Exercise for target shooting

[Regen]

What are some good exercises to help improve target shooting?

I currently use a "spring gripper" (spring with two handles) to help improve my grip strength and some weights to improve shoulder strength (steadier aim when holding heavy gun at arms length), but what other types of exercise do people use to help improve their shooting?

 

[ZeSpectre]

Exercise? Here's some exercise <grin>.

1) Post your targets - The 15 yard pistol challenge
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=255507

2) Post Your Targets 2 - The Weak Hand Pistol Challenge.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=2622813)

3) Post Your Targets 3 - Long walk short pier challenge.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282395

4) Post Your Targets 4 - You CAN do it!
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=288319

5) Hard Core Balloon Challenge
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=302621

6) Post Your Targets 6 - Gnome, Gnome on the Range
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=313848

7) Post Your Targets 7 - Save the Train
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=351379

------------------------
Oh and I like to use a DynaFlex Powerball. It's fun and it'll wear your arms out in no time flat!

 

[El Tejon]

Gunercise=>http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=32879&highlight=Gunercise

 

[Kind of Blued]

Shoot more.

The body has this natural reaction in which muscles that are used more automatically develop themselves. So how do you develop the muscles used in shooting? Shoot.

Using a hand-gripper thingymabob is great for developing the muscles necessary to operate a hand-gripper thingymabob, however.

I'm really not sure muscularity is even necessary for shooting, however. I think that's the whole point of the gun, otherwise the gun wouldn't exist and humans would still be throwing rocks at 2700 ft/s.

 

[ArmedBear]

Cardio. Get your heart rate down and your breathing rate down.

General fitness, including core strength. Add in reverse-grip curls and reverse-grip tricep curls to a regular routine, in order to build forearm strength evenly.

Balance training.

Wrist roller. 18" of 2" PVC pipe with a hole in the middle of it, a rope tied through the hole, and a hook on the other end. Put a weight on the rope. Hold the pipe in front of you with one hand on each side of the rope hole, and crank it all the way up by turning it with your hands. Let it down slowly. Repeat using your hands in the opposite direction.

With all exercise, the principles are:

1. Overload
2. Specificity
3. Progression

You have to lift more than you normally do to get strength gains.

You have to use the muscles, energy systems and sequences that apply to the strength you want to build (curls won't build your legs, jogging won't make you strong, situps won't make you aerobically fit).

You have to keep challenging yourself. Lifting the same light weight over and over (e.g. just shooting a pistol) will not make you stronger, past a quickly-reached "plateau".

 

[Superlite27]

Rifle or handgun?

If you are asking about a handgun, I have really improved my standing accuracy using the following: (It might work with a long gun as well, but I haven't tried it.....yet.)

If practical (at a private range) try shooting several hundred rounds while walking at a 45 degree angle from right to left past the front of the target starting about 10 to the right of the target at about 30 feet away and slowly walking to about 10 feet to the left of the target at about 10 feet away.

Then fire a couple hundred rounds the same way walking at a 45 degree angle from left to right stopping at about 10 feet to the right of the target at about ten feet away.

The key is maintaining a steady platform and trigger finger control. Trust me. Once you can consistently get a decent group near center mass while walking, when you stand still in front of the target, it will seem HUGE and very stationary. You will be amazed at how steady you can hold your handgun and how quickly you can recover a good sight picture...when you are not moving.

As a practical bonus, the majority of real world gunfights rarely consist of two people standing still and firing at each other. So it is of real benefit to actually PRACTICE shooting on the move as the majority of real scenarios actually happen in this manner.

 

[ArmedBear]

As a practical bonus, the majority of real world gunfights rarely consist of two people standing still and firing at each other.

Often, the camera angles move quite a bit, too. Sergio Leone was a pioneer; see the end of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for a classic example.

Seriously, though, practicing shooting while moving, etc. is useful. Also, have you shot clays with a shotgun? Learning to do that will change the way you use your body and your eyes, no matter what gun you're using.

 

[Sniper4Life]

I lift weights, alot, and I run also but that is more of a personal hobby than for shooting, but I have noticed that it does afect my shooting, positively. My .308 is a 15 pound gun. Shooting off-hand is almost easy now. Carrying the rifle all day over mountains during hunting season proved no problem.

