by HS
Mental training
For my third and final instalment, a few works on mental training.
It seems as though any time shooters discuss practice, training, or competitions, there are many topics and at least as many opinions. This is good and the more we share and exchange knowledge, the richer our experience becomes.
The subject of the mental aspects of shooting certainly comes up in these situations. Here are a few thoughts on the subject.
Just as live fire lends itself to increasing skill level for field target shooting, mental training can be a more efficient method to improve in other areas.
If you spend enough time at the range you will hear people honestly state that they’ve experienced being nervous on occasion at competitions. What sort of situations might trigger this?
For some people they might get anxious at the beginning of the match and don’t really settle down until they’ve fired a few shots on score. For others it might occur on the kneeling lane.
Match pressure may hit someone who is on the verge of shooting a personal best. How do we deal with these situations?
The symptoms of match pressure can include increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, muscle tremors, and inability to focus on the task at hand.
One strategy to address this are relaxation exercises. Progressive relaxation involves focusing on part of the body, tensing those muscles, and then relaxing those same muscles.
You can learn to do this sitting at home. As you do so, also work on relaxing your mind and clearing it of negative thoughts, and instead focus on calming yourself.
In the interest of time I will abbreviate the description here, but there is information you can search online if this might help you.
- The idea is to begin in a comfortable position.
- Contract the muscles in your head; clench your jaw, your eyes, your neck.
- Hold the contraction for perhaps 20 or 30 seconds.
- Then, release the contraction and relax. Focus on this feeling, enjoy it, and repeat if needed.
- Next do the same first with one arm, then the other arm.
- Start with the shoulder, then the upper arm, the lower arm, and finally the hand.
- Continue on with your back, your torso, legs, and all the way down to your feet.
You will be surprised at the effect it can have on you.
Whole body relaxation exercises can be done at home at your convenience. You can do them before you dry fire or before you leave for the range, or at the range as required.
Some say that if your body is relaxed, your mind relaxes as well.
Accordingly, this counteracts the effects of match pressure and puts you in control of your physical and mental state.
This feeling of control in turn increases your confidence during competition.
You will find that with practice you can learn to achieve a relaxed state through mental effort only. While this has been a long path to get to the mental training aspect, you can see how they relate to each other, that being, physical relaxation is used to prepare us for mental relaxation, and then task focus.
If this sounds like something that can work for you, consider using the technique proactively.
- Incorporate it into your training routine. Work on simply relaxing one or two specific areas, such as the bicep and the shoulder.
- A good time to use it is while you are stretching in preparation for shooting.
- Use it as part of your routine on match days rather than only in response to match pressure situations.
Another mental training technique is affirmation. We all have strengths and weaknesses.
If we were to create either a physical or mental list of our strengths and weaknesses we can incorporate them into our training.
Our weaknesses are:
- Acknowledged and training strategies developed to systematically address them.
- We are not ignoring them but making positive steps through training to change them into strengths over time.
- We do not dwell on our weaknesses.
Our strengths are:
- Affirmed and acknowledged
- Repeating them
- This reinforces a positive and realistic self-image.
Perhaps the night before a match you sit down and reflect on your strengths.
Think about how you’ve made time to exercise regularly, how much your standing position has improved, how you’ve gained confidence in shooting in the wind, or your other achievements.
You may reflect on how your equipment is in top shape, how you have spare parts on hand if needed, or how you’ve addressed deficiencies in your last match in preparation for this match.
You may even want to write them down. Doing so promotes and reinforces confidence in your proven abilities that you can carry into every competition.
When actually shooting in either practice or competition you can acknowledge a perfect shot by simply stating to yourself, “that’s like me”, or something similar.
Use the method to reinforce your good performance often and create good habits.
Just as positive affirmations can become part of your preparation, the technique of mental rehearsal can also be used to positively reinforce desired behaviour.
No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “practice makes perfect”. Mental training advocates believe, “perfect practice makes perfect”.
Expert opinions vary when it comes to declaring how much task repetition is required before someone becomes expert in their sport, or even to develop a habit.
Mental training, done properly, gives that repetition.
However, the vast majority of us are not at the top level of our sport and thus are not in a position to “practice perfectly”, rather we are better served by improving the technical and physical aspects of our skill inventory.
Those at the top of the sport are not the target audience for this article.
The concern for the rest of us is that mental rehearsal may reinforce bad habits, and accordingly, we should not introduce it into our training prematurely. Instead, we can use mental rehearsal to experience other aspects of our event.
Having said that, sooner or later we all experience that perfect shot where we do everything correctly and are rewarded with a dead centre hit, a fallen target, and perfect follow through.
That is the time where we should mentally replay in detail what we did to achieve that perfect result. The idea is to make it as real as possible in our mind.
Replay the environmental conditions (lighting, wind, mirage, temperature), your pre-shot routine, your hold, checking the wind, the shot, the recoil, the follow through, the centre impact of the shot, the target falling, and your perfect follow through, and your affirmation, “that’s like me”.
Re-experience the perfection of the shot in exact detail several times and take satisfaction in your perfect performance as you deserve. When on the firing line, this takes seconds not minutes, though it is advisable to record it in detail in your shooting diary when time permits.
The opposite is also true, that being, in the event of a poor shot, we do not dwell upon it, and simply move on to the next shot.
When mentally rehearsing there are two variations of the technique that I will attempt to describe.
- Method 1 is described as you seeing something through your own eyes just like everyday life.
- Method 2, is described as you watching yourself as someone else would as a spectator, or as though you were an actor in a movie.
Method 1 lends itself to rehearsing the personal or micro level of the act of shooting. You see the crosshair, target, and other details.
Method 2 rehearsal allows you to observe the details of your shooting position from the same perspective as everyone else does.
Either method may be employed to rehearse non-shooting technique elements. For example, we can envision preparing our gear, packing it in the car, and driving to the range. We can imagine the details of arriving, greeting people, setting up, stretching, identifying wind indicators, etc.
We visualize and rehearse doing things correctly, and meeting or exceeding our goals for the day.
More specific to HFT/FT is mentally rehearsing a shoot off. This is a situation that is not easily replicated during range sessions, nor is it necessarily the best use of scarce range time.
The benefit of mental rehearsal is the ability to create a shoot off in our mind and experience each element under a controlled environment.
All things being equal, the competitor who took the time in training to rehearse a shoot off may be said to have an advantage over someone who has never been through it in any form.
How else could we incorporate mental training into our training program? I would suggest it is beneficial when:
- you need help moving past a training plateau (stuck at a certain score)
- are facing a perceived/mental barrier (want to clean the standing lanes),
- or when you need to make unfamiliar territory more familiar and comfortable to address.
The exact situations are yours to determine.
In closing, the shooting sports are incredibly satisfying by simply enjoying live fire practice at the range. If you are inclined to consider additional choices designed to increase your enjoyment, perhaps some of the information here will be of benefit to you.