jswitt99 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 2 weekends ago was my first match. I moved like I was towing around a bag of concrete and looked like a baffoon. Started a diet this week (cut fast food and booze and ate much better) and lost 4 pounds. My goal is to lose 30. I am barrel chested and store most of my weight above my waiste. I walk anywhere from 2-4 miles a day at work, so my legs don't carry fat, but are not muscular. I can't run from bad ankles and the fact that stopping smoking is an issue. What are good excersises to build short burst of speed for this sport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint-M Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Have you considered biking instead of running/jogging? It's easier on the knees and will build your endurance and joint stability in your knees. If you don't have a bike or want to get one you can always look for some sort of spinning class nearby, you're in Austin so it should be easy to find one. The best advice you'll receive is to start a program slowly and make small to moderate changes, especially with a history of knee injuries and smoking. Avoid crap classes that emphasize working to death over form and functional strength and endurance. If you have any specific questions about exercises or anything feel free to PM me for tips or advice. CM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jswitt99 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Have you considered biking instead of running/jogging? It's easier on the knees and will build your endurance and joint stability in your knees. If you don't have a bike or want to get one you can always look for some sort of spinning class nearby, you're in Austin so it should be easy to find one. The best advice you'll receive is to start a program slowly and make small to moderate changes, especially with a history of knee injuries and smoking. Avoid crap classes that emphasize working to death over form and functional strength and endurance. If you have any specific questions about exercises or anything feel free to PM me for tips or advice. CM Clint, Thanks! I was into mountian biking about 5 years ago and ran the Downieville run which was awesome. I was around 185 then. My work schedule limits much free time at all and when I get home, I have to force myself to dryfire. I have had 5 years POOR health decisions that has got me to the point of 40 and bad habits... I would love the opp to learn a new "lifestyle". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Definitely start any lifitng program slow. good form/lighter weight > heavyweights and bad form any day. Squats, kettle bell swings, etc can build lower body strength. Running and biking are great, but they will only make you good at running or biking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint-M Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Running and biking are great, but they will only make you good at running or biking. As opposed to being good at swinging steel balls? I feel pretty confident gait movements are more important to 3-gun than squats. I'm definitely not suggesting a strict cardio routine but if you think biking or spinning won't build basic lower body strength you've never been biking or spinning. Kettle bells are fine, but definitely not for a beginner. Even at light weights kettle bell swings are explosive movements that put a lot of strain on the back and hips, especially if you tire easily. Not attacking you in any way, but starting out with complex movements is dangerous without supervision. CM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylehb Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 The best way to build speed similar to what is needed in action pistol is by doing short distance sprints. Agility and footwork drills will also improve your short distance speed a great deal. If you want to be fast over a 10 to 15 yard distance, you need to do sprints over a 10 to 15 yard distance. Doing any kind of sustained longer distance cardio type exercise will not help you at all. In fact it will most likely cause preferential development of your slow twitch muscle fibers - which will make you slower - rather than conditioning your fast twitch, power oriented fibers, which sprints and high speed exercise will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylehb Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Also in addition to explosive lower body lifts, plyometric exercises like box jumps, depth jumps, etc. will be very beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.elite Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Also in addition to explosive lower body lifts, plyometric exercises like box jumps, depth jumps, etc. will be very beneficial. +1 being explosive is key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 I have found these, well let me rephrase...if I DID any training I believe these types of drills would be benefical as it would aid in agility and quickness.... http://www.kingsportstraining.com/blogs/training-blog/8269753-10-best-speed-and-agility-cone-drills I am the outdoorsy type though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeDefy Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 (edited) I'd second the sprints... The fastest way to get better at sprinting is sprinting, once that stops paying dividends then its time to start squatting/deadlifting/jumping/etc. Lifting light weights slow won't do much to make you faster, you need to be explosive or lift near maximal effort (so close to a 1-rep max)- which is somewhat advanced. You have slow and fast twitch muscle fibers or type I and II respectively (there are even subsets of type II). Your fast twitch fibers are closer to the anaerobic end of the spectrum, and they are fast and powerful. Slow twitch fibers are aerobic, slow to contract, weaker (meaning they can't propel your body from a dead stop) and have higher resistance to fatigue. The "so what?" of all the science is, you have train fast to be fast. Edited September 14, 2014 by WeDefy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitvpr Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 The best way to build speed similar to what is needed in action pistol is by doing short distance sprints. Agility and footwork drills will also improve your short distance speed a great deal. If you want to be fast over a 10 to 15 yard distance, you need to do sprints over a 10 to 15 yard distance. Doing any kind of sustained longer distance cardio type exercise will not help you at all. In fact it will most likely cause preferential development of your slow twitch muscle fibers - which will make you slower - rather than conditioning your fast twitch, power oriented fibers, which sprints and high speed exercise will