We know many of our readers are getting older and are not as flexible as they once were. If you shoot prone with sling, or do position shooting, you can definitely benefit from doing some key stretches on a regular basis. This can help avoid cramping, muscle pain, or unwanted tension. In addition, doing stretching exercise can help with general health and fitness.

Shooting Sports USA has a good fitness article: Easy Stretches And Strength Movements. While the main focus of this article is on strethces to alleviate lower back pain, many of the movements illustrated can help ease neck, shoulder, and mid-back tension. This Editor, who suffers from neck/shoulder tension, can confirm that these exercises really do help. NOTE: The lead photo above shows the Floor Pec stretch (left) and Pigeon stretch (right), referenced below.

The article’s author, Corey Howard, explains:

Let’s look at the simple stretches … to maintain a healthy range of motion in your four corners — your hips and shoulders. If any of these areas are tight, then nine times out of 10, your body can’t stabilize and you’ll have low back issues.

There are four simple yoga stretches I have all my clients do: child’s pose, floor pec stretch, half kneeling hip flexor, and pigeon. These are simple and can be seen in the photos. The child’s pose lengthens the spine and stretches the lats, the big muscles in your upper back. Pec stretch on the floor opens up your chest and relaxes your shoulders so your posture improves. Half kneeling hip flexor stretch should be felt on the front side of your hips and ease the strain on your lower back. Finally, pigeon stretch can be felt through your glutes and will ease any lower back discomfort.”

Good Basic Stretching Routines — Video Instruction

Here are two videos that offers some other stretching techniques that can help older marksmen. This Editor started doing some of the listed morning stretches. Right away this helped to significantly reduce stiffness associated with working at a computer all day long.

And here is a more aggressive stretching routine that includes some of the stretches found in the Shooting Sports USA article. For older readers — you may want to just do a few of these stretches for starters — not the entire routing.

ANETTE: One thing you can be sure of in a 3-Gun match is shooting from weird positions. I have noticed that the stage designers love port holes [in barriers]. There are many that are on the ground that you have to shoot through. Or perhaps it is not a port hole but just underneath a barrier. Imagine you are running to that spot with rifle in hand and you have to use one arm to brace your fall to the ground, while holding the rifle safely and facing down range in the other, and then get in to position to shoot, then back up again using one arm to push off of. I have an exercise I have been doing for a awhile that works great for this move…

The “Shooting Low Porthole Plank” starts off in a plank position — make sure your back is straight.

To read the rest of the story (with three exercises) visit GunUp the Magazine.

About 30CalGal
Along with being a talented competitive shooter, Anette has her own Gun Blog, 30CalGal.com, and she writes for several gun publications including GunUp Magazine, Shooting Sports USA, Sure Shots Magazine, and Wide Open Spaces. She also designs and crafts custom jewelry items, many of which utilize cartridge cases or other shooting-themed components. You can purchase Anette’s jewelry through her AW Collections webstore.