Kneeling position for an extra large young shooter

[PaulB]

I received the following question from one of the 4-H shooting coaches in my state. Any suggestions?

I have a 13 year old male shooter. His prone is really good and his standing is coming along. His problem is kneeling, mainly because he is huge. This boy is probably north of 6 feet and 200 pounds. The kneeling position is absolutely excruciating for him because it is so hard for him to sink his butt down to his ankle. We have tried flexibility exercises, we have tried extra kneeling rolls (even though we know they are competition illegal)...nothing seems to help.

[Pat McCoy]

Daily stretching exercises for quads, hamstrings, and calves is the long term answer. Might check with a yoga instructor.

Also, wearing loose fitting pants (and pulling them up so they are not hanging down on his hips before he kneels down).

My son was 6'4" and about 240, and had the same problems. He overcame them with training.

[Ranb]

How long has he been using the kneeling position? I found that two things helped me; practice in the kneeling position and losing weight. I started out at about 235 lbs and weigh about 190 lbs now. Losing weight helped, but it was practice in position that helped the most.

For me it was the front of my right ankle joint that hurt. Is his discomfort related to pressure on his foot or between his calf and thigh?