Hacking Rider Fitness: Recent Episodes
Leah Sparrow
Following the health journey of a 50 plus equestrian rider who has overcome health issues in the past and present and has made a promise to put health first so that she can ride her horses with confidence, enjoy her family, and run her business. Health tips, nutritional advice, fitness tips, horsemanship, and balancing life in general with be the focus of this podcast as I talk with experts in their field and share my own experiences and struggles during my health journey so that others can be empowered to put themselves first and become the best versions of themselves as riders, businesswomen, and as a strong woman who loves herself.
Let's talk about stopping and starting a health and fitness routine. Going through a slump? Need some motivation? Let's notice what happens when you get back in the groove while helping your horses get back in shape and dealing with body shaming comments. It's unscripted and totally raw, but I had to get it off my chest.
Items mentioned:
Bareback Pad
Beachbody On Demand 645
Facebook Support: Equestrian Weight Loss Support Group
Email: leah@teacherleah.com
Let's connect:
Hacking Rider Fitness Podcast on Facebook and Instagram
In this episode, I discuss how to make the decision whether to blanket your horse or not. There are five factors to consider when blanketing a horse along with the types of blankets to choose from.
SmartPak Ultimate Blanketing Guide
Let's Connect:
Facebook Page: Hacking Rider Fitness Podcast
Instagram: Hacking_Rider_Fitness_Podcast
Find out preventative measures for your horse's most common ailments: rain rot, thrush, and white line along with how to get rid of rain rot, thrush, and white line. Get rid of rain rot without the need for a bath. Get rid of thrush and white line with iodine, your farrier, and other measures. These issues can slow down your rider fitness journey especially when you're trying to get you and your horse fit.
Resources for prevention:
Hoof Heal
Thrush Buster
Coat Defense Daily Preventative
Steel Curry
Resources for healing:
M-T-G
White Lightning
Equiderma Skin Lotion
Riding Gear:
Intrepid International Comfort Plus Western Bareback Pad
Fitness Resources for the humans:
21 Day Fix Challenge Support Group
Equestrian Weight Loss Support Group
Horse Feed for the Overweight Horse:
Purina Enrich Plus
Triple Crown Lite
Let's Connect:
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Hacking Rider Fitness IG
How do you handle the holidays? Discover 5 tips to surviving the holidays and staying on track with your health and fitness as well as have the time to see those great big equines we love so much! Also, get the support you need with the 21 Day Fix Challenge I'm holding on Facebook. Links are here:
21 Day Fix Challenge Facebook Group starts December 1, 2021
What is the 21 Day Fix Challenge? Click here
Resources:
Rachel Baker of Merciful Mornings (get your life organized through the guidance of Rachel Baker or have her do it for you!)
Beachbody Shakeology (get the protein you need)
Beachbody Bevvy (curb cravings and stay focused)
Amazing Grass Superfoods Greens
What my horses eat:
Triple Crown Lite (specifically for overweight horses, horses with metabolic issues, and easy keepers)
Note: This description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this episode and support the podcast at no cost to you. While this podcast may earn minimal sums when the listener uses the links, the listener is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!
Let's talk horses! How do you care for the easy keeper? What is available out there in terms of diet for the obese horse and how do you get them back in shape with diet and exercise?
Resources mentioned:
Long Reining: From the Beginning through the Levade
Double Lunge
Feeding the Obese Horse:
Purina Enrich (what they're eating now)
Triple Crown Lite (what I'm switching to)
Surcingle for lunging and long reining I use:
Henri de Rivel Training Horse Surcingle BeachBody on Demand:2B MindsetShakeology645 ProgramBevvy **(stay focused and curb cravings)
Note: This description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this episode and support the podcast at no cost to you. While this podcast may earn minimal sums when the listener uses the links, the listener is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!**
Honing The Basics of Lunging Your Horse: A breakdown of the basics of lounging and to deal with different types of horses and their level of reaction to your body and cues. Lunging can help you find those areas where your horse needs more practice or perhaps needs attention from a professional. Its also the best way to start a ground work program once your horse understands how to lead properly.
