Monday 27 April 2009

Course preperation

Well we are in the final weeks rundown to our next PMG course so time to get nervous!
We spent last week concentrating on two things really - trying to improve the angle of our right shoulder in and my timing in presenting the movement and refining the downward transition from canter. I found that by engaging my core muscles ( the one you use when you cough) Danni did a brilliant halt from canter. Today i experimented with this in his transitions and change of leg but I feel lost too much forward movement so a little more refinement is needed of this idea!

Today in an effort to realign and strengthen my Dressage position, I visited Elizabeth Connolly, an advanced yoga instructor, at her delightful converted barn, just above the ancient village of Chysauster for a session with her hyper vibration machine. A friend has been taking regular sessions and she looks amazing and as Elizabeth said "It wont take Long".....................it wasn't until part way through the session that she mentioned that it was the equivalent to an hour and a half in the gym! Static pose, high energy vibrating training may sound fairly relaxing but this was seriously hard work.

"Although Neuromuscular Re-Education has no universally accepted definition, it generally refers to a treatment technique or exercise performed by an individual with the purpose of improving, via the nervous system, the level of communication between the body and the brain.
Because of the fact that vibration training and vibration therapy exercises rely on the involuntary stretch reflex, there is a significant amount of communication occurring between the brain and the contracting muscles with each individual exercise.
This serves to “jump start” the muscle through the severely high frequency of muscle contractions thereby enhancing the patient’s ability to efficiently recruit the muscle fibers, coordinate movement being performed by the joint, and muscle tissue, and reduce the typical post-injury mechanical dysfunction in a much more rapid fashion than traditional exercise; exercise that relies on voluntary movement. "

I must admit to copying the technical bit from the makers web site but at fifty if I can improve the body/brain function and co ordination with the added benefit of improving bone density has got to be a good thing and it might just be the jump start that my riding needs at the moment. Each exercise was only performed for one minute and boy did my legs feel the strain for the last thirty seconds. My arms gave out completely but I thought my core muscles that I have been trying to improve this winter held out fairly well. As for clearing the sinuses! Luckily Elizabeth kept very near to keep correcting my position essential as well to gain full benefit so another session is booked for Thursday (if i can still move tomorrow) and the school is booked again for Wednesday for Danni, then it's just a tail wash for him a clean tack!

No comments:

Post a Comment