Further Posting Mechanics + CrossFit

I’m still thinking and working hard on my posting mechanics: how do I move as quickly as my trainer wants me to, and build a better and more stable posting base as we re-establish Tristan’s baseline for forward and through?

For about a month now I’ve been attending CrossFit classes locally. (Well, not quite CrossFit, but an intro/on-ramp/learning class that is designed to teach CrossFit basics as well as do a workout.) I am…not really an exercise person, but I am enjoying it. And I’ve already noticed that it has given me additional strength and body perception. So my plan is to keep going with it as long as I can; it’s really, really hard to fit in schedule-wise and budget-wise but it’s also become very important to me very quickly. So, one more end of the candle to burn. (I need more candles.)

I’ve been working hard on a couple of things:

• flexibility and strength in my hip flexors, and thinking more of my hips as a hinge, warming them up by almost over-following the walk and then using a controlled open and close during posting
• focusing hard on stillness in my lower leg; my trainer took a video of me posting and I was horrified at how much I was still flopping my leg around and over-exposing him to my leg aid. So a quieter lower leg, sometimes almost off the saddle entirely
• thinking a lot about weight down through my leg as distributed, not just into the stirrup. Early on, I think, we over-focus on “drop your weight deep into your stirrup and down through your heel” and for me that developed into a lifelong habit to rely too much on weight in the stirrup. Because the more I weight the foot in the stirrup the more I use the stirrup to shove me up out of the saddle, which leads to more movement in my lower leg and if that’s where all the thrust is coming from – it’s not a stable base to move from, it’s too tippy.
• stupid #@!$#@$@ hands and keeping them still which means opening and closing my elbow joints
• sliiiiiiiightly tipping forward to stay off his back to encourage more hind end activity. it feels like I’m going full hunter but I’m probably only adding 1 or 2 degrees from straight. it’s also a better place to react from if he does something like trip or leave a hind leg behind so instead of caught behind the motion and sitting deep and back for a second I can maintain a stronger position over the saddle and flex my arms more easily to allow him the space he needs to have his dramatic moment but then bring him back quickly.

Whew. Boring, sorry, but it’s been an intensely thinky and physical couple of rides for all that we’ve mostly just been doing trot sets once we warm up.