Does horseback riding make your bum bigger?

Riding is a great way to stay in shape. It can help you lose weight and stay toned. One question that gets asked a lot, however, is does horseback riding make your bum bigger?

With so many unreliable online sources, the answer seems far from clear.

Whilst horseback riding can increase the size of your gluteus muscles, it can also help you reduce your overall body fat and generally tone up resulting in an overall smaller and shapelier backside!

The myth that horseback riding causes your bum to get bigger has been around for a long while but it is just that: a myth. There are only a few things that make your bum bigger: poor meal choices, lack of aerobic exercise and, silicone implants!

A Great Form of Exercise

Horseback riding is an excellent form of exercise that helps burn fat and keep you fit. According to Captain Calculator an average person burns between 250 and 400 calories per hour horseback riding at slower speeds and as much as 550 to 700 calories per hour riding at faster speeds.

The sort of exercise intensity that horseback riding demands helps you improve your lower-body strength and tone your gluteus muscles. This will generally make them appear slimmer and more shapely.

If your bum does start to look bigger or more shapely as a result of riding a horse, it is the result of muscle growth not simply being in the saddle for x-amount of hours.

Active Sitting vs Passive Sitting

Sitting in a saddle is what you might call an active form of sitting. It requires both muscular endurance and balance. That is why if you have been riding for an extended period, when you first dismount your bum can feel a bit sore. The gluteus maximus, along with your quadriceps and abdominal muscles, have been working hard to keep you balanced on the saddle. Sitting in an office chair or slouching on the couch, in contrast, can be considered passive forms of sitting that require little or no muscular involvement at all.

In effect, you are exercising in the saddle and this is what may cause the glutes to become slightly bigger and more toned. As bodybuilders like to say, progressive overload leads to adaption: using any of your muscles forces them to grow and adapt, including the gluteus maximus. That might deter some people from spending too long in the saddle but you needn’t worry. The extra calories you burn whilst riding will burn off enough fat to more than compensate for any small increase the sites of your glutes as a result of muscular growth.

Riding Is Good For You!

Whether you ride only occasionally or you love being in the saddle as much as possible, it can have a really positive impact on your level of physical fitness. Riding not only improves the shape and tone of your bum, it also strengthens the muscles in your arms and legs, enhances your core strength and improves your sense of balance. It is a great form of exercise and you certainly shouldn’t be put off by myths about getting a bigger bum as a result of horseback riding.