Tip #1: Goal Setting

Tip #2: Develop a Training Plan

Intro

Developing a training plan is a great way to stay motivated and focused on your goals. Believe it or not this is a hard task for shooters to do. This means that you are going to have to sit down and figure out what your strong points are as well as your weak points. Many shooters have a tendency to practice what they are good at because they see positive results during practice. Well, if you are not working on your weak points then you will always be weak in those areas! For instance, you are having trouble making reloads on the move. Do you think on match day you will magically be great at it? NO! Imagine what would happen if you work on your weak areas. The weak points will then become strong points making you a stronger all around shooter.

Example
(This is one day of my training plan preparing for the 2003 Florida Open)

6 Jan 03

• Arrive on the range at 7:45 am
• Stretch for 20 minutes
• Dry fire for 20 minutes
• Clean up range and begin set up
• Focus on basic drills:
  • Presentation to the target
  • Draws
  • Reloads
  • Transitions
  • Actual match stages if available
• Stage break down
• Shooting on the move
• Clean up range
• Exercise:
  • Stretch for 15 minutes
  • 3 mile run
  • Stretch for 15 minutes
• Training day complete

Conclusion

As you can see I do not just show up on the range and shoot. Every day is thought out and prepared very carefully. Developing a training plan is a great idea for any shooter, especially those who can only shoot a couple of days a week. If you go to the range with a plan you can spend more time working on your weak areas and less time thinking about what you are going to practice next. In fact, you do not even have to think at all about what you are going to practice next because it should already be in your training plan. Everyone has different weak areas and we all know what they are. If you want to become a better shooter you need to work on these areas regardless how much you dislike it. If you talk to anyone who knows me they will tell you 2-3 years ago I hated shots past 25 yards, but now it is a different story. I continued to work on 50-yard shots, as that was my weakest area at the time. Now I feel that long and tight shots are one of my strongest areas! It just takes time and a little motivation to accomplish anything we want. Remember to always stay positive and keep focused on your own training plan.

Copyright © 2004 Max Michel, Jr. All rights reserved.