Spin Bike for Equestrians: 10 Reasons to Ride One

I am a huge proponent of the spin bike for equestrians. To outsiders, it might seem like equestrians just sit atop the saddle and the horse does all the work. Have you had this conversation before? We riders know what a workout riding can be! The sore muscles, elevated heart rate, not to mention sweaty riding clothes–even in cooler weather–indicate riding is indeed an athletic pursuit.

One of the best ways to be a stronger rider is to exercise in a different saddle–by that I mean a spin bike! Six years ago I started doing spin classes, and as a result, saddle stamina skyrocketed.

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Spin Bike for Equestrians: 10 Reasons to Ride

I wrote an article for Horse Illustrated on this subject–how we can be stronger in two saddles: our stationary bike saddle and our horse’s saddle. The word count requirement did not allow for all the awesome reasons equestrians should ride a spin bike, so here are some additional thoughts. I rounded up 10 reasons horse riders should spin.

Peep my spin bike!

Many of these ideas sprouted based on a Facebook group I’m in called Pelo Ponies. It’s a group for equestrians who Peloton. Now I don’t have a Peloton bike, but I use the app with my Bowflex bike (this is the newer model of the bike I have and love). It works great and I love the Peloton instructors as they really keep me motivated and excited to ride the spin bike.

1. Increases cardio fitness.

The first year I started doing spin classes at the local gym consistently, I noticed a curious thing while traveling with my mom. She and I went with a tour group to Israel and went all around the country. We spent some time in and around Jerusalem at a number of ancient sites. The terrain was hilly and there was a lot of walking. Stairs both up and down were everywhere. I remember noticing some of the people in our tour group going very slowly up the hills or stairs. I remember going up and not getting winded, I realized, “It must be the spin workouts!”

When I first would take spin classes I would be so exhausted I would literally have to take a nap in the afternoon. lol!

Just recently I walked up a hill with a friend and I heard their breathing get a bit labored. Mine breathing elevated, but not bad. I credit the cardio aspect of my spin bike classes.

When I ride I wear a heart rate monitor track it in the Peloton app, but I don’t want to nerd out on numbers at this point. Suffice it to say if you take up riding a spin bike for equestrians, you will notice you can ride your horse longer without having to take a breather.

2. Bolsters your mindset.

So much of horse riding is a mental game–am I right? I’m not the most mentally tough rider out there. I have horse show nerves and definite bouts with anxiety, especially when I jump and I am out of practice or when I try anything new–like fox hunting or a dressage test for the first time. I sometimes think, “I can’t do it,” or, “That’s too scary,” but with the help of my barn friends and trainer, I can do more than I give myself credit for.

I’ve been in various spin classes where there have been mental challenges during the ride. “Ride as fast as you can for the next 30 seconds–stay above 90!” the instructor will say.

I will think to myself, “You’re crazy! My legs don’t go that fast!” But then somehow I can attain that speed and sustain it.

Or sometimes they will have us set the resistance to a 50 or above (that would feel like you’re riding a hill) and say, “We’re going to climb for the next 5 minutes,” and I’m like, “Is this a joke?”

But somehow I can hang in there and do it. The more practice I have pushing myself to do the hard thing and try to win at the mental game on a spin bike, I believe I am stronger mentally in the saddle.

3. A way to find new music.

This idea would have never occurred to me! But it’s true, spin classes are done to music and it’s fun to hear songs you might not have heard in ages or songs new to you. For dressage devotees, the music from spin classes can perhaps even inspire future selections for musical freestyles!

There are other spin apps besides the one I use, but I what I’ve enjoyed about the Peloton app is you can filter spin classes by music. For example, I love the various 80s and 90s rides–they get niche with New Wave, Pop Punk, etc. But I’ve also done a classical ride, a ride with all Prince music, they have country rides, Latin, EDM and more. I’ll be honest, the music really motivates me–much more so than if I were just riding without it.

