Physical Training

Physical training for bullseye shooting is very different than general physical training. I firmly believe that someone who is generally physically fit has a distinct advantage over someone who is not. A person with a well toned body of muscle should have more stamina than someone who is basically a couch potato like myself.

As I mentioned in another section, stamina is very important. You must be able to hold that pistol, maintain your stance, and not run out of breath till the shot (last shot in sustained fire) breaks. If you run out of breath in sustained fire, you are in a world of trouble because you can't put the gun down and take a rest. I feel that it is very important to get exercise so that you don't physically fatigue.

Specifically to shooting, you also must learn to control your body in ways which is very different than most any other sport. In most every other sport, you need your body to move in a certain way. You have to develop those muscles to have the strength and stamina to perform that activity. In shooting, it is the exact opposite. We need to train our body to hold perfectly still. We must also train our muscles to make very fine, precise, and small movements so that we can maintain our point of aim.

I believe the best exercise for that is dry fire as it is a whole body & mind workout. By dry fire, I mean the full process of aiming at a target and pulling the trigger (without ammo).

One conventional exercise that I do to help me is using dumbells, I have two 5 pound dumbells, one I keep in the car most of the time, the other is in my office at home. Regardless of where I am, I will hold the dumbell out at arms length like I am holding the gun. I will then move that dumbell around in very precise controlled motions. While driving you have the forces of the car's motion acting against you to make this even more difficult. I do this for as long as I can stand it, then rest and repeat. As I do this while driving most of the time, I am not aiming at anything, I am just moving it around while holding it like a gun. This strengthens the muscles in the shoulder and also develops the mind control required to make these motions. Sometimes I am moving slowly up and down, sometimes side-to-side, and yet other times I am moving in either clockwise or counter clockwise circles. What I want to be able to do is to get my shoulder trained so that if I need to move the gun (to achieve my point of aim) it is not awkward or difficult. As I don't normally do anything like this in day to day life, my shoulder would otherwise have difficulty in making small precise motions required to aim a pistol.

In the office, I will try to do "steady holds" as if I am aiming a gun. I line up a point on the dumbell with something off in the distance (a mark on the wall or something) and I try to hold that for as long as I can. This develops stamina and helps you to deal with the fatigue associated with shooting.

I don't believe heavy weight lifting is beneficial to shooting. When I am not being lazy and I actually get down in the basement where my workout room is, I lift weights. I don't go crazy, I know I am not going to be a power lifter, but I do try to manage a good workout. When I do this, even after maintaining weeks of this, I find that my muscle control in the shoulder for fine movement is compromised. I don't have the agility or precise movement needed to carefully aim the gun. Since discovering this problem, I no longer do workouts with heavy weights. I keep the weight to a more moderate level and do more repetitions.

Walking is something I find very beneficial. It helps keep the legs limber and it also helps my lower back. The older I get the bigger the pot belly and the more fatigue in my lower back to support it. Standing all day for a 2700 match can be trying on the legs and back. Walking is easy, albeit boring as hell, but it does help to develop the lower body so your stance is more stable.

Aerobic exercise would also be very beneficial. Remember, shooting, as passive as it is, causes fatigue. Fatigue is the one thing I hear a lot of shooters grumble about, myself included. I also notice that most of the shooters I see are not exactly "buff". If you can do something beyond a slow walk, anything to get the heart rate up would be helpful to develop the respiratory system which will lessen the chances of fatigue.

You do want to be very careful with any extensive wrist or forearm exercises. We all want strong wrists and grips but we can easily overwork these muscles and create some very long term problems. If you have ever been through "tennis elbow", you will know what I mean. I overworked my forearm muscles one summer really bad. I ended up with tennis elbow and had to get shots and wear arm bands till it healed which took nearly a year. When you have this condition, it can be so bad you cannot hold onto a glass of water without risking dropping it. So please be careful with what you do that you don't overdue it, otherwise you will be watching tournaments instead of shooting in them!