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Getting rid of "warm up" nerves/jitters


PrimaryBruce

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Grow some sac, man up and shoot. Ain't nothing to it but to do it. Practice in the safe area before the match, when you get the the stage plan your A hits, I call them all A hits in my head during walk through.

Plan your stage, focus on your first stage... Think happy thoughts, grow sac, take a deep breath, nod your head, burn it down. Repeat for each stage and for practice if needed. You can't think of good things and bad things at the same time and if you get the shakes you are not clearing your head... So think about the first piece you got in the back seat of daddy's Buick or the biggest fish you ever caught, but never think about your score, your jitters, your performance... Step up and just do it.

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That's because it probably doesn't "mean that much" to you .... However, combine wanting badly to do well with not having a strong background in competition and it's very easy to see why people get the 'jitters' ...

Talk with any elite athlete who has ever struggled with this and they will undoubtly tell you a story where they had their best performance at an event where for whatever reason the results didn't mean anything to them. Instructors repeatedly talk about having some of their best performances when they are showing new athletes techniques for the first time because there is no pressure to perform .... Think back about anything in your life that was truely important to you to succeed at and I defy you to tell us that you didn't feel some nervousness ...

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.. Think back about anything in your life that was truely important to you to succeed at and I defy you to tell us that you didn't feel some nervousness ...

I was scared to death the very first time I had sex, I don't think it would have been so bad if I wasn't alone at the time.

Meanwhile, seems like there is a balance thing on nervousness, if what you are doing does not elevate your awareness / adrenaline /etc a little bit then I don't think you would do your best at a movement sport.

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for me it's a combination of a few things.

I find I tend not to be too nervous but I do shoot too cautiously on the first stage so I guess that's a fear of overcooking it out of the gate. Later I often feel like I've left time on the table on that first stage. No big deal if it's a short 40 point stage. disaster if it's a long 160 pointer.

One thing I've found helps is go to the safe area a few minutes before my run and do a few practice draws, a few practice dry fires etc. just handling the gun, racking it, pulling the trigger, drawing etc brings back some of that familiarity. Generally at a match I haven't shot the gun for a week or so. I think that first stage caution is related to lack of confidence from a week of not shooting and it just takes a little bit for me to pick up my pace to my current skill level. Doing that bit of dry fire just before the first stage helps bring back a bit of that confidence and familiarity with the gun, that memory of racking it, pulling the trigger etc all comes back.

If it's possible to go to an empty bay and shoot a few mags either at the berm or at targets I think that would be even better to put me into 'live fire mode' or 'match mode' as it were. Sadly that's not often possible for me, but if it's an option for you I'd try it. run a few quick bill drills to get match mode going and finger speed working. then maybe just a couple of quick groups. ready to rock. :)

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Good advice in this thread. Thank you. I will definitely try some new techniques out.

I'm dealing with stress related with larger matches that require logging and longer travel. I put too much pressure on myself and overthink everything during travel and have issues sleeping in a unknown bed. This could be confirmation bias but I sometimes seem to shoot my best when I randomly get called to the line and start shooing before I can start thinking about it.

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Agreed! Great advice all together that will make me better prepared for upcoming matches. I'm a new shooter and like most if not all on this forum this hobby has manifested into an obsession; out of state traveling, motel overnighters, new gear/equip, etc.... It's great to get insight from knowledgeable and more experienced shooters to stay the course and take the lessons learned as a result...

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  • 1 month later...

Been competing for a few years now and still have the after fire jitters. Not particularly while shooting a stage but after im told to unload abd show clear. Sometimes its hard for me to initial the score card im shaking so bad. Not a nervous or scared shake but moreso an adrenaline rush shake. I never want to lose that shake its part of the rush for me

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't compete yet, but I'd get the jitters when I'd start shooting for fun. Then one day I realized how to change the way I dealt with this. When I was younger I would do some racing on quads and in my car. Whenever I hit the gas and started going fast that adrenaline raced through my whole body, but I wasn't jittery. It was this thrill that immediately brought an insane calm and focus. I could process things without a problem going 150mph or drifting through a turn on a dirt road. Now when I go shoot for fun I think back and remember those times. That way I've already started to focus on processing my adrenaline in a productive way rather than getting jittery. I guess it is reframing the way you process the event to be an intense positive thrill. Lenny Bassham does a better job than I ever could explaining more about jitters and starting a completion in his book.

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One approach to this kind of thing is to simply say, I know I'm nervous and anxious. I'm just going accept that I feel like this when I'm about to shoot a stage. Now that I've got that out of the way, let me see what I can do to shoot it as well as I can, nerves and all.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was listening to a podcast (and now I don't remember which one, Ben Stoeger's maybe?) which at some point addressed this issue, the "first stage jitters".

This was an interesting one to me, because I get them at every major match at the first stage, stomach flutters, heart racing, shaky knees, etc. The podcast had a brilliant insight, or at least I thought it was brilliant. What you are experiencing is your body getting into fight or flight mode. Your body is trying to shut off functions not needed for a fight, turning up your heart rate and breathing to get you pumped up and ready for what is coming, blood is being pumped into the muscles, etc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response

Once I started thinking of it this way, I decided to embrace it. My body is trying to get me ready to go faster, stronger, further. Sure, some of its choices might be poor (damn it, I don't need you to loosen my bowels and bladder right now, that might work on the savanna but its embarrassing on the range), some of the loss of fine motor control and the shaking aren't going to come in handy, but just being aware that this is what is going on means you can stop fighting it and adjust your reactions to it.

