upper body exercises

[WNTFW]

Soupy44,
Thank you for your reply. The tilting of the head is also considered bad form in a few other sports for the same reason.
I have a nephew that is a runt but a successful wrestler. I am trying to get him to come shoot a match. He is always at tournaments on the weekends. Part of me fears he will get into it & it will be my fault mom & dad have to spend the money on it.

Good luck in your competitions.
WNTFW

 

[skidooman603]

Great thread had to give it a bump

 

[NMGonzo]

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.

Tell him about the girls at yoga class.

He will be there early in the morning.

 

[Nicodemus38]

unless hes sitting down when shooting off hand, he needs to work on his whole body. even the ancient manual for bullseye shooting tells you that everything from leg muscles to the core muscles must be able to work together unless you want to make noise and shoot dirt.
bare minimum excercises would be:
army press, stair climbers with or without weapon in stretched out arms, minimum navy modified pushups, and mountain climbers.

 

[Soupy44]

Nicodemus38,

The best way to make a stable position is to maximize bone support. Bones don't tire over the course of a match, which for smallbore is at least 2 hours. No amount of strength training will allow you to hold a rifle as steady or for as long as a position built with bone support.

For beginners, bone support is a difficult concept. If you tell a beginner to work out, it sends mixed messages. You have to let them learn that they don't need all that muscle to shooting standing. It will make them feel better when shooting, but it won't make them shoot any better.

Now once they hit the advanced level, the shooter has learned to minimize the amount of muscle used in each position. Then you can work on those muscle groups.

 

[jlott00]

hold a bar/gun at waist with both hands with an over grip . just a little inside shoulder length. bring the gun up to throat hi and thrug the shoulders up and lower it back down. great shoulder ex ....you will notice it mimic lifting a gun etc pretty well...the traps are important i think in holding steady

 

[Muley]

Good ideas are the pushups, all the different kinds, pullups are outstanding for your back and arms.................crunches, not sittups, sittups are bad for the back if you anchor the feet. The one excersize that is outstanding is dips. After the boy works up to sets of 20, then start to add weight with a weight belt, they're made for this exersize, then do sets of 8-10 along with a set or 2 of 20 at the begining and end of a 5-6 set workout.
When it comes to working out to build steady shots, DON'T use nautalis machines,,,,they don't work your stabilizer muscles,,,,,use dumbells. From experience I can tell you the work better than the other stuff.
Oh yeah, I can't leave out swimming as the cardio everyone should do.

Good luck and happy shooting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Deer Hunter]

The best strength training in the world is to be involved in gymnastics.

Bar none.

 

[LeonCarr]

Getting a 15 year old dude involved in gymnastics is just like getting him involved with yoga...mention the girls.

Also, one thing that will help his shooting is to limit the intake of caffeine. I know, fat chance getting a 15 year old off of caffeine, but IME it helps.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I practice yoga, and it helps tremendously with shooting both in archery and firearms.
It also helps with overall fitness and health.
And, the hot chicks in the classes don't hurt either. But, remind the kid it's not polite to stare.

And, unlike a bunch of guys shouting at each other in the gym to get that last rep, Yoga is relaxing and gives you tools to help calm yourself. Very important for precision shooting and handy that one can get stronger and calmer with a single activity.

 

[deanpf]

Here's another thing you can do just about anywhere and anytime.



On E-bay at: E-Bay

 

[dodgeff232]

place quarters on the top of the gun. Have him practice holding the gun on a target and keeping the quarters steady, after a while start adding more quarters. thats what i was taught and it helped me a lot

 

[westerngrizzly]

strength is not involved in standing. the muscles need not be strong but RELAXED. cardio will help to decrease any pulse effect. I recommend Yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation. These will help increase balance and body awareness.
I currently am a high power shooter and average about a 95-97 in a ten shot offhand string. The greatest help for me was dry firing and holding exercises (holding for one minute then down for a minute. for 22 shots.)
watch a video of Olympic shooters shoot offhand. they are completely relaxed, using bone support.
matt
Im 17 and am currently taking yoga in High School. I am the only guy in the class. It is quite nice.