The Chukka Community

India, founder of Chukka Wellness has been a Personal Trainer for 7 years and regularly encounters people in the gym performing exercises incorrectly. This can inhibit not only progression in training but also increase the risk of injury later on in life. Over the next couple of months, Chukka Wellness will provide coaching points on common exercises that are usually found in the standard training program and that can easily be performed incorrectly. This month we will be discussing the Lunge as many people can suffer knee and lower back injuries from performing this exercise incorrectly. How to Perform the Perfect Lunge The lunge should be part of a rider’s training programme as it strengthens the glutes & legs and helps to stabilise the hip joint – which is required for when you stand up out of the saddle! Common Mistakes · Lunging with the feet too far away from each other · Not lunging low enough to activate the glutes · Not engaging the core · Over-extending through the lower back · Letting the front knee go beyond the foot and so adding unwanted pressure to the knee joint Now let’s run through the correct coaching points. 1. Start with a pelvic tilt to engage your abdominals 2. Keep the shoulders back & down, stand tall keeping a neutral spine alignment. 3. Take a step forward and drop the knees down to a 90 degree bend (if you cannot create this angle bring your feet closer together) 4. Push back off the front foot using your whole foot not just the toes (you should feel your glutes and leg muscles contract) 5. Finish the lunge by bringing the feet back together in a standing position *Start practicing the correct technique using just your body weight and as you get stronger, feel free to add a barbell or some dumbbells to the exercise. Competitive? To monitor progression, see how long you can hold the bottom phase of the lunge for. Re-test every 4 weeks!

India, founder of Chukka Wellness has been a Personal Trainer for 7 years and regularly encounters people in the gym performing exercises incorrectly. This can inhibit not only progression in training but also increase the risk of injury later on in life. Over the past couple of months, Chukka Wellness has been providing coaching points on common exercises that are usually found in the standard training program and that can easily be performed incorrectly. So far, we have focused on the Lunge , Push up and Plank technique! This month we will be discussing the Glute Bridge as it is essential to have a strong posterior chain for polo in order to reduce the risk of back pain and gain more control in the saddle. How to Perform the Perfect Glute Bridge The main muscle groups used in the Glute Bridge are the glutes (obviously), core and hamstrings. These muscles are all engaged during ride offs and hooks when you need to lean away from the horse or stand up out of the saddle. Common Mistakes · Over-extension of the lower back · Core is not engaged · The movement is not performed in a controlled manner · Feet are placed too far away from the hips · Knees ‘wobble’ during the movement Now let’s run through the correct coaching points. 1. Start on your back with your feet hip width apart and half a foot away from your hips. Ensure your knees are in line with your ankles at all times. 2. Engage your core and slowly lift the hips upwards, rolling the spine up one vertebra at a time. 3. Squeeze your hamstrings and glutes as you bring the hips up – stop just before over-extension of the lower back. 4. Pause at the top and then slowly roll the spine back down. 5. The hips should be the last thing to touch the ground. 6. Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down. *If you struggle with lower back pain, don’t take the hips too high – just enough to feel the glutes contract. Competitive? To monitor progression, see how long you can hold the top of the glute bridge for. Re-test every 4 weeks! You can also start to add dumbbells or a barbell into the exercise by resting them on your hip bones for added resistance.

India, founder of Chukka Wellness has been a Personal Trainer for 7 years and regularly encounters people in the gym performing exercises incorrectly. This can inhibit not only progression in training but also increase the risk of injury later on in life. Over the past couple of months, Chukka Wellness has been providing coaching points on common exercises that are usually found in the standard training program and that can easily be performed incorrectly. So far, we have focused on the Lunge , Push up, Plank and Glute Bridge technique! This month we will be discussing the Single Leg Deadlift as balance is a crucial element to playing polo. The balancing skills are required during hooks, ride-offs and the swinging actions. How to Perform the Perfect Single Leg Deadlift The SLD is an all-round great polo-specific exercise; we use it a lot when training our clients as it improves posterior chain strength, hip, ankle & shoulder stabilisation, core engagement and of course balance! Common Mistakes · Too much over-extension of the lower back · Core not engaged · Hips not parallel · Collapsing through hips · Not placing the foot correctly on the ground · Not bending the stationary knee · Not leading the movement with the chest Now let’s run through the correct coaching points. 1. Start with one foot lifted off the ground 2. Open up your toes of the planted foot (just like a star fish) and place them down on the ground 3. Slightly bend the knee of the planted leg and ensure the knee stays facing forward throughout the movement. 4. Keep hips square facing forward and engage your core. 5. Leading with the chest, hinge your upper body forward towards the ground. Make sure you are standing tall and stay lengthened through the torso during the movement. 6. As the upper body moves forward, bring the raised leg up behind you ensuring the hips do not rotate backwards. 7. Pause and then slowly bring the leg and upper body back to the start position. You can place the foot back down on the ground or keep it raised throughout the whole set. *If you struggle with poor balance, perform the exercise holding on to a wall or chair and refrain from bringing the leg up too high behind you. *Compare balance and muscle strength on each leg and focus a little more time on the weaker side.