I now welcome it, while still dreading it a bit. Better knowing what is going on, means I can work on accepting the positives and mitigating the negatives.

This post has had the most direct and impactful result for me that I have read here. I read this last weekend, right before going into my shooting/cqc re-qualification week at work (yeah yeah tactical timmy... Deal with it, it pays the bills, it is fun, and I'm Damn good at it) during all of my evals I reminded my self on the "make ready" or "house is set" of this and everything went smooth, then I shot a local match Sunday and used this mindset every stage Edited by evilbeef54
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I say pop a Xanax or two.

Whoowhwwweee

:roflol:

Nerves, bruh. Can't do shit about them when they hit unless you practice dealing with them well before you need it. Shot a match a few weeks ago and they started creeping up on me. Focused on my breath and then you can't worry about the rush or the thoughts about the future. Then the buzzer goes off and you just do what you've practiced. I didn't practice using my Match Saver, so when I needed one extra shell I skipped using the conveniently placed one along side my gun and loaded two more in the tube. Now I practice using my Match Saver.

What are you focusing on? If you're focusing on being jittery, you're doing it wrong. The body and adrenaline will do what it does, you can't really let that be a factor. Practice focusing on your breath, or other sorts of absorptive "meditations" (not really meditation but whatever), and then go back to that when you need it. It works for all sorts of situations too, not just shooting. Boss giving you shit at work? Go back to your breathing until he goes away. Some ignorant driver cut you off? Go back to your breathing to save yourself some stress. Bored? Breathe. Then lean on it when you really need it to calm your butt down when you need to focus on other things, like putting holes in paper.

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I say pop a Xanax or two.

Whoowhwwweee

I imagine you were joking, but in case you weren't, I looked up what Xanax does and for the sake of safety I don't want to shoot with someone on Xanax.

Common side effects:

  • Being forgetful
  • changes in patterns and rhythms of speech
  • clumsiness or unsteadiness
  • difficulty with coordination
  • discouragement
  • drowsiness
  • feeling sad or empty
  • irritability
  • lack of appetite
  • lightheadedness
  • loss of interest or pleasure
  • relaxed and calm
  • shakiness and unsteady walk
  • sleepiness or unusual drowsiness
  • slurred speech
  • tiredness
  • trouble concentrating
  • trouble in speaking
  • trouble performing routine tasks
  • trouble sleeping
  • unsteadiness, trembling, or other problems with muscle control or coordination
  • unusual tiredness or weakness

A forgetful, drowsy, irritable, shaky, unsteady shooter is not a guy you want to be around at the range.

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I was listening to a podcast (and now I don't remember which one, Ben Stoeger's maybe?) which at some point addressed this issue, the "first stage jitters".

This was an interesting one to me, because I get them at every major match at the first stage, stomach flutters, heart racing, shaky knees, etc. The podcast had a brilliant insight, or at least I thought it was brilliant. What you are experiencing is your body getting into fight or flight mode. Your body is trying to shut off functions not needed for a fight, turning up your heart rate and breathing to get you pumped up and ready for what is coming, blood is being pumped into the muscles, etc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response

Once I started thinking of it this way, I decided to embrace it. My body is trying to get me ready to go faster, stronger, further. Sure, some of its choices might be poor (damn it, I don't need you to loosen my bowels and bladder right now, that might work on the savanna but its embarrassing on the range), some of the loss of fine motor control and the shaking aren't going to come in handy, but just being aware that this is what is going on means you can stop fighting it and adjust your reactions to it.

I now welcome it, while still dreading it a bit. Better knowing what is going on, means I can work on accepting the positives and mitigating the negatives.

I read this a little while back, watched the video read up on it little, thought through it and decided to adopt it. The odd thing is that over a recent 3 day match, the first major since I adopted this, the only time even the thought of the usual jitters entered my mind was when someone else brought it up during the first stage on the first day. I just reinforced to myself embracing it and gave it no more thought. I didn't have any of the usual nerves or jitters I would normally get for the first 2 or 3 stages on any of the 3 days. Edited by my00wrx1
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  • 4 weeks later...

Years ago in SWAT school would get amped a bit before live fire entry's. Same symptoms you have. The instructor noticed and gave me a piece of advice that I give to my students today.... "You're nervous? Good. You now have a chemical advantage over your opponent. The adrenaline will help you react faster, move faster, and fight stronger. Good." When I started thinking "Good, I have an advantage." the negatives fell away and I was and I'm still able to be happy about the nerves.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Gosh, i'm sitting here watching Seth Curry warm up for the last 2 hrs prior to the big NBA Finals Game 1... thinking... dang, it sure would be nice if we USPSA shooters could shoot 500-800 rounds before the first Stage of a major match. I'm pretty sure most of my jitters would be gone!

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I get nervous from thinking too much. Once I know what I need to do, I need to stop thinking about it: take a deep breath to stop the mind racing, Make Ready without delays, and go hit the targets.

I haven't competed much but, for the one where I beat everybody, I spent the whole day before doing things that kept me focused on anything but shooting.

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You can't really get rid of them, but you can get to the point where they don't spell disaster. Everyone doesn't do 100% of their match pace for the first stage, so just survive it and don't make any mistakes. After that you're warm and you can proceed as normal.

Minimizing them is all up to the individual. For me, I just take a little longer at the make ready to do some breathing and extra visualization of my plan. Maybe 50 seconds instead of the 40 I usually take. Helps me turn off my brain and let the subconscious take over.

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