For equipment, try Horse.com!
Resources:
Beachbody On Demand Membership
Become a Beachbody Coach and receive discounts
Try Beachbody's Free Membership
645 Streaming Access
Annual Beachbody Membership
My diet plan:
2B Mindset
Let's Connect:
Instagram @hacking_rider_fitness_podcast
Facebook page Hacking Rider Fitness
Group:
Equestrian Weight loss Support Group
Let's talk about how outside rein, inside leg is more an aid for you than the horse. I will help first begin with a discussion on exactly what it means when your coach is screaming "outside rein, inside leg!" while you're wondering what exactly that means. Then we will do a little experiment and end with how diet and exercise can help you and your horse to stay balanced.
Resources mentioned:
Beachbody On Demand Membership
Become a Beachbody Coach and receive discounts
Try Beachbody's Free Membership
645 Streaming Access
Annual Beachbody Membership
My diet plan:
2B Mindset
Let's Connect:
Instagram @hacking_rider_fitness_podcast
Facebook page Hacking Rider Fitness
Group:
Equestrian Weight loss Support Group
Rachel Baker of Merciful Mornings is a task manager expert. She helps working moms, online teachers, and anyone else who feels overwhelmed with getting all those things on your to do list done. We discuss how we schedule each day so that we can do the self care we need (working out, eating well, relaxing, etc) as well as get our jobs done as entrepreneurs, take care of our families, rider horses, and just plain get it all done.
Connect with Rachel Baker of Merciful Mornings:
Merciful Mornings Website
Mom's Personal Secretary - Learn how to organize your day so you can take care of you and all the things!
Connect with Leah Sparrow of Hacking Rider Fitness:
Equestrian Weight Loss Facebook Support Group
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Hacking Rider Fitness Instagram
Krystal Wilson is a survivor and has lost weight and maintained her weight. She now helps others do the same by understanding their weight loss concerns and changing their habits in order to become the best versions of themselves. We discuss how we are navigating the waters of weight loss and fitness in order to keep ourselves on track. Krystal has completed the task of losing weight, but its a constant act of mindfulness to keep those triggers in check.
Resources:
Contact Krystal and join her group:
Youtube Channel Happy OM at Home
Website Happy OM
Happy OM Yoga and More Facebook Page
Connect with Leah Sparrow of Hacking Rider Fitness:
Equestrian Weight Loss Facebook Support Group
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Hacking Rider Fitness Instagram
My friend, Victoria Gillick who is an entrepreneur, and I discuss discovering those little. moments that can help you stay motivated in your health journey. From discovering your clothes fitting differently to feeling more secure in the saddle, Victoria and I share our stories of health and fitness.
Resources:
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Noom
Isagenix
BeachBody On Demand: 645
Fitness Group:
Equestrian Weight Loss Support Group
Let's Connect!
Facebook
Instagram
Victoria's Infomation:
My Fitness Pal
Connect on Facebook
Website Lead From Home
How do you stay mindful while on vacation and not sabatoge all your hard work with health and fitness? Let's talk about some strategies you can use that helped me stay on track while on vacation.
Resources:
Equestrian Weight Loss Support Group
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Noom
Isagenix
BeachBody On Demand: 645
Facebook
Instagram
In this episode, I share my journey, and what I've discovered along the way. I have found a way to conquer my habits of binging, overcome fatigue, and set realistic goals to help me stay motivated and stay on track with diet and exercise. My goal is to lose 70 pounds total. My main motivators are my horses and my son.
Resources:
Noom
Isagenix
BeachBody On Demand: 645
Facebook
Instagram
Sharing a quick update on my journey and how an accidental playing of YouTube video made me get more serious about my weight loss and the steps that followed. Also, I will share my horses' progress with their fitness routine and how we are working together to get back in shape. I have lost 13 pounds so far on my journey. I have been released by the doctors so now its time to get focused as an equestrian, as a horse owner, and as someone who want to lose weight, enjoy her horses, and live to see her grandchildren.