do. THIS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarge863 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 A great way to build endurance and work on your shooting skill at the same time. Set up some steel or a target 15-20 yards apart. Choose a distance, shoot and make a hit on the first, run to the other one, repeat. Try to get 5 or 6 in a row. If you miss one, keep running but start the count over. It's a killer and it's great practice for shooting when you are spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty whiteboy Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 http://www.weighttraining.com/exercises/ski-squat Do not let your knees go out over your toes, sit back into the squat. Slowly build up your reps. Do this exercise 2-3 times per week. When you get up to 30 and 40 reps you will also be giving your circulatory/respiratory system a workout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Biking has helped me a great deal with endurance. Even if you don't have time to go out and ride, just a stationary bike somewhere inside will do. I've found that any "speed" I gain on the bike from doing HIIT/sprints doesn't translate at all into my legs while running a stage though. The last two months I have been working a punching bag in my basement, focusing primarily on jabs and footwork, quick stance switches etc. This has been a huge benefit for me in my last few matches. I still have a long way to go and I still walk away from every single match cursing myself for moving so slow. Having said that, my finishes are improving and people are telling me that my speed has improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummm Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 As mentioned above, you want to end up where you can train agility drills / plyometric exercises / explosive lower body movements. Cardio is a fantastic, all-around excellent thing to do, but for USPSA, you can skip it if your ankles won't allow it. Your biggest risk is a training injury. Move mountains, but somehow get a professional to supervise you as you start a program. They're not always tons of money, and you don't need years of sessions. You can sometimes get a few free sessions when you join a gym, or as part of your health insurance or trade or whatever. You just want to learn some baby steps, see how your body reacts, then if your body allows it, take a few more steps, etc, etc. After a while, either your body will shut you down, and the trainer can reasonably say, "You can do this much, but no more, here are some ways to get the most given your limitations" or the trainer can say, "You're GTG, take what I've taught you and also X, Y and Z", and then you take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterdog Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 I have found these, well let me rephrase...if I DID any training I believe these types of drills would be benefical as it would aid in agility and quickness.... http://www.kingsportstraining.com/blogs/training-blog/8269753-10-best-speed-and-agility-cone-drills I am the outdoorsy type though... outdoors.jpg This looks like potentially awesome info... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Tennis is beneficial if you want to do something other than work out. Short sprints. Quick direction changes. Visual tracking. Mental imagery. Competition. Hand eye coordination. Grip strength. If there is any mainstream sport you can do to help you at shooting sports I think it is tennis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) 50 years ago when I was in high school running track, we had a weightlifter doing the field events smoke some of sprinters. Squats are great for short distance power/strength. With the advent of science in physical fitness, especially in football, the drills they have for receivers and defensive backs has really improved their ability to explode. Edited December 17, 2014 by pjb45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricG Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 jump rope, jumping jacks shuffling, sprint in place(quick feet) will help you gaining speed. Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanny10 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Lots of good options have been suggested. For what we do, speed is largely "explosiveness". It's pretty difficult to improve that without doing explosive exercises. Typically it's not the the initiation of power that hurts the knees, it's trying to stop after you've created the energy. If you estimate that you are 30 pounds overweight then my suggestion would be to drop all/most of that before you start pounding your knees. Stick with the low impact stuff for now. I'm gonna guess that the drop in weight will do wonders for your speed. Then you can start with some of the more aggressive stuff and your knees will not scream at you as much. And also, I used to play tennis and had never thought about how it correlates but I agree with Rowdy. Running the baseline, both laterally and straight, squaring up before the stroke, charging the net, back pedeling your ass off, all really, really good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I do dryfire exercises that require explosive movement (like anderson's call it and leave it drill), and keep track of the times. I sure as heck don't swing kettlebells around, lol, although that hippie crap is kinda popular with the firefighters where I work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanonSterVA Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I enjoy cycling (road bikes)... Much gentler on the knees. We generally like to do 50 miles rides on the weekends. Surely cannot wait for the weather to warm up again. Myron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocrrhbow Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I would agree with the folks that suggest explosive sprinting. I used to play tennis and I also think that would be a great training exercise that would not just be running. It is a sport that keeps score so the exercise is engaging. I was reading a book about shooting and the author was talking about getting faster. He emphasized movement. The author's point was that you could gain tenths of seconds with faster transitions or follow-up shots but you can gain whole seconds in faster movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rritchie82 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 On 11/10/2014 at 11:03 PM, scooterdog said: This looks like potentially awesome info... Great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rritchie82 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 On 11/10/2014 at 11:03 PM, scooterdog said: This looks like potentially awesome info... Great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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