One thing that helps for off hand is, if you have an old military sling, rig it up, stick a 20lb dumbel in it, do 100 dry fires on a distant target, trying to stay wobble free the whole time. I like the idea of shooting while walking, I have tried it with my .22's and it does help, but the best thing you can do to help your shooting, is learn to control your breathing, proper trigger control, and lots of practice. To be a acurate shooter, you MUST do everything the same. For example dont move your head to a different place after your shot, when you get back behind the scope, try to find the exact same place you had before.

I am far from being the best shot in the world, but I do know how to shoot, and I consistently get better. Perfect practice makes perfect

 

[ArmedBear]

My .308 is a 15 pound gun. Shooting off-hand is almost easy now.

A heavy gun shoots better off-hand. But it can only be as heavy as you can carry around all day and hold steady. Therefore, the stronger you are, the more accurately you can shoot offhand.

And running does matter. It gets your heart rate down, and allows you to control your heartbeat a lot better. For long-distance shooting, this matters.

 

[AKCOP]

I don't exercise specific to shooting but when I am jogging, biking and lifting weights regularly I shoot better. General fitness just makes you a better shooter and exercise specific to shooting makes your shooting that much better.

 

[BammaYankee]

Get a copy of Randolph Constantine's book which, if I remember correctly, is titled "shooting highpower". It has everything you could ever want to know including exercises and even diet!

Sorry if I bungled then name...it's been a while and I don't have it in front of me. A quick google search will pull it up.

 

[TexasChick]

Using a hand-gripper thingymabob is great for developing the muscles necessary to operate a hand-gripper thingymabob, however.

How's this? Hehe

 

[BammaYankee]

How about the Total Gym? If it's good enough for Chuck Norris...

 

[VARifleman]

Regen, welcome to THR. I am familiar with Smallbore and Air rifle training. I shoot other games, but those are the serious ones. It would be really helpful to know what kind of target shooting you're doing as the exercises can vary drastically between disciplines.

 

[Conqueror]

If you look at the best pistol shooters, they all have rippling forearm muscles. Strong triceps are also a must to minimize muzzle rise. If shooting pistols is your game, work on forearms and triceps.

 

[scrat]

lifting weights in general. build your strength to hold a gun one handed in position for greater periods of time. this will help you on aiming

 

[Regen]

Not any specific shooting game yet

I don't participate in any formal shooting game yet, but I'd like to get into IDPA. I do informally compete against my wife, slow fire 7yd pistol, identical targets.

I have tried clay shooting and do shoot rifles occasionally. I'd like to shoot clays more but the pistol range is much closer. Although there is a clay range at Bull Run Park near me, I need to take a safety course from the county which is offered on Saturday mornings which I haven't made it to yet.

I do dry fire practice as well as try to make it to the pistol range once a week for live fire practice. I was specifically looking for exercises I could do at a gym or even while sitting at my desk (e.g. the gripper)

 

[bnkrazy]

I made a simple, cheap device that can really target muscles used while shooting pistols (although that's not the reason I made it, it would just work great for this purpose).

Go to Lowes and get a dowel that's comfortable to grip, maybe 1.5" or so in diameter. It only needs to be as long as your shoulders are wide, or maybe a bit longer. Drill a hole at the center so you can put a piece of rope through it. Run a rope through and knot one end, then attach an "S" hook or some other simple catch on the other end to hold some weight. I used bricks or dumbbells, but anything will do. The rope should be long enough to reach from the dowel to just above the floor when held out straight in front of you.

Hold the dowel out with your arms fully extended, palms down, and twist the dowel to wrap the rope up and lift the weight. Then, lower it back down, slowly. Repeat a few times, then switch and do it palms up. This really works your fingers, wrists, forearms, etc. all the way to your shoulders and core.

 

[VARifleman]

For an action pistol game like IDPA or USPSA I would recommend moderate weight endurance specific training in the upper body. Lots of self weight core exercises, and fast burst training for the lower body (sprints, power cleans, etc), as well as general cardio 3 times a week.

For competitive position rifle shooting, you're better off focusing mainly on core and endurance in all aspects.