hello Brandi:

my name Is Lisa and i live in NJ, now just to let you know i am new in guns and have not gotten my permits yet, did buy my first gun but the reason that i wanted to post to you is because i have arthritis and can help you with the problems with your back as i have been dealing with PT for a very long time for diffrent things and i am working on getting disability as i can't work any more, i always was active with being involved with dogs for over 30 years, well getting to my point and this can go for anybody.
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no manner what you do is exercise stretching is every important and you may not know that you do not have a back problem, do you go to a chiropractor???? that is inportant as well as acupunture. that really is not my thing and have done it and it works.

before you go to the range you should do some exercises to stretch out and then you add to that by getting stronger.

try to do some exercises before you do go to the range and see what happens after that.

Lisa, NJ

Hey Brandi,

It's great to see the commitment you are making to the sport. We need more like you. It's just like any other physical activity. As you shoot more, you will experience less discomfort. I'm 50 and have shot competitively for many years(IDPA,etc), but I still get cramping and spasms on occasion. Find a sponge "stress ball" and squeeze it every chance you get. Alternate your fingers and making a fist. It will do wonders for you. Before you know it, popping off 500 rounds is a breeze ! I concur with Lisa about a good chiro and stretching, especially the neck and arms.

Keep on shooting a lets us know how it's going.

Mark

thank you,
i need chiropractor. I do pt every mon and wed night (and specialized massage on sunday)... specifically for the shooting sports. every work out is strickly supervised from my coach. he wishes i didnt do stuff like range fun. but i know i need to just find the right gun for my body. i love my beretta. i hope i love my m&p. i have 22s as well but cant take them to school with me.

thank you both for the advice- doc gave me baclofen which is super. but i know there has to be another way

Brandi,
Having trained many women (and men) how to shoot, I'll ask a few questions first and then offer my usual fixes for most people who find discomfort with shooting for long periods of time.
Questions
1. What stance are you using?
2. Are you using two hands?
3. Where are your feet positioned in relation to your shoulders?

Fixes
1. This is not an Iso or Weaver question. This is about where your hips are in relation to your shoulders. "Most" women tend to shoot hips forward of their shoulders. This, in my opinion is (and not a fault by any means) is due to how women carry weight (not fat), weight. Women when carrying things that are heavy tend to carry it on their hip, aka babies (please, I know this sounds bad to start, but read on). It's a natural pose. Ask any man you know to hold a baby like women do and they just can't do it well. Body design is important. So, with that being said, some people will try to tell you to shoot like a man. ISO stance, shoulders square to the target, thumbs over, etc, etc. Not necessarily the best dependent on your body. There are different stances that may work better... now onto the next point... hands.

2. Using two hands... YES, please do. Like with many things in life, putting two hands around a problem increases functionality. (My wife likes to say that one hand around my throat would be soothing, but two would be comforting, as I'd finally have to shut up.) More positive control of the lateral movement of the pistol transfers energy into your body via your arms. Reducing "recoil" energy over both arms vs. one. Less traumatic force.

3. Same goes for your feet. Not a hard core "ISO's the only way" kinda guy, but it does lend itself to distributing energy evenly. Try and keep your feet square, or just slightly offset to the angle of your shoulders. Energy from recoil will travel down (hopefully) both your arms, thru your torso, and down your legs to an evenly spaced grounding. Some people like to say that isn't how you'd push a cart (strength wise) and they'd be correct, but we aren't pushing a cart, we're driving a pistol. If you weigh anything over 90 lbs soaking wet, use your body weight to control recoil, not absorb it. Head over your toes, core flexed, arms clasping the pistol from your chest while maintaining a solid grip (solid meaning hard to the point your almost shaking, but not quite), knees bent to absorb and on the balls of your feet. Think linebacker or tennis player, ready to move.

Hope that helps. Need more info to be sure.

Take care and shoot straight!

right foot slightly in front of left, crouched forward a touch as the natrual body reaction when in combat situation. feel slightly wider than the hips. both hands right pushing slight forward. left over right slight pulling back. but a super firm hold of the pistol.

Ima whole lotta mary. about 175lbs. recovering after about 8yrs of severe dissability from abdominal adhesions and many many surgeries. shootin is one sport i can do. as with any sport you must be fit. sucking it up isnt an issue for me. im suck it up queen as i stayed employed ft/self sufficient during all of this...

i do both hands one mag each about 1x per month= should i have to do it with a broken arm= either side so my muscles have the memory to pull it off.

