3-Gun Fit
By: Chris Andersen, 3-Gun Nation Pro
One of the great things about 3-Gun is that it incorporates a very broad range of skills.
A unique set of challenges at every match can offer an endless array of training opportunities. Your level of commitment is the only thing that limits your options for practice.
Odds are that you are going to the range fairly regularly to shoot. Here are five other training elements I suggest working on in conjunction with live-fire practice to will help you take it to the next level in 2012.
Fitness/Diet.
Three-day matches in adverse conditions with lots of tough terrain are common in our sport. Long days with less-than-ideal access to food and drink can be recipe for disaster. A diet and fitness regimen are great for healthy living, and can make for a much more successful match.
Regular cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling, and swimming are good options for a base fitness level that can make a long match a different experience. Couple that with a healthy, structured diet and you have a winning combination.
Once you develop that lifestyle one of the biggest benefits besides obviously being healthier, is that you get to know your body. You come to know what it takes to stay hydrated, how many calories you need to get through a match and what sorts of foods keep you sharp and less sluggish.
One of the most common mistakes made by new, and even not-so-new shooters is failing to eat and hydrate sufficiently before each match. For me, the match actually starts a day or two before with proper nutrition and hydration to ensure I am sharp moment one. To maintain focus throughout the match, I eat small healthy snacks regularly and drink lots of water. Starting fresh and finishing fresh leads to better match finishes.
Agility
Top shooters are experts at efficiency of motion. Quick feet and soft hands make for a good shooter. They also make for a good football, basketball, or hockey player. So we can look at training techniques from those sports for insight into how to improve in ours.
Quick transitions from spot to spot, step drills, crossovers etc from these sports make for quick, agile feet. Quick feet mean quicker stages. Once you are comfortable with movement, become multi-tasker: Combine movement drills with gun manipulation, dry-fire and shotgun-loading develop multiple aspects of your coordination, making everything flow more smoothly.
Flexibility also makes everything faster. My wife recently introduced me to yoga. Yoga offers the capability to add a tremendous amount of flexibility while building core strength and stamina. Strength and stamina have obvious benefits, but flexibility is a common trait of top shooters that are surprisingly undervalued.
Being able to get prone and rise quickly from a position, twist for a difficult shot around a barricade, and get low without loosing your footing will make you a better shooter. And let you get that first shot off faster.
Power
The capability to make explosive movements can be a major game-changer. I again try to look to other sports that incorporate similar movements for direction in my training. Quickness drills from these sports cross over very well to some of the movements that we are required to do.
Anything from running stadium stairs and sprints to time spent in the weight room doing squats and lunges can translate into being the first one to your gun in a key moment. In my dry and live-fire practices, I always try have a few standardized drills in which involve different types of movement that I can note times and scores on. This allows me to track improvements from the various training methods I use to improve speed.
Vision
Your eyes are your most important asset in this sport, and you should train them like they are. Regular drills to improve focus and visual target acquisition are essential. And that doesn’t just have to be time at the range. I played baseball and hockey for many years and there are lot of computer based drills to improve trajectory recognition and dynamic vision that we used regularly, that can be directly applied to the shooting sports. A quick Google search will yield you a lot of online drills that you can do any time to improve vision and eye speed.
I also spend a lot of time with dry-fire and airsoft. Not only are these great tools for sharpening your vision, they can be done at home and mean less of an impact of family time than daily trips to the range.
It is also important to regularly maintain these skills. Fast hand/eye coordination will diminish quickly without regular training.
Diet and lifestyle also play into how well you can see…so I think they should be stressed again…Get regular check-ups from your doctor and keep your blood pressure and your weight in check. Vitamins, anti-oxidants, and amino acids are also great for your vision.
Mental Focus
There are tons of great books out there that cover the psychology of excelling in sports. I personally recommend… All good reads with tons of great tips on improving focus and self-image when it is time to perform.
For me, nothing inspires confidence more than measured improvement. Structured practice yields the best results. Always start a training session with a plan. Shooting a season with a training plan in place sets you up for the best possible finishes.
Consistent training practices reinforce your mind’s ability to stay focused on the task at hand. Structure in your practice allows you to weed out weak points in your game. I specifically train hardest at the things I feel I have the most room to improve at. You aren’t really getting anywhere if you simply go to the range and shoot the same drill over and over again trying to shave a tenth of a second off of something you already do well. Take a look at the things you hate doing – you typically hate those things because you are bad at them. I personally take great pleasure from conquering something with which I initially have difficulty.
Ultimately, the focus and confidence that leads to success come with the knowledge that you have prepared properly and won’t be caught off-guard. “I have done the work, so I know that I can execute my plan.”
Make it happen!
Thinking outside the box a little with your training will not only allow you to grow as a shooter, but it keeps things interesting.
Talk to your doctor and choose drills, and practice methods and diet that fit your ability and physiology. And, if in doubt, start slowly and work up to your goal to avoid injury. Try laying out at least three to four weeks worth of this approach to training before your next big match. Then follow it to the letter, I dare you. You will not be disappointed with the results!