If the thought of holding a plank for sixty seconds in a 95-degree barn makes you want to quit strength training entirely, you’re not alone — and honestly, the plank is not the point anyway.
Riders have been sold on planks as the gold standard of “core work” for so long that we’ve conflated one specific exercise with the entire concept of stability. They’re not the same thing. The exercises that will actually improve your position on a horse look almost nothing like what you’re picturing, and most of them can be done barefoot in the air conditioning while your horse naps through the hottest part of the day.
Here’s what rider core stability actually is, why the plank obsession misses the mark, and what to do instead.
What “Core” Actually Means for Riders
The core is not your six-pack. That’s the rectus abdominis — the outermost abdominal layer — and it’s arguably the least important layer for riding. When riders brace through the belly trying to “hold their core,” they’re often recruiting that superficial layer and locking down everything underneath it. The result is a stiff, braced torso that blocks movement rather than transmitting it.
The muscles that actually matter for riding are deeper:
- Transverse abdominis (TVA): the innermost layer, wraps around your trunk like a corset, creates intra-abdominal pressure
- Pelvic floor: the base of the canister — if this is collapsed or constantly gripping, nothing above it works right
- Multifidus: small segmental muscles along the spine that control intersegmental stability, meaning each vertebra moves correctly relative to the next
- Diaphragm: the roof of the canister, which is also why breathing patterns matter so much for position
These muscles don’t produce big force. They produce stability — the ability to maintain shape under load. A horse moving under you at the canter is load. A horse spooking sideways is load. A cross-country gallop is serious load.
When those deep stabilizers are weak or poorly recruited, the outer muscles compensate by gripping — which is exactly what you see in a rider who looks tense, blocked, or bouncy. They’re not failing from lack of effort. They’re failing from lack of the right stability.
Why Planks Are the Wrong Tool for Most Riders
Planks train isometric endurance in a position you never actually use on a horse. They also preferentially recruit the superficial layer if your deeper recruitment pattern is off — which, for most adult riders, it is. You can plank for two minutes every day and still have zero improvement in your sitting trot because the muscles you needed weren’t the ones doing the work.
Planks also load the lumbar spine in a way that’s problematic for riders with existing lower back issues or hypermobility. If you feel your lower back when you plank, you’ve stopped training your core and started stressing your spine. That’s not a technique fix you can talk yourself into — it’s a recruitment problem that needs a different entry point.
The exercises that actually rewire deep stability for riders are low-load, high-precision movements done slowly, with attention to what you’re actually feeling. They’re less impressive to watch. You’ll sweat less. They work considerably better.
The Summer Indoor Protocol
This is the routine I come back to every summer when outdoor conditioning drops off and I have an hour between the morning ride and the 2pm heat. All of it can be done on a yoga mat in the living room. None of it requires equipment beyond a foam roller if you want one.
1. 90-90 Hip Breathing (5 minutes)
Lie on your back with your hips and knees both at 90-degree angles — legs resting against a wall or propped on a couch. This positions the pelvis in neutral and takes the hip flexors offline. From here, breathe into the back and sides of your rib cage, not just the chest. On the exhale, feel the pelvic floor gently lift — not squeeze hard, just draw up slightly.
This is not a warm-up. This is training. You’re teaching your diaphragm and pelvic floor to co-activate, which is the foundation everything else builds on.
2. Dead Bug (3 sets of 6 per side)
Lie on your back, arms extended toward the ceiling, knees at 90 degrees, feet lifted. Press your lower back gently but firmly into the floor — not tucked, not arched, but flat. Lower one arm overhead and the opposite leg toward the floor simultaneously, keeping the back flat throughout. Return. Repeat on the other side.
If your back lifts off the mat, you’ve gone past your stability threshold and you’re training the wrong pattern. Make the movement smaller.
This is the exercise that most directly transfers to riding. The anti-rotation, anti-extension demand of the dead bug is what your core is doing every stride at the canter. It builds the ability to hold shape while your limbs move independently — which is the literal definition of what riding requires.
3. Side-Lying Hip Work (3 sets of 12 per side)
Lie on your side, hips stacked, knees slightly bent. Lift the top leg just enough to separate the feet — no higher. The goal is to feel the outer hip (gluteus medius) working, not the hip flexors. If your pelvis rocks back, you’re using the wrong muscle.
Weak gluteus medius is one of the most consistent patterns I see in riders who collapse a hip, lose a stirrup, or always slide to one side. It’s also almost completely unaddressed by planks.
4. Supine Marching (3 sets of 10 per side)
Same starting position as the dead bug. Without allowing your pelvis to rock or your lower back to change shape, slowly lift one foot an inch off the floor, hold for three seconds, lower. Alternate.
This sounds embarrassingly easy. The first time you actually pay attention to whether your pelvis is staying still, you’ll realize it’s not.
5. Standing Hip Hinge with Dowel (2 sets of 10)
Use a broomstick held along your spine — three contact points: back of head, mid-back, and sacrum. Hinge at the hip, maintaining all three contact points, until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor. Return to standing by pressing the floor away.
This directly trains the hip hinge pattern that produces a stable, independent seat. If you lose contact at the sacrum, your lower back is flexing instead of your hip hinging — same problem as the horse who breaks at L3 instead of carrying from behind.
The whole routine takes 25-30 minutes. I’ll talk through the progression in more detail and how this connects to what hypermobile riders specifically need over on The Elevated Equestrian podcast — search for the nervous system and biomechanics episodes if you want the full picture.
What You’ll Actually Notice in the Saddle
The feedback doesn’t show up immediately and it doesn’t feel dramatic. What you’ll notice first, usually around week three or four of consistent practice, is that your lower back isn’t as tired after a long ride. Then you’ll notice your sitting trot feeling less effortful. Then someone will comment that you look quieter.
That’s the deep stability system coming online. It doesn’t announce itself. It just makes everything easier.
One Note on Tools That Help
A foam roller and a set of resistance loops are genuinely useful for this kind of work — they give proprioceptive feedback that helps you feel where the work is actually happening. I’ve reviewed both along with other rider wellness tools over at the gear reviews section if you want to know what’s worth buying and what’s marketing.
The barrier to this work isn’t equipment. It’s the belief that exercises this quiet can’t possibly be doing anything.
They are. Do them in the AC. Your horses will thank you.