Let's connect:
Hacking Rider Fitness Facebook Page
Equestrian Weight Loss Facebook Support Group
Resources:
Noom
Isagenix
https://youtu.be/BBsslpGputk
Transcript:
So what I've focused on what I've realized is that all in all reality, one meal, it really does actually satisfy me that the actual bingeing was due to something else. So I'm going to get to that right now. Welcome to the hacking writer fitness podcast. I'm Leah Sparrow. And all I want to do is ride my horses being over 50 can be tough enough. But when you have to lose weight, run a business deal with a chronic disease, Crohn's disease, cope with living alone, and an empty nest. And on top of all that ride to amazing horses, it can be downright overwhelming at times, I decided to share my journey, my goal, to lose 70 pounds and become the best version of myself is in progress. By sharing my ups and downs and how I achieved my goals. I hope to empower you and help you ride your horses, because they are why we are here. And they are our passion. So what I've been doing recently is dealing with a couple of health issues that have kind of put a halt on everything. So therefore, I decided that I needed to research why I'm kind of stuck. Some my journey has been an up and down kind of things. So with a little health moments in the way. So earlier this year, I had an operation and give you a little backstory, I had an operation to fix a peristomal Hernia, and they fixed it, then it came back for the third time. So yay. Um, and what I decided was okay, that little sucker is there because I don't have a core I've had 12 surgeries on my stack and doing more surgeries and it's just not the answer. Obviously, I've had to have surgeries because of Crohn's disease, I have severely aggressive Crohn's disease, Crohn's is almost killed me three times. Now, Crohn's has almost killed me twice. an ectopic pregnancy almost killed me once. That was a joyful day. So I've overcome quite a bit, and I'm finally in remission now. And what I want to do is be able to have a health journey like a normal human being. With Crohn's, what I have found is the issue is when it's active, you don't want to eat. So of course, you starve because if you eat, you get super, super sick. But then when you finally do get into remission, you want to eat everything, because you've been really restricted, highly restricted. Now, here's the other phenomenon with Crohn's patients, which many people don't understand why we do it. We're so restricted by what we can and cannot eat due to the disease itself, that sometimes we will actually eat things that we know is going to hurt us because it's so restrictive. So I know that restricting your diet, like greatly restricting your diet is not something that's going to be beneficial as someone who is quote unquote, normal or doesn't have a digestive issue to reinforce the restrictions. So you know, it's restricting your diet is not necessarily a great thing. What you need to do is be more mindful about your diet. So what happened was, is I saw a show that basically just made me say Okay, enough of all of this. Your doctors have finally giv
Groundwork: Exercise for You and Your Horse:
I discuss the fitness journey I have begun with my horses to regain our fitness, and how groundwork has strengthened my bond with my horses over the years. I also discuss my goals for myself and my horses, and how I plan my trainings with my horses to involve both their fitness and mine.
Let's connect:
email: leah@teacherleah.com (temporary email website to come soon!)
Facebook: Hacking Rider Fitness
Transcript:
Leah Sparrow:Wow, that's a really good trail horse. She went with you and pulled that log out of the way. She stood there and waited for you to move the brush. You sat on her back and pulled a branch down out of the trees and she did nothing. That's because of the trust that was developed on the ground. That's because she learned to trust me on the ground. That's why groundwork is so important. You will not believe the amount of... I can't explain it, the amount of trust that's developed, the bond, it's absolutely incredible when you work with your horses on the ground.
Welcome to the hacking rider fitness podcast. I'm Leah Sparrow and all I want to do is ride my horses. Being over 50 can be tough enough, but when you have to lose weight, run a business, deal with a chronic disease, Crohn's disease for me, cope with living alone in an empty nest. And on top of that, ride two amazing horses, it's downright overwhelming at times. I decided to share my journey. My goal is to lose 70 pounds and become the best version of myself. It's in progress, but I'm doing it. By sharing my ups and downs and how I achieve my goals, I hope to empower you and help you ride your horses because they are why we are here, and they are our passion.