4. Allows for improved dressage timing & tempi changes.

This idea was shared in Pelo Ponies, the Facebook group. I am not a hardcore dressage aficionado–yet! I did ride a dressage schooling test earlier in the year and had a blast. Read about our dressage debut here.

I believe since so much of the movement in spin class is based on the beat of the music, just practicing consistency whether in pedal strokes or rising out of the spin saddle and sitting back down will help overall body coordination, which in turn will help with applying aids while riding.

5. Provides good low impact exercise option (for aging or bad knees, back)

When I interviewed CycleBar spin instructor Chelsie Andersen for the Horse Illustrated article on equestrians and spin, she gave multiple reasons riding a spin bike is good for riders and one of them had to do with the rider being totally in control of the exercise. By that she described how you can set the tension/difficulty level of the bike yourself. You can go as slowly as you need to. You are in charge of you. She has a number or spin students who are beyond retirement age and/or who have had issues with their knees or back. To summarize this point, riding a stationary bike can be as gentle of a workout as you make it, but still a workout.

6. Strengthens core and abs

Another idea Chelsie shared was how riding a spin bike will strengthen your core and abs, which is important to be effective as a horse rider.

At the time of this writing I just completed a Peloton ride to Gwen Stefani music and there was a 5-minute segment of using small weights to tone arms. I will admit there were some movements during the arms phase which had me struggling–not because of the arms, but because of how engaged I had to keep my core while using the weights.

7. Facilitates general positioning practice

As Caitlin Brown, the equestrian from Sunshine and Sparkles blog and Peloton devotee shared, the three positions a bike rider will use in a spin class are “seated, second position—where you are basically standing up—and third position, where you’re more hovered over the saddle with your shoulders back and chest lifted. When I go into second position, I think of posting at the trot, and when in third, I think of two-point.”

8. Promotes an independent seat

One of the things I learned in my early days of riding lessons was to think about the horse’s spine. My trainer reminded me how narrow it is and how important it is to be centered in the saddle. I think about her and that pointer when I’m in a spin class and am going from second or third position to back in the seat. I try to float down gently and evenly–not to plop down heavier on the right or left.

In addition I have at times taken an exercise band like this and wrapped it around the handlebars to simulate reins, and have practiced having “rein contact” with my hands/arms that is independent of what my seat and legs are doing. (If you scroll back up you’ll see the orange exercise band in the “between the handlebars” photo. Those are my “reins.”)

9. Increases your endurance in the saddle.

My friend Emily who blogs at May As Well Event told me she has benefited from doing spin classes because it’s really hard to simulate the six minutes (plus schooling) of fast cross country riding outside of actually cross country riding in an event. She said trot sets don’t cut it. Emily shared by riding her spin bike–especially doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes from an app she is preparing herself for cross country gallops.

10. Spin is an excellent substitute if you can’t ride your horse.

Part of the reason I took to spin is that for the past few years, my horse Knight has been stabled very far from where I live. I was unable to get out to ride as often as I would have liked. Instead of languishing in LA and being sad I couldn’t hit the saddle, I would channel my energy into spin classes whether in person (pre-pandemic) or at home with the app, hitting my stationary bike saddle. I felt good knowing that even thought I couldn’t ride my horse, I could improve myself to be a better, fitter, less floppy rider for him.

I remember living in Chicagoland and there were some days mid-winter that were just too darn cold to ride. Had I owned an indoor bike back then, I could have still worked on my riding a little bit through spin.

A spin bike is an excellent way to recover from an injury (obviously depending on what type of injury). If you have not had the all clear from your doctor to ride your horse, you could potentially still work on your fitness and perhaps even equitation from the stationary bike saddle.

There you have it–10 reasons equestrians should ride a spin bike. What reasons can you think of? Share in the comments.

Question: What’s your favorite activity/exercise to do to help you be stronger in the saddle?

Thanks for reading and tally ho!

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