Getting your breathing under control

[DDustin]

How do you get your breathing and heart rate under control to take long range shots after running a whole course? Is there a trick to it other than just more cardio in the gym? I've got decent cardio when running and working out but I'm still getting torn up trying to stay on target after running through a coarse. I've noticed a lot people that aren't really in great shape seem to do fine so I feel like there's something I'm missing.

[Bryan 45]

You're not breathing until it's too late. Start sucking wind as soon as the buzzer goes off even when you are shooting pistol or shotgun first. Focus on taking big deep breaths between pistol arrays, after dumping the handgun while moving to the shotgun, while loading the shotgun, grounding the shotgun and transitioning to the rifle. If you're not pulling the trigger, you should be breathing deep. It doesn't do any good to wait until the rifle is in your hands to try to get your lungs working.

[davehorn]

This has always been something that kills me too. I was in much better shape this year, but kind of learned the hard way what Bryan said. It seems to be more technique than actual physical conditioning. Not that being in good shape won't help, but being aware and in control of your breathing prior to picking up the rifle is probably more important.

[DDustin]

Thanks I'll give that a shot. So are you saying to breathe hard and deep the whole time or just monitor and keep the breathing steady between every shot? Is there anything specific you can do in training for this?

[davehorn]

Hopefully Bryan will chime in because he surely has a better grasp on this than me. I suck with a rifle, for lots of reasons, but I do think I figured out some stuff that works for me.

I try to be conscious of my breathing whenever I'm not pulling the trigger. Deep breaths. Another thing I've found is that if I back off the gas just a bit when I'm moving, it saves me a lot of wind. So instead of running flat out 100%, I'll go 95%. I think anything I lose in speed is made up for in getting my breath back and quickly being able to break a shot on a rifle target.

All of this really only applies when the rifle is not my first gun. I love stages that start with the rifle, get it out of the way and breathing isn't usually an issue.

[Lead-Head]

I have noticed many a natural terrain stage last year that end with the rifle. Works good for stage reset when last targets are reactive steel I guess. That last position can be a booger if you are panting like a dog left in a hot car.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Lead-Head

[Bryan 45]

At the load and make ready, I start breathing hard and deep. Just like if I'm getting ready to go under water and swim 100'. After the buzzer, if my finger isn't breaking a shot, I'm breathing hard and deep. No fear of hyper-ventilating, you won't. But the extra oxygen you take in on the first half do the stage sure comes in handy on the last half.

Dave makes a great point on the 95% too. Sometimes it's 95, sometimes 75%, it all depends on the stage, but you have to know your abilities and that can only come from experience. If there is a long uphill run at the beginning of a stage with rifle at the end, hold back a little to keep from being wasted (and not the good kind) at the end.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Bryan 45

[Lead-Head]

Sometimes I just think about baseball..

[Bryan 45]

Sometimes I just think about baseball..

Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day! Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day!

[BobS761]

Sometimes I just think about baseball..

Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day! Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day!

I'm having trouble with my hold as well. I set up some dry fire in my house, with a 1/4" dot 20 feet away. At 4X I'm having real trouble. I thought it was breath control, but my problem is the horizonontal hold. I swing back and forth. Now I'm worried if I take Bryan's advice, I may not even get the gun up anymore.

[DDustin]

Well this escalated.

Thanks Bryan, I'm going to try it at the range after the holidays. I just went over some helmet cam footage of one of the matches and I did notice you can't hear me breath at all until I settle in for the long range shots.

Edited December 23, 2013 by DDustin

[Jesse Tischauser]

Heck stages aren't that long. At the beep I typically clench my but cheeks and just hold my breath for the next 45 seconds or so.

[Durtywrench]

Getting my breathing under control is a task. I have a severely deviated septum and was in terrible shape. Not too mention I forget to breathe.. bad combo for a noob . Ive been working on my breathing and cardio.. Also just trying to relax while I shoot so I can focus. Ive only been doing 3 gun a little under a year and a half so it still makes my asd pucker

[ShooterSteve]

So you're telling me I'm supposed to breath BEFORE things start turning yellow on the long range part????

[Bryan 45]

Heck stages aren't that long. At the beep I typically clench my but cheeks and just hold my breath for the next 45 seconds or so.

45 second stages? Where's the fun in that?

[JRicks]

I'm a chronic breath holder though I'm working on fixing that. At Robbie Johnson's clinic at the Pro-Am, we talked about this subject. He recommended taking short breaths between long-range targets. I tend to try to run the string in one breath, no matter how many dozen targets there may be.

[bikerburgess]

I'm no world class shooter just middle of the pack so YMMV.

when I get to the long range rifle shots I just go mind over matter and breath in and pause my breath while taking one or two shots breath out do the same just firing on the pauses at the end of each breath if everything is going well I will be transitioning targets while the breathing is happening. normally there aren't enough targets in one position to get too far into oxygen debit before you can breath normally (or pant) while moving to the next position, basically any time you are not breaking a shot be breathing. If you have lots of LR shooting from one location (lots of targets or lots of shots to hit the targets) or not much movement between positions then you may get low on O2 and you will know it because your vision starts go away when that happens you will need to stop and take some deep breaths before continuing. If there are going to be lots of shots from one location then you may want to plan breathing into your stage plan (shoot LR targets 1-4 on breath pauses take 2 deep breaths shoot 5-8 on pauses, ect.) it would be best to do some practice and figure out how many shots you can take before going into oxygen debit by just slowing your breathing and firing on the pauses so you will know what you can expect during a match and plan accordingly.

