upper body exercises

^ I'd be interested in some techniques as well. I'm not a great shot, specifically because I have difficulties holding a weapon steady on target enough for precise shooting.

I'd say dry fire type excersices might be best. Holding the rifle for prolonged periods of time will develope the appropriate muscle memory and strength needed. To make gains, you have to do something your body isn't used to and it will then adapt. After a while, your body will become more efficient at performing that task. In this case, holding the rifle. You want to mimic the movements you'll be performing.

Any basic weight training and cardo will help as well. To develop a training routine start by verifying clear and then get in position. A laser sight could be useful but basically get the sights on target and hold the position as long as possible. Take a break of like 60 seconds to clear toxins from the muscles and get fresh nutrients in and then start again. You could also do basic sets, hold on target for 30 sec. Off for 30. Repeat for a set of 10 or 20 or whatever. After that becomes easy, add time and increase reps. Keep a log to document and track your progress. Toss in some push ups, curls, pull up/chin ups, situps and the like for general conditioning as well as some cardio.

Try to mimic the positions you'll be shooting from like prone, sitting, standing etc. Sling techniques can help as well to provide support.

Pushups, Pullups, and Situps. They are free, simple, and can be performed anywhere.

A firearm specific exercise I heard of (and the only useful bicep curl variation I've seen) involves doing curls by pressing a kettlebell between the palms of your hands. Works the biceps and pectorals in the same manner (or very similar) as required for holding a handgun/rifle in both hands.

You can easily substitute a smaller plate or better yet, 2 plates so you have to use more inward force to keep them together, remember safety, watch those feet in case you drop them! A smaller, heavy medicine ball or shot put would work as well.

Kettlebells are also very good for grip development, strong grip (and grip endurance) is good for shooting. Sure you don't grip the firearm hard...but for long periods of time, that's where the endurance and extra strength for more of a reserve comes in handy.

Kettlebells are also very good for grip development, strong grip (and grip endurance) is good for shooting.

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+1. Kettlebells are awesome. Here's another one: attach a 2-ft.-long cord to the middle of a dumbell rod or a piece of broomhandle. Tie a weight to the other end. Pull up the weight by winding the cord around the rod, by twisting it first with one hand then the other. Reverse direction to lower and raise it again. Do this with your arms out, and then with it closer to your chest.

Maybe you could throw a Powerball in his Christmas stocking. Not only is it a fun toy, it'll build grip strength and endurance quickly. I got my dad one a while back, and now all of his buddies have them on their computer desks.

Strength training is great and any fitness activity will probably be beneficial if only for mental alertness. Dealing with the heat is another benefit. I was a racing cyclist many years ago and my balance is still fairly good. A "balance" sport may be good also. Make it fun & not work.

Consider positions that allow the shooter to achieve natural point of aim and minimimize the use of muscle strength. You want to be relaxed as possible and not fighting to maintain a hold. Think Effeciency. I shoot with a younger guy that is very fit. Recently he told me he is finally not trying to muscle the rifle. Recoil should not be an issue in small bore.

You should try to focus on certain muscle groups. Work Biceps, triceps, back, traps, shoulders, and pecs.

Pecs- push ups, dumbell flys, pull ups
Biceps- curls, reverse curls, Let downs
Back- Pushups, pull ups, reverse flys
triceps, Diamond push ups, overhead extensions, pull downs
shoulders- over head press, military press, side and front raises, sun gods
traps- shrugs and a lot of them

If you dont know what some of the exercises are you can always google it and also mensFitness.com always has pretty good work out routines. You can pick and choose exercises to fit your needs.

"...dry fire type excersices(SIC) might be best..." Not with a .22.
How old is the kid? More important, how serious is he? Him, not you. What kind of SB shooting? What rifle?
"...was a racing cyclist..." Different thing. Overheating has very little to do with shooting.

ctgunner had it right first. pushups. situps and pull ups. zero caffine. zero nicotine. these are constrictors thus restricting blood flow to muscles. shoot and shoot. what a proud dad you must be.

It's probably tough to convince a 15 year old, but yoga is great for developing isometric strength, flexibility, and balance. A lot of the poses work the shoulders well too which helps with holding a rifle steady.

Great points here. Would like to add if he is serious about sniper training then start training mind. Meditate while visualizing (cant spell) his shot at the range. Go through all the motions in the mind while he controls his breathing. Very important to be able to relax and get focussed quickly. Good luck.

An exercise I use for strengthening muscles for shooting is a light weight on a curl bar. Start with palms down, about shoulder width apart. Do a curl with the bar, with a small hold at the top of the constriction.
When the bar is fully extended, keep the arms straight and raise the bar completely over you head. Stop at the top, then lower slowly. Repeat both exercises ten times.
This will work your biceps, your forearms, your shoulders, and the upper part of your chest.

Use a weight that is not too heavy, but the tenth rep makes you work for it.

At his age the growth should be in his bones, not his muscles. Those can be developed after he achieves his full growth.

"...serious about sniper training..." Irrelevant. Has nothing whatever to do with smallbore rifle competition shooting.
"...just turned 15, 5'11" and 170 lbs..." Light, I say again, light weight training.
How'd he do?

I would recommend core workouts for building a stable base, cardio to slow the resting heart rate, and dry fire (with snap caps for a .22LR) to get the body used to being in the shooting position. For dry fire, use the sights or optic that will be used for competition, and find a good spot to repeat the dry fire. Focus on not letting the dot/reticle/front sight move in relation to the target when the trigger is pressed.

