How many of you lift weights to improve handgun control?

I try to keep my upper body in decent shape. It definitely helps during long shooting sessions and makes recoil control easier.
 
Occam's Razor makes a good point. Any way you can increase the mass of the muscles throughout the upper body, you gain more recoil control. The extra strength helps, but the actual gain in size helps to defeat recoil.

Much like a large strong neck aids in preventing KO's in combat sports. I've noticed that I generally can shoot longer and more accurately for longer than most of my friends. I'm also very broad in the shoulders and chest and I think this is an advantage when shooting. There comes a point of diminishing returns though, where your muscles require more oxygen than you can supply and they tire more quickly. Big muscles equal big oxygen consumption.
 
I lift weights to not feel so old and creaky. The better shooting is a pleasant byproduct of lifting for me. However, I am big proponent of specific training for enhancing your physical abilities to compete whatever the sport. It works.
 
At 49, I try to stay in pretty decent shape. I lift and do various other exercises.

Not especially for 'shooting techniques', but just for over all health.

It would suck to win a gunfight and then fall over from a stress-induced heart attack...
 
I lift weights, regardless, as I have for 25 years. I have also found that improving my grip helped my handgun shooting immensely. I highly recommend it for anyone else. Try the Captains Of Crush hand-grippers, available at www.ironmind.com. They come in incremental resistance settings,and are very affordable.
 
Friendly heads-up on the Captains of Crush grippers: the billet aluminum the handles are made from is done in a very rough checkering. You might want to use gloves.

I've been using them bare-handed, and the 140lb ones have peeled my fingers. Still, the things are addictive - just ordered the 167 and 195lb set.
 
Yea but not near enough. After Christmas Ill have to get with rehabbin a shoulder after a rebuild.

I have one of those squeezers also. Have to hunt around and find it.
 
Mleake: Agreed. I wrapped the handles of mine with black electrical tape at first, but I took it off eventually. Either the checkering got to be smoother or my skin got tougher, but I got past it.;)
 
+1 stressfire ... I have two grip strength devices which I use often during the day, reading or watching TV ... it has made a HUGE difference in recoil control and my groups have tightened dramatically ... the strength needed to control your handgun and get it back on target quickly comes from exercise, and I highly recommend those grip gadgets to any handgun fan -- and especially if you carry ...
 
Go here: www.crossfit.com

Read everything. Seriously. Read it all.

Get started on the WOD at your own pace. Yes. At your own pace.

Be diligent and don't quit. You will be sore. You may feel like death is upon you. Keep working.

And don't make excuses. And don't take the easy way out.

Don't fall into the "muscle mag mindset" of repeatedly training small, individual muscles while ignoring your major groups. Pull-ups and Power Cleans will strengthen your grip and your forearms a helluva lot faster than wrist curls, but folks find any number of excuses not to do Pull-ups or Power Cleans because they're very hard to do. And they are humbling.

But they will make you very strong.

You train in order to be more functional ...whether you are dry-firing your weapon in order to become a more accurate shooter or deadlifting weights off the ground in order to strengthen your back so you don't blow a disk picking up your groceries or your car keys.


There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat... There is no such thing as “firming and toning.” There is only stronger and weaker... Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.
Click to expand...
 
The thing about doing 12oz curls and the ¼ lb curls is that while they start out as 12oz and 4oz respectively - they tend to get lighter... and the exercisee tends to get heavier :confused:
 
State champion powerlifter here....

no lie! I have lifted weights competitively since I was 18 (OK, no more patting myself on the back) and weigh a solid 170 (only 5'8") in my 40's. I take guys shooting all the time my age who don't exercise at all (note I am not advocating taking up powerlifting) and a lot of them have trouble "steadying" heavy pistols and rifles. I think just about any type of lifting will help your control....especially on long range days where you shoot 100's of rounds.

J
 
Not much anymore, but for several years I carried a squeeze type hand exerciser with me and used it several times a day. It improved my grip enough that some of my smart a$$ relatives wouldn't shake hands any more. It really improved my grip and control of the 1911. Rod
 
I got into yoga a couple of years ago. Excellent for improving your shooting skills, both mentally and physically. The balancing poses really improved my base and control along with building strength in my shoulders and arms. I am 63 years old and shoot my handguns better now than when I was much younger. So to answer your question, I lift the weight of my arms. I just hold them out there for 10 - 15 minutes at a time.
 
I grab a 1/2 gallon of rum or whiskey out straight and turn it sideways a few times a night while I watch what my wife calls "creepy gun shows".:p
 
Is a beer a weight? Guess I lift a few to help my handgun control. Steadies the nerves.

I do left weights, and work out, but not particularly to get my handgun shooting better.

Deaf
 
I'll be 50 next month and I try to work out 3 to 4 times a week. I don't do it specifically to help my shooting but I think overall better health will enable me to shoot better and hopefully for many years to come.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top