Mike

[EaZeNuTZ33]

I've never consciously thought of this while shooting, but have noticed I needed to get my breathing in check after holding it too long. While RO'ing other shooters, some hold their breath while shooting and others can't seem to catch their breath.

I ran hair scrambles on atv's, stunt rode sportbikes, and now 3-gun. While 3-gun is a blast, I've never felt an OH NO moment where a slight mistake puts me in the hospital. I was used to keeping my heart rate and actions under control while looping out a sportbike at 55 in front of several people. Freak out, hold your breath, or breath too heavily and you usually get hurt bad. You had to control the crash to walk away from it. Make sense?

Another thing I've noticed as I've gotten a little faster is that my times are usually faster if I duck-walk while shooting instead of trying to sprint from shooting position to shooting position. I reload my shotgun well while lightly trotting, but fumble shells when sprinting, so I tend to do better when I make my time from A to B a little more useful than just running. I'm not in great shape either, but if you can't lightly job 20-40 yards without being overly out of breath, you may be way too out of shape.

[DDustin]

I'm a chronic breath holder though I'm working on fixing that. At Robbie Johnson's clinic at the Pro-Am, we talked about this subject. He recommended taking short breaths between long-range targets. I tend to try to run the string in one breath, no matter how many dozen targets there may be.

This is my problem, I noticed it in the Army. I'm always either not breathing or taking really shallow breathes. It makes me decent at sprinting a couple hundred yards but suck at distance running because I can't control my breathing very well for some reason. With 3 gun it translates to me being fine while I'm running and gunning unless I have to settle down for long range shots at the end of a long stage. When I settle down it all catches up to me. I'm in decent shape and work out, it's just I suck at keeping a breathing pattern under control.

I've also heard a lot about controlling your heart rate. How does that work exactly? That for me is even worse than the breathing, my resting heart rate is already natually high as it is. Is this just a cardio thing or is there actually a trick to it?

[EaZeNuTZ33]

I'd say cardio is big for your heart rate, but I'm maybe 5'10" with thick soled shoes and 255lbs right now. I think it just comes down to how excited you allow yourself to get. Not sure if that makes sense or not, but IMO there is a heart rate difference between "I just ran and I'm in the zone" and "I just ran and I GOTTA GOOOOOO." I can handle the increase in heart rate when I'm in control, but if I make mistakes and get flustered it becomes more difficult for me to control.

[larry weeks]

I asked the Biatholon twins, Lannie and Traci Barnes, what they did to get their heart rate down after skiing half a mile before shooting. They didn't say anything about breathing technique but did say they try to shoot with their heart rate around 180. The theory being faster beats mean less body movement. I'm not explaining it well but there's something more to think about. Since I'm fat and out of shape, I'm gasping for breath right away, guess I have Bryan's technique down as a natural occurance. Oh, and I shoot 1X, I can't see as much movement as someone on 6X.

[mpeltier]

Heck stages aren't that long. At the beep I typically clench my but cheeks and just hold my breath for the next 45 seconds or so.

After watching you smoke a cigarette and chug a RedBull before each stage at the USCA match, that made me laugh........

[Nebwake]

When I did biathlon (winter and summer) the key is to slow down before you come onto the range. You can ski you @ss off for the 20 mins prior, but before you shoot, slow down and breath DEEP. Don't hyperventilate though, once you set into the range keep that breathing pattern then right before you shoot, I like to breath deep and fast to get a bit more o2 before I pause and shoot, then repeat. focus is really the key. When I workout I do a lot of crossfit exercises. This type of interval working out forces you to become explosive but recover fast... Plus straight cardio helps a lot.

[ccoker]

I mountain bike a lot and have good cardio as a result, I will take a big breath and then slowly exhale/relax and consciously be aware of my heart beat and I can usually get it down fast.

[djeffers]

Hopefully Bryan will chime in because he surely has a better grasp on this than me. I suck with a rifle, for lots of reasons, but I do think I figured out some stuff that works for me.

I try to be conscious of my breathing whenever I'm not pulling the trigger. Deep breaths. Another thing I've found is that if I back off the gas just a bit when I'm moving, it saves me a lot of wind. So instead of running flat out 100%, I'll go 95%. I think anything I lose in speed is made up for in getting my breath back and quickly being able to break a shot on a rifle target.

All of this really only applies when the rifle is not my first gun. I love stages that start with the rifle, get it out of the way and breathing isn't usually an issue.

I am no pro, but after gasping for air one year I decided to run about 80% speed instead of 100%. For me it works and I am, admittedly, out of shape. I will never forget trying to get more air while on the clock, in the prone position, and watching my sights go from being on target to seeing the sky, and then back down. That was .....some sort of self torture, ugh.