can climb? We fit in what we can, when we can.

What I hear when I read your post is: "Working out isn't a priority to me".

Look at your life and your priorities, see where building muscle actually falls for you.

If it's your priority, you'll have all the time in the world for it. Find a workout you can do at home so that you don't have to pay for or make an extra stop at the gym. I assume when you come home that you cook dinner at 8pm? Why not pick options that after prep are in the oven for at least 30 minutes, in that time you can fit in a short, effective workout.

FredMikmik wrote: »

Hi guys,
I have 2 horses and go to school so I use a lot of time on that. I usually get home at 8 and I don't have time for much else. I really want to build up muscles because I get a lot of injures since I'm weak hehe... The problem is I don't have time and I'm hoping some of you can help me

Just do bodywork stuff -- sets of pushups won't take very long and you can do them anywhere. Do some squats in your room while studying, etc. These literally take a minute. You don't need a gym membership to work out.

Make time or make excuses. If anything, exercise helps you cope with the stress of work and school.

You don't have to do it all at once. Take three 10-minute cardio or weight breaks during the day and you've got 30 minutes of exercise sneaked into your day.

namelesshere wrote: »

So your horses are not exercise? Do you not ride, muck stalls, lift haybales or feed sacks. Not sure what type of horses you have but even mounting and dismounting is exercise. Maybe do it a few more times while you are there. From the off side too so you work both your sides (and your horse's) equally. If you don't lift the feed sacks, or hay bales, maybe take 5 minutes to move one 30 ft. If it is not your farm, and it sounds like it is not, don't forget to take 5 minutes to move those items back. Cleaning hooves is exercise, as is vigorous grooming. Carry a water bucket, etc. Saddle your horse, Unsaddle him, Saddle the other one. It all counts as exercise.

^^This. That's exercise. Maybe not "organized" exercise, but hard labor if this is an accurate depiction of you caring for your horses, OP.

MrM27 wrote: »

FredMikmik wrote: »

I wake up at 6 and have to be at school 730 til 5 and then I go straight to my horses and end at 8. The problem is I also got homework. But ok I guess I just need to get up earlier or go to bed late...

I'm sorry but how old are you.

You read my mind. Even though profile says 35, this sounds like a HS schedule.

Before college I cared for my two horses every day and they were the best way to maintain weight and workout. I did ride almost every day but when I got my 2nd horse it was because I had outgrown my other so I didn't ride her that much but I still wanted to keep her in shape so I found other things for her to do.

Some of the things I did were... (some of these are weekend type things, others are everyday)
1) Ditch the wheelbarrow and buy some sleds when they go on sale. My horses live outside year round so trying to get a wheelbarrow through mud and snow wasn't working too well, so my parents gave me an old plastic sled. You learn pretty quick what it's like when you overfill it because your rushing but dragging the sled is a pretty decent workout (especially when you stubbornly try to fit everything into one load). Add in dragging it through mid calf muck that sucks your boots down and it's an even better workout.

2) Take somebody for a walk. If I got home and it was too dark for a ride I'd go take one of my horses (or both) on a walk (usually whoever was lucky enough to stay loose would follow along if I stayed in the pasture). It's a great way to work on ground manners with them as well or some other issue you're having. My retired horse HATES water and so I'd always grab her, walk to the end of the pasture where there's a stream that cuts through and we'd traipse through the water for an hour.

3) Stop calling them to the gate. This was my weakness, I'd stand at the gate and shake a bucket of grain and get the horses to run to the gate rather than walking out in the pasture to get them. Once I started making myself walk out there (or I should say once my newer horse started making me) I had another way to get some exercise (that and my pony LOVES to wait for you to go get her before turning and running for the barn and then proceeds to wait for you at the gate before turning around and heading all the way back down the other end of the pasture where she will then let you put her halter on (we fixed that).

4) Hay bales are great weights. I don't know what your situation is but my family does all our own hay and sells it and usually if someone came and picked it up off the field/helped us with harvest they'd get a price break. Tossing 50# bales in the sun for a couple days helps to shed some pounds.

5) Volunteering to walk the fence also makes people very happy and can be good exercise, plus it makes you feel good because you're keeping your horses safe. Again, I'd usually grab one of the horses, saddle them up and then get the fencing bag rigged up on the saddle so I didn't have to carry it and then I lead my horse. Our fence was done on stone walls in places so I would usually have a long lead rope, let my horse walk on the grass while I walked on the stone wall for a stretch.

Again some of these things take some time and trust between your horse and you but after a while your horses figure out what you're doing and it becomes the normal. I went home in December and walked the fence by myself and every time I turned around my horses were following me. If I stopped to work on a stretch they'd stop and graze and then I'd walk off and I'd hear them running to catch up.

I believe the magazine Practical Horseman has some little barn exercises that hey provide every month and they usually use typical barn items. If you've got a great relationship with one or both of your horses and they love learning you can try teaching them liberty work as well. I started doing this with my Thoroughbred and that usually left me flopped down on the grass trying to catch my breath because he could pick up on things and respond so quickly I was usually left running to catch up/stay one step ahead.

FredMikmik wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

FredMikmik wrote: »

I wake up at 6 and have to be at school 730 til 5 and then I go straight to my horses and end at 8. The problem is I also got homework. But ok I guess I just need to get up earlier or go to bed late...

I'm sorry but how old are you.

I'm 18 sorry for my English It's not my first language

Then why does your profile say 35? :huh: