The Horse Workout

So I was thinking that it's time I got back in shape.  I was doing so good for a long while.  I'd lost 100 pounds and was keeping it off with hardly any problem.  I was active and becoming more active as I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and was getting it under control.  Then in 2008 disaster struck.  An idiot of a doctor prescribed me a medicine that caused a horrible potassium deficiency.  Potassium is necessary for your muscles to work.  I became so weak that I couldn't even pick up a toothbrush to brush my teeth.  I lost my muscle and I gained back all that weight in only a few months after I had kept it off (easily I should mention) for years.

This was me a couple years before the potassium deficiency.  Not perfect, but I was happy.

This is me now (on the left obviously).  Not horrible, but I'm definitely not happy.  And it's not even the weight really, it's just that I still haven't gotten back the strength that I used to have and it just makes everything in life so much more difficult.

So I have a goal now of putting on muscle tone.  I'm not going to worry about losing weight and I assume that losing weight will just naturally follow the development of muscle tone.  I eat better now than I did when I was keeping the weight off without a problem so I'm happy with the eating part, although I'm certainly going to try to improve.  But I will focus on the muscle tone.

My mom had a great idea that I should start riding my horses again which I've only done a handful of times since I was so sick four years ago.  It's taken this long for me to feel strong enough that I'm not afraid I'll fall off the horse if it so much as trips.  

The idea will be that I will ride as a workout rather than for the sake of riding.  If it's a workout then I won't feel pressured that I have to go out on the trail and be out for a while.  I can ride for five minutes. Shoot, even carrying the saddle out to the horse is a workout that will help with strength training.  Plus, horse riding has been shown to work phenomenally to build muscles with handicapped riding.  It's amazing for physical rehabilitation and that's exactly what I need.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm going to try to spend some time everyday riding, even if it's only a few minutes.  I can't wait to get back in the saddle.