Chukka Wellness: Exercising at

India Parker-Smith founded Chukka Wellness – a company dedicated to helping polo players become fitter and stronger athletes. For several years, India worked as a Personal Trainer at one of Chelsea’s premier private members’ clubs and began to train some of the world’s leading sportsmen and women.

India trains both international and UK Polo professionals focusing not only on functional movements and body maintenance, but also advising clients on fuelling their bodies correctly for mental alertness and physical endurance. Chukka Wellness brings you the second workout in the Get Fit at The Polo Club series

Exercise at The Pony Lines

Get fit at the polo Club

As a polo player do you prepare your body for the busy polo season. Do you stay hydrated and fuel yourself effectively for sustained energy levels? Would you say your muscles are strong and joints supple for the high impact game?

In the world of polo, it is inevitable that horses receive the best care and treatment; they are warmed up before chukkas, fed good quality produce and any injury is immediately taken care of.

So why do so many riders refuse to prioritise their own health and wellness during the busy polo season?

Polo is a very strenuous sport and to prolong playing time and avoid injury; body maintenance should be a main focus for players. “Preparation stops you from being caught off guard and lets you physically and mentally prep for the challenges ahead”, Richard Wilcox, Strength Coach. As the competition mounts in polo, it is the marginal gains that create winners so combining an effective exercise programme with the correct nutrition can help propel one’s athletic performance.

“Resistance training must be progressive, and the skill work identical to the movement patterns of the sport. When both components are working in concert, the result is a highly efficient, explosive athlete,” Ken Mannie, Strength Coach.

Players may want to start by making a few adjustments to their weekly routine in order to become fitter and stronger athletes. A few suggestions include following a postchukka stretching routine, adding in 20 minutes of resistance training three times a week and fuelling the body correctly with healthy proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

If players are looking to kickstart their polo-fitness regime, Chukka Wellness has created a series of resistance workouts using solely equipment found at a polo club.

This month we are ‘working out’ at the pony lines.

Pony Lines Workout

• Perform each exercise for 30 seconds • One-minute rest in-between sets • Three to four sets

Glute bridge (glutes & hamstrings)

Start by holding on to the pony lines with an under-arm grip and walk your feet forward until you are hanging off the pole. Slowly lower your hips down towards the ground, engage your core muscles and slowly thrust your hips up into the air avoiding any over-extension through the back. You should feel your glutes and hamstring muscles contract.

Floor press (arms and shoulders)

Start with an under-arm grip on the pony lines and walk your feet forward until your legs are fully extended. Gently pull yourself up to the bar leading with your chest and keep your elbows tucked into your sides. Ensure to keep your body aligned and abdominal muscles engaged throughout the whole exercise to avoid any back pain.

Photography by Chukka Wellness

Press ups (chest and arms)

Place both hands on the pony lines and step both feet back. Gently bend your arms keeping your elbows tucked into your sides and lower your chest down to the bar. Keep your body in a straight line and core muscles strong. Then fully extend the arms to bring your chest back to the starting position.

Sprinting (cardio)

Hold on to the pony lines with bent arms and lean your upper body forward. Start the running motion by bringing one knee up towards your chest whilst keeping the other leg straight. Switch legs and continue running against the pole. To increase difficulty, speed up the movement.

Squat with star jump (glutes and legs)

Hold on to the pony lines and squat down (push your hips back and bend the knees to 90 degrees). Jump up by fully extending the legs and thrusting your hips forward. At the top of the jump open your legs into a star jump position, immediately bring them back to shoulder width apart and land with bent legs back into the squat position.

Chat with Chukka Wellness

Photograph by ©www.imagesofpolo.com

To highlight the necessity for staying fit for polo, Chukka Wellness interviewed a mixture of successful international polo players. Their top nutrition and fitness secrets were revealed along with how they prepare mentally and physically for a big tournament. This month we spoke to Santiago Araya Jr. who is a member of the well-known Araya family. He splits his time between Argentina and the UK where he is based at Ham Polo Club in Richmond. His main goals for 2020 is to improve his handicap and play in the Camara tournament in Argentina. We asked Santi how he prepares for the busy polo season and how he stays fit and healthy throughout the year.

How do you prepare physically and mentally for the polo season and big tournaments?

I work with a Personal Trainer in Argentina to prepare my body for the busy polo seasons. Mentally I try to stay as optimistic as possible especially when unexpected problems occur such as an injury to a horse or myself…

Do you have a specific gym routine you follow?

Before each big season I follow a preseason routine that consists mainly of heavy weight training and lots of stretching in order to avoid injury. During the busy season I change my workout regime to solely

functional training and rehab (pool recovery, stretching routine) but I am lucky if I can get to the gym more than 3x a week due to a busy tournament schedule.

Is nutrition an important element to your preparations for big tournaments?

I try to eat as healthy as possible throughout the year but during my pre-season training, I add in a post workout protein shake to aid in muscle recovery. I struggle to maintain my weight during the busy season so focus on consuming lots of complex carbohydrates for increased body mass. I love using energy gels during long matches too!

What does your post game routine involve?

Every polo player reflects on the game regardless of whether they win or lose but if I have access to a post-match video recording, I like to sit and analyse not only my game but how well the horses performed too! I try to get to the gym the following day to stretch out my body and focus on any tight areas.

Do you think fitness is an essential part to becoming a better polo player?

I think that fitness training prepares you not only physically for polo but mentally too. The harder I train, the fitter and stronger I become which makes me more determined on the field. Hiring a trainer was the best thing I did as I now have help with correcting my form during exercises and therefore suffer with less injuries.

There is a big focus on health & fitness at high goal level, do you think it should be introduced into medium and low goal too and why?

I think there is already a big focus on fitness in medium and low goal however some teams may have a smaller budget to spend on fitness trainers which may limit them. I recommend the Chukka Wellness Six Week Pre-Season Programme as it is affordable and covers not only the exercise element but nutrition too!

What’s the best bit of advice you could give beginner players?

If you want to become an effective player… understand that it takes hard work and professionalism to get there!

Chukka Wellness offers Polo Fitness Getaways for polo players and teams of all abilities in Sotogrande, Mallorca & Argentina.

For UK based clubs we also offer Polo Fitness Clinics to educate players on how to stay fit and healthy in order to become a better athlete.

For more information visit the website www.chukkawellness.co.uk or email india@chukkawellness.co.uk

Website: www.chukkawellness.co.uk Instagram: @chukka_wellness Facebook: Chukka Wellness Email: india@chukkawellness.co.uk

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