D class to GM

[Obvious]

I think most of us have gone through @CClassForLife's range diary. I found it extremely interesting and sparked my want to start recording my thoughts somewhere. Not necessarily for anyone else, but to be able to reference and remind myself of what I've learned. 

 

Some folks here have already made the connection of who I am, the "jorts" guy if you're on the competitive shooting subreddit. I have been competing in limited with a constantly malfunctioning RIA double stack 1911 for about a year now. Enough that it's been comical to a degree, yet extremely aggravating. One match it would run great, the next match I'd have a bent firing pin and couldn't ignite primers. I love the gun but thanks to someone here, have finally upgraded to a CZ TSO and will start using it for limited. I'm undecided as to whether I'm going to sell my RIA or set it aside for another fun division yet. 

 

I'm frequently busy with school and my internship, but have decided I want to take USPSA more seriously. I started shooting USPSA to become a better shooter in general. Before I started in USPSA, I didn't even know what dry fire was. Thinking about it though, "becoming a better shooter" is too vague. I think setting goals was a great way to go about things. I've extended "becoming a better shooter" into several facets of my life, I think for the better. I'm now going to the gym 3 days a week with buddies, with a major goal of getting better in the cardio department (I am severely lacking) and losing weight. So, lets start to break this down. 

 

Fitness Goals

• A fifteen minute mile by Halloween 2022.
  • A 10 minute mile by February 2023
•  Twenty pounds lost by the end of the year. 
• An extra 90 pounds added to bench press by February 2023. 
• Incorporating more yoga and sports like basketball and tennis. 
• Eating much less fast food. 

 

 

Shooting Goals 

• A penalty free match by the end of November 2022. 
• An all alpha's match by the end of 2022, regardless of time. 
• A 1 second draw to first shot (alpha) by the end of December 2022. 
• A 1-1.5 second reload by the end of December 2022. 
• At least 15 minutes of dry fire every day. 
  • Acquiring more targets/variety to set up mock stages. 
• 1st place in limited at a local match by December 2022. 
• Top 5 in limited at a level 1 match by December 2022. 
• Practice more with other USPSA shooters 
  • Push for max speed in practice, see where I start to break down. Figure out why.
• C class by the end of 2022. 
• Attend a major match in 2023.
  • Potentially a nationals? Not sure if there's a big point yet. 
• GM by the start of 2024. 

 

 

This is largely a jumbled mess and I'm sure more will be added to it. But after a 15 1/2 hour day of constant school/work, this shall suffice. 

 

Initial thoughts on the TSO after 175 rounds:

• The recoil impulse with 180 gr reloads (3.7 gr e^3 loaded to 1.135") felt very light, but quite stout with 180 gr federal. 
• With the red fiber front sight, it wasn't incredibly bright in an indoor range. May be better outside. Will consider swapping to a green fiber. 
• My trigger finger felt like it was almost being "clicked" or forced off the trigger during recoil, leading to it always being ready to shoot when sights settled out of recoil. I've always tried to get my finger off the trigger as fast as possible, but as of right now I'm not sure if I'm resetting subconsciously myself, or if my fingers getting moved during recoil. 
• The grips are more aggressive than they look. I was considering giving them a silicon carbide treatment but I'll refrain from now and see how they do once I start to get sweaty at an outdoor match. 
• It feels like my sights aren't settling out of recoil as naturally as I'd like. It may still just be part of getting used to a new platform, but I found myself often searching for my front fiber instead of being able to know where it'll land when it comes out of recoil. I suspect this will change with more time and ammo. 
• My thumbs are large enough that it doesn't fit perfectly on the thumb rest. Fine with reloads, but started to hurt with factory ammo. I'll have to play with how I grip the gun, or possibly 3D print another thumb rest. 
• My dominant hand isn't quite sure how to ride the safety yet. In the "off" position it sits below where my thumb naturally falls after shooting a 2011 style gun for a year. Once again, I'll have to play with my grip and see what feels comfortable. 
• So far, I have not flicked the safety on with my non-dominant hand. 
• The magwell came much better contoured to the frame than I've seen in the past. Not quite perfect, but I suspect mags won't hang up on it during reloads. To be tested. 

 

Monday is payday and I'll be ordering my holster then. Dry fire in the coming weeks along with the gym. First match with it hopefully in a month or less. And with this mess I bid you guys adieu for now.

 

 

[UpYoursPal]

Glad to see you started posting here.  Good luck with your goals

[Obvious]

14 minutes ago, UpYoursPal said:

Glad to see you started posting here.  Good luck with your goals

Appreciate it! I've had small goals on and off again, but I figured it was about time to write out my thoughts and try to put numbers and dates to certain things. I'm absolutely pooped from the gym, but protein powder and new holster are in the mail. 

[Abominator]

Great Goals! Good to have stepped milestones. Good luck!!!

