TargetTalk

I'm wondering if anybody has any experience on how to manage pistol shooting practice while also doing a weight training regimen.

For reasons unrelated to shooting, I'm working on a strength circuit that has me in the gym lifting 3-4x a week (squads, presses, lifts, etc.)

Previously when I have tried to combine both I've seen the pistol shooting suffer - a noticeable loss of finer motor control as well as the fatigue issue.

I don't mind stopping the weight training before major competitions so that I'm not fatigued, but does anybody have advice on how to manage both in the times in between?

I also must do weight conditioning on a regular basis and did find issues with dropped shots and some hold issues associated with weight lifting especially if shoulder related weight lifting was completed within 36 hours of a match.

I found that if I threw in some isometric exercise (light wt 2-5 lbs held for longer time period--15-30 seconds x 10 reps in an outstretched hand) that it did help with hold quality.

Same story here though--I liked to keep at least 48 hours of rest before a match. The reason the isometrics are important is that it helps with the endurance and really focuses on strengthening the most important shooting muscles. There is an Ontario provincial shooting team regimen online at Target Shooting Canada that maps it out.

I actually found that with the isometrics that my hold got so much better allowing me to focus on other fundamentals of triggering and follow through. Though this approach has worked ok for me, I don't know if it is a great option for everyone since I have heard of problems with weight training during the pistol competition time of year.

Thanks for the information. The article on target shooting canada is quite helpful. I will certainly include it in my workout regimen.

Perhaps I will just have to accept a certain measure of inherent inaccuracy due to my training and then refine it when I stop working out in the weeks leading up to major competitions.

Did you find any specific exercise to be the most helpful?

I think one can make an argument for general shoulder conditioning to avoid injury as the shoulder is not really made to hold an item extended hundreds (or thousands) of times but with that comes greater short-term problems. I know too many people with bad shoulder problems so feel a need to try to keep those joints working well for the long haul.

I certainly think the cardiovascular work is a big supplement. As a big caffeine drinker I find I can burn out a lot of the excess catecholamines prior to shooting by getting in a cardio workout an hour or two just before competition. I think most competitive shooters do some cardio work--not sure many do it just before a competition though.

The Canadian site says to push the isometrics--apparently even in the competitive season. With a recommendation of 2 times the gun weight, I find a 5 pound weight works great and do a set of 10 held outstretched--I try to hold for 30 seconds but it is harder than it sounds and took a couple of months of pretty regular exercise to get there.

I also liked to do high repetition lateral and front deltoid raising exercises with a dumbbell at a relatively low weight to avoid bulking and maintain shoulder conditioning. As a 3 decade long weight lifter, I noticed in my youth that if I did unbalanced weight work--all biceps/no triceps--you eventually run into problems. I think the same can be said for work shoulder weight work in shooting--make sure it is balanced and I think it helps avoid some of the motor control issues.

I also did wrist curl/extension with a 5 pound weight as well as well as some grip training with a "gripper tool". I had forearm pain so I was doing it for PT during the last winter air pistol season but have not tried it yet this year. I thought it helped to settle things down mostly in the latter half of a 60 shot sequence. in fact I usually shot better on a second sequence of 60 on the same night--which may argue for or against the regimen.

I have just started yoga lessons.

I'm assuming that the weight training you're currently doing 3 or 4 times a week is to combat a specific, fairly recent issue. One thing to keep in mind is that once you reach a certain level/goal of strength or fitness with weights, is that it takes much less time and effort to maintain that fitness. That is, you can spend months working out 3 times a week building up the ability to lift XXX pounds- once you achieve that level, you can maintain it by lifting once a week or every 10 days. In short, if your primary goal is shooting well and having a healthy level of strength and fitness, you'll only have to use weights 3-4 per week for a few months before you can scale back to much less time lifting.