Shooting fitness

Back in February when I was laid off from my previous employer, I started working out on a fitness program called Crossfit.  As someone who has always believed in exercise as a “good thing”, I figured that I’d give this program a go, since a lot of people online seemed to think it was neato-torpedo.  Prior to starting the program, I thought I was in pretty good shape.

I was wrong.  Crossfit has spent the last 6 months kicking my ass, and I have loved every minute of it.  I can also attest to the fact that it works, and it works very well.  If you follow the WOD (workouts of the day) and do the appropriate scalings for your size/strength/fitness level, you will get faster and stronger from Crossfit.

“Well that’s great, Caleb, but what does this have to do with shooting?”  I am so very glad you asked me that.  When you’re shooting, especially in the action pistol games, being faster and stronger are good things.  Having a balanced, strong body means that you recover from recoil faster, transition to new targets quicker, and move to new shooting boxes faster.  You also don’t get fatigued as quickly, which means that if you’re on a stage with a lot of long, tight shots it’s easier to hold the gun steady.  Fitness can even benefit you in a relatively sedate game like Bianchi Cup, where being stronger and able to hold the gun steadier is never a bad thing.

As far as fitness programs go, I’m a big fan of Crossfit, but there are other programs out there that work.  Admittedly though, Crossfit as an entity is also a big supporter of the military, naming WOD after soldiers who have given their lives in the line of duty and just in generally being tremendously supportive of the military and LE communities.

If you’re involved the action shooting sports, and you’re looking for an easy way to improve your scores a bit, add a little bit of physical activity to your practice.  You don’t need to go crazy and do Crossfit (initially, anyway) but you can do something simple like run a kilometer and do some pushups and squats.  Or just do the three-a-week exercises outlined at SimpleFit.org.  Run a mile, do a pullup, but get active!  Your scores and your body will thank you!