Hello:

its Lisa Again, as i was talking about exercise, i think that is every important in anything we do and how you hold yourself which is something that i did not say in my first post, now i did shoot my new gun which i do not have yet, and the first shot was high and to the right and the second was right in the middle of the target, watching how i hold my body, pulling in my stomach and making sure that i have my feet so far apart, i will have more about how to keep your shoulders that will help as well.

with any sport you do, you should so some kind of exercise like i said, and of cause the more you do it the better you will feel. so about the exercise, you would be doing upper body work and do it every day. if you would like some tips just let me know

Lisa, NJ

Hi Lisa,
I do 2 times a week gym with special trainer for recovery from severe dissabilities. so im not sure the usual person does it or what its for but i do it. lat pull downs, water row machine, curls, stepper, eleiptical, biking, squats and some other things he has me do every visit. its non stop for like 45 minutes to an hour & on saturday or sunday i do a 1-2 hour moto hump (motivational hike -any time something is called motivational in my house you know its gonna suck lol).

im going solo for Sept and will use the gym downstairs instead of going to the gym. Id love some tips!

Hello:

I have learned alot about home programs, what you do is ask your person that helps you what you can do to replace in the gym that you can use at home, for example using loose weights in each hand and pull your shoulders up as high as you can get them and start with a low weight like 1 or 2 pounds and do 2 sets of 10 do this for a week and see how you do and then increase your hand weights,

also some type of tube that will stretch, you can tie it around a door knob stand back even with your hips and pull back, going straight back and then forward again, 1 sets of 10 and self help exercise self help stretching slide arm up wall with palm toward you by moving closer to wall and hold 5 seconds and repeat 10 times, you can call this like the finger wall up the wall however without the wood piece that has steps, walk you fingers up as far as you can and then stretch and hold.

the first exercise is pulling your shoulders up toward your ears and then relax, again starting with 2 sets of 10 and then up the weight if you can handle the weight then add to 3 sets of 10

Scaption with external rotaion, ask for help with this one to make sure you are doing it correct with your trainer and in front of a mirror, Raise arms diagonally om hip, keeping elbow straight and thumb pointing up, raise arms above head 2 sets of 10 and depends on what weight you can handle with me its low.

another thing you can do is get a total gym, if you decide on this i can tell you which one to get.

these are just a few things you can do to help with the upper body, i have learned so much though PT that i do not need my hand held he can tell me which one is best for whAT ever reason and then i do it, at times if it is been a long time of cause he will show me once,

Lisa

Have a competent handgun instructor watch you shoot, and make suggestions. Outside the safety rules, the widely accepted versions of stance are only starting points. Forcing yourself into an uncomfortable position deemed "appropriate" by another person, is counter-productive. Same thing with grip. In more than a few cases, very minor adjustments to grip have resulted in large improvements in accuracy.

No disrespect to anyone, but the teaching of fine motor skills should be done person-to-person. Many of the disciplines in shooting are much more about technique than strength.

I agree with you 100% as i am new to guns, however i was just explaining what i did my first time, and do have someone that will be training me works with the goverment,he is a dealer, as i am waiting for my Id and paperwork, and once i get that then i can start to leaarn, the reason for getting a handgun is for home defense as my area has gotton bad and also will got to a range. i am hoping to get involved with something at a range.

the other person was talking about hurting, which would have to do with how she is standing etc, but in anything you do that is active you should exercise, i know this as i have arthritis and right now in PT for my right shoulder got lucking no tear but means i now have arthritis in that shoulder as well so my pt is working with me and also has me on 3 programs one for each day but right now the shoulder is the main part, i also have a total gym and a treadmill and it is great but until my pt says i have to stay off the total gym and it is a great product and i would be more then happy to say which one you can get, as i did not do an upgrade on it as for a short time they were saleing them in stores but not any more, i also have a networking business and deal with health and Nutrition products, and many more things involved in this business.

i hope bradi, trys working on a exercise program and chiropractor, acupunture, massage

Lisa

Brandi, It was mentioned before but getting stronger helps. All the advice about stance, and positioning is good, but choose a program to get more strength in your body. Shooting is a martial art, just like karate or judo, etc. The difference is the type of weapon. (gun versus hands and feet) I have found that Tai Chi is nearly perfect for me. It is slow enough that you aren't wearing yourself out, but it strengthens your core muscles and improves your coordination and flexibility. A Tai Chi form, (exercise routine) works all of your muscles. muscles that are exercised regularly don't complain as much. You could add a little weight work if you need to get stronger. It works for me, I'm 64.

Low impact Exercise will help a lot....

Always nice to see/hear from fellow lady shooters. I'm 33 and been shooting for 10+ years. I don't have any suggestions for you, but agree with usmcj. You mentioned that you hunch your back. I've seen that stance before. Do you bow out/hollow your torso/back? Just curious. Does your back hurt after you've been to the gym or any other time? Or just when you've been shooting?

Hope whatever it is can be figured out. It shouldn't hurt to do what we love. The only times I've come home hurting is from shooting a keltec(hate those stoopid guns) they kill my wrists. And a couple of times I've come home with a bruised/achy shoulder, but that's normal for me after playing with shotguns. Specially if I don't hold it super tight against my shoulder.