From a standing position, there will be a slight wobble, like a sideways "8." Don't fight this; it comes from small muscle twitches, breathing, and heart rate. A shooter will be able to see this movement close up significantly if they practice dry firing in the positions they will be shooting in.

Depending on how much time he has every day, what facilities are available to you, and how much money you're willing to spend, P90X is an excellent program that combines strength training, flexibility, cardio, and core workouts. Runs about an hour a day for most of the workouts, 1:20 for a couple of them. After two weeks though, I started to notice that I fatigued slower while shooting for precision and my resting heart rate was lower.

Would like to add if he is serious about sniper training...

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I didn't see that in the original post. Shooting smallbore rifle at 15 has very little to do with sniper training...

As a smallbore coach, I've got to say that you're going about this in the wrong way. We look, in smallbore, to reduce movement by reducing the number of muscles one uses while shooting. Obviously you can't remove all muscle. Standing is the most difficult position to do this in.

Instead of focusing on strength training, work on relaxation techniques. Have him focus on his trigger control and follow-through when shooting offhand. These are the two things junior shooters tend to short on in standing. Also, make sure he devotes a minimum of 2/3 of his practice time to standing. If he hasn't heard it already, the match is won in standing and lost in everything else.

Good Luck

Soupy44.
I have looked at the score sheet from local 200 yd reduced High Power matches. I am always in wonder at the standing scores. Very few shooters get high 80s or break 90 out of 100. Perhaps I was lucky or worked at it but my standing is fairly decent.
I have heard follow through is more important on .22lrs because the bullet spends more time in the barrel. I don't know how accurate that is. I figure the subsonic ammo would likely be more susceptable to the theory or fact.
What is you knowledge of this?
Thank you in advance.
WNTFW

+1 on yoga. In addition to gaining strength, balance, and muscle control, the right instructor will help him learn focus and concentration. "Don't try harder, try easier."

And I don't think his desire to be a sniper is irrelevant. It gives him motivation to work on technique and listen to his coach.

"...serious about sniper training..." Irrelevant. Has nothing whatever to do with smallbore rifle competition shooting.

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I didn't see that in the original post. Shooting smallbore rifle at 15 has very little to do with sniper training...

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Read the whole thread peeps:

For the last year or so he's been talking about going into the Marines with the intent becoming a sniper which has driven him to put a lot of time in learning the basics.

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+1 on part of what TurboBuddha said. Nothing beats practicing the position itself. Strength can be very specific, may as well be the activity he wants to get better at.

Hold the position for a specific time (nothing wrong with 60 seconds). Rest the same amount and repeat. Try adding weight to the rifle or handing your teenager a larger rifle to contend with as it gets easier. Suck in your gut and tighten your bumper during the reps and you're on your way to building a solid platform.

That said, this is much more effective as a complement to a regular fitness routine. Any way to get the boy interested in taking care of himself, right?

I shot men's three-position small bore in college. Your goal is to minimize the use of muscles as Soupy44 said. Trying to muscle shots will have the opposite effect.

hand grip
keep in car and work it at red lights or...................
when ua get up to 50 each hand than begin training by
squeezing without the trigger finger

I haven't really researched why follow through is more important in smallbore than high power, but the velocity seems like a reasonable explanation. I have been shooting smallbore my whole life, so I didn't really notice anything until going to high power and finding it so easy. My first time shooting service rifle, I had 95 sitting, 93 standing, 95 prone rapid, 94 prone slow. I'm not a good standing shooter in smallbore, averaging in the low 90s.

Back to the issue at hand, I will admit that I am in charge of the workouts my college team do. They lift weights 2 hours per week and have 1 hour of cardio. BUT, we're looking to get maybe a few points out of that, and it's more of a mental advantage than a physical. The shooters have to learn a proper position in order to succeed in standing. And the first step is mental: learning to LOVE standing. The easiest position to shoot is the one you're shooting. Most junior shooters just starting out at best dislike standing, at worse are afraid of it.

To start from the beginning (for a righty), feet shoulder width apart with the target on the shooter's left. The heel should line up to point at the target. Make sure the offhand stand is close enough to be reached without bending anything but the arm. Spotting scope close enough to look through with only a slight tilt of the head.

Make sure the rifle's butt plate is all the way down, or in sporter the rifle is high enough in the shoulder to allow him to look through the sights without tilting his head too much. The line between his ears is the basis for his balance. If his head is too tilted, he will start to sway. He'll likely need a palm rest on the rifle (not in sporter obviously). He should support the rifle with his left fist with his palm facing in towards him. Since he's somewhat tall, and a guy, he likely won't be able to put his left elbow on his left hip. Therefore he'll need to support the rifle with his left upper arm on the side of his rib cage. He will be tempted to twist his upper body to the left, but he needs to keep his shoulders in line with his hips, and keep his whole body upright. If he doesn't have a hook butt plate, he'll need to apply a little pressure with his right hand to keep the rifle in his shoulder. This should be SLIGHT to FIRM pressure, not a death grip. If all of this is done right, he should be able to stand in position with little muscle tension for as long as he wants.

Obviously you can't stand without some muscle, but the more muscle tension you can eliminate, the better. This goes for all positions. He'll want to squeeze the rifle to steady it, but that will only make things worse. He has to relax and learn to like standing.