Today, I want to talk about working out with your horse. So many people believe that they need to have their horse inside of a ring or inside of a round pen in order to lunge them so to speak. Now, this is how I work out with my horses, and quite frankly, my horses follow me everywhere, I don't tie them up very often, although they can be tied, but the reason why I don't tie them up very often is because A, I like to walk more so that I can exercise while working with my horses. For example, when they're in the pasture, they usually come up to where the shelter is, the shed, the lean to where they eat and where they get brushed, and I brushed them there. And what it's created by not tying them, I used to have the halter and lead rope at least.
And then I would just step on the lead rope to stop them from walking away and say, "Whoa," or I would hold onto the lead. But as time went on and as my training was conducted while brushing them, and there was no intent in this, I was not intent on being able to rush, saddle, spray, clip, do their hooves or anything like that without having a halter on them, it just happened this way over time, and it takes time to get them to that point. But anyway, when they come up, I call them to me. Now I can call them at any time, not just during dinner time when they want to come in, but anytime in, anywhere in the pasture, I can call them, they will come to me. And this is because of the relationship I developed with my horses on the ground.
It's really important to develop your relationship with your horses on the ground. If all you ever do is come out, stick them in the cross ties or tie them to a hitching post or whatever, and throw a saddle on their back after brushing them, or in some cases, some people don't even brush them before they put the saddle on, but that's for a whole different podcast. Then you get on their back and you take them for a ride, you bring them back, you take the saddle off, you rinse them off or brush them down or whatever, and let them go back out the paddock. You had a wonderful time on the trail riding them, yes. There may have been moments where they spooked, there've bee
I talk with my diet coach and friend, Skyla Campbell Post of Isagenix, about the ups and downs of dieting. She has lost over 70 pounds with Isagenix, battled a bacterial infection in her digestive system, and is the mother of five children including twins! We talk about the products that have changed our lives. I discuss how Isagenix has helped me with Crohn's Disease and how Skyla has helped me embark on my journey of losing 70 pounds.
Here are the links to the products we shared:
Skyla's website
Skyla’s fb health group
Large Isagenix "Encyclopedia" and Isagenix Facebook Group
Products discussed:
Whole Blend Isalean Shakes
Whole Blend Isalean Plant Based Shakes
Collagen Elixir
Brain and Sleep Support System (Brain Boost & Renewal and Sleep Support & Renewal Spray)
The Fidus 32oz Leakproof Water Bottle
I am a 50 plus empty nester who is running her own business and coping with an auto immune disease known as Crohn’s. All I want to do is ride my horses. Do you feel like you have no time for fitness? No time for your beloved horses? Maybe you’ve lost your confidence as a rider due to health issues or other concerns. Join me as we talk about rider fitness and balancing…. Well life. All we want to do is ride our horses, right? Let’s talk about how we can work with our horses and kill two birds with one stone. What does that mean? Well, I’ve been working with horses since I was three years old. I have discovered various ways to create a more secure seat and gain confidence in the saddle by working on my fitness with my horses. Want to learn more? Then join me as we start working our way towards our goals as riders and as moms, empty nesters, entrepreneurs, health warriors, etc. I have trained several people the art of horsemanship and showed, trained and ridden hundreds of horses. I’ve also battled with Crohn’s since I was a baby. It has been quite the struggle to overcome the fatigue, the pain, the surgeries, the diet concerns, and so on. I am sure you can relate. Dealing with any kind of health struggle can be hard. Let’s hack our way to fitness by learning various tips, strategies, and exercises to get back to the rider you used to be or the rider you want to be. You will discover how I have and will overcome different obstacles and the solutions I use to make life less overwhelming. I am going share how I have taken on my journey of overcoming recent health issues and losing 70 pounds. My story will be shared to help you learn how to become the best version of you as an individual and as a rider. I want to share my experiences and my struggles with you so we can achieve our goals together. Also, I will have discussions with experts in the field of fitness, riding, and running a business. Welcome to the Hacking Rider Fitness Podcast! So glad you’re here!
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