OT shooter Georgina Roberts shares her tips for building a exercise and shooting home workout regime during lockdown.
Now that we’re stuck at home, we all want to continue as best we can with our training, and emerge from lockdown raring to pick up where we left off. But for the time being, we’re all having to get used to the concept of the home workout, whether it be to improve fitness or shooting skills.
There are numerous ways we can do this which are still engaging and effective, without even having to pull the trigger. Let’s look at a few ideas that I’ve been using at home myself, and sharing with friends and fellow shooters via social media.
I’ve also been keeping on top of my workouts – that is another way I’m trying to stay on track and focused on my end goal, and I’ve found it’s really benefitting my mental wellbeing whilst in lockdown. In fact I’m now really looking forward to my workouts each day!
Home workout: dry mounting and why it’s useful
This is the process of bringing the gun to the shoulder and then into the face as you would when on the range, but without pulling the trigger or using ammunition.
So why should we do it? Well, when we talk about a consistent gun mount, we are referring to the position of the barrel and its alignment to our eye, making sure this is the same every time.
This also covers the position of the gun in the shoulder and face, ensuring the stock sits comfortably within the shoulder pocket under the collar bone and that the cheek is placed firmly on the comb.
Not everyone will mount in the same way, but it’s vital that we can repeat it perfectly each time. Simulating this process enables us to achieve a consistent gun mount if we practise it repeatedly.
This can help us develop a more smooth and controlled movement to a target. It also allows us to practise our routine – for example, the physical and mental aspects of our techniques.
Home workout: dry mounting – how it’s done
So that’s why, now let’s look at how to do it. Before we start it’s important to make sure you have a safe space to do this, where you aren’t going to damage your gun or other people if you swing your barrels and hit them.
It’s also essential to make sure your gun is empty to ensure there are no mishaps. If possible, wear your full shooting kit to replicate a real-life scenario.
Making sure your feet are in the right position, pick a point on the wall or in the distance that will be your gun hold point and another for your eye hold point. Use these as a guide as you follow your normal gun mount routine, including any physical and mental aspects you use until your gun is in your shoulder.
Repeat this process until you’re happy that your gun is consistently in the right place. You can check this by mounting using a mirror and by flicking your eyes back to the barrel to make sure it’s in the right place.
To step it up a notch, go through this same routine with your eyes closed, only opening them when your gun is mounted in the shoulder – then you can check to see if your eyes are still in the same place by looking down the rib. If they are, brilliant. If not, this will allow you to re-align the barrel with the eye and demonstrate that this is something that needs more work.
Olympic Trap is a repetitive sport, so even once you achieve a consistent gun mount, this type of work is a fantastic way to keep on top of your training. It’s effective and free, so perfect for days when you can’t get to the range – and there are plenty of those at the moment!
*This article was written for Clay Shooting and is available at: https://www.clay-shooting.com/coaching/advice-and-tips/home-workout-georgina-roberts-on-quarantine-training/