[Obvious]

5 hours ago, Abominator said:

Great Goals! Good to have stepped milestones. Good luck!!!

Appreciate it! Got my protein in the mail today, ordered my holster on friday. Gonna be working on a little yoga tomorrow before going back to the gym. 

[Obvious]

A short update: 

 

I've now run ~275 rounds through my TSO. My reloads are a 180 grain bullet, 3.7 gr of alliant E^3, loaded to ~1.1350". This shoots extremely soft and supposedly makes major out of a 5" barrel. Double taps feel extremely easy, and I have a better feel for manhandling the gun during recoil. I made my own thumb rest which lets my thumb extend further than the factory one did. I'll have to chrono my ammo soon, get more dry fire targets or make my own, and when I get my new holster I'm going to spend a lot of time practicing dry fire draws and reloads when I haven't done arm day. 

[Obvious]

Got my holster in the mail yesterday. I believe it’s the ghost one evo S, has a polymer block and not just a ball bearing. I stripped a screw head tightening it onto my belt and the hanger is much thinner aluminum than a boss hanger so you can visibly see it’s a bit bent while on the belt from the tension in the screws, but I can deal with that some other time. The holster body itself seems to be solid and releases very smoothly, took a bit to get it all adjusted properly but not a big deal. Other than that, I’ve been sick for the last 2 weeks. Went on a trip out of town and must’ve caught something in another city. Started taking amoxicillin this weekend so hopefully I feel better soon. Now that I have my holster in I plan on dry firing in my free time with my new setup. As far as fitness goals, protein has helped a lot in recovery. I feel like soon I’ll be able to start bumping my weight on squat and bench by 10-20lbs as my current weight is getting easier. I’m able to keep a walking-ish of about a 17 min mile so not too far off from 15, although my feet hurt like hell about 0.5 miles in. Wide and flat feet suck ass, and I have a feeling my shoes were worn out after having used them for a year or so. Got some cheap asics at academy, but plan on trying some brooks or saucony shoes soon as the amount of pain in my feet is just unnatural. May also experiment changing from a treadmill to a track if it’s allowed at my school. Not much more to update other than I’m getting 500 more bullets this coming week and will be building my stash, and hopefully shooting a match in the next 2-3 weeks. 

[BigHand]

Good luck with everything man, I really think hitting that 10min mile and under, along with regular leg strength training will really help on the movement aspect and your speed without winding you enough to mess up your shots. 

 

For walking/running, I encourage you to look into youtube videos about how to walk and run correctly without eventually hurting your joints or back. You really should be running up on the balls of your feet without your feet extending too far past your knees. This concept will wreak havoc on your calves and achilles tendon until you get used to it, but I promise your knees and back will thank you. For walking, make sure you're not extending your knee and landing on your heel. Just my $0.02, take it as you wish. 

 

No way I'm hitting GM in 1.5yrs lol. 

[mule169]

Are you going to dedicate to sticking to the TSO or will you change your mind down the road? I ask because you're switching from a 1911/2011 platform, maybe something else comes along that catches your interest that will push you away from the TSO, but if you are going to stick with the TSO through thick and thin then that will be your best advantage, I have a personal issue of always switching guns back and forth especially if there is a platform I am comfortable with then I switch to some new and cool and always end up switching back to my previous platform. 

[Obvious]

On 9/26/2022 at 5:54 PM, BigHand said:

Good luck with everything man, I really think hitting that 10min mile and under, along with regular leg strength training will really help on the movement aspect and your speed without winding you enough to mess up your shots. 

 

For walking/running, I encourage you to look into youtube videos about how to walk and run correctly without eventually hurting your joints or back. You really should be running up on the balls of your feet without your feet extending too far past your knees. This concept will wreak havoc on your calves and achilles tendon until you get used to it, but I promise your knees and back will thank you. For walking, make sure you're not extending your knee and landing on your heel. Just my $0.02, take it as you wish. 

 

No way I'm hitting GM in 1.5yrs lol. 

I'll have to look into this, after getting proper shoes, shin splints have been absolutely killing me. Might have to just deal with walking more and eating less until I can bring the weight down a bit to run without having to fight my body. 

[Obvious]

On 9/27/2022 at 11:18 AM, mule169 said:

Are you going to dedicate to sticking to the TSO or will you change your mind down the road? I ask because you're switching from a 1911/2011 platform, maybe something else comes along that catches your interest that will push you away from the TSO, but if you are going to stick with the TSO through thick and thin then that will be your best advantage, I have a personal issue of always switching guns back and forth especially if there is a platform I am comfortable with then I switch to some new and cool and always end up switching back to my previous platform. 

For reference, over the course of about a year I shot ~5500 through a RIA that fought me for lots of that. It was supposed to get me introduced to limited major while I wait for the DWX to come out, however that's been delayed and might not even come out. CZ ergos fit my hands way better, I have a load worked up that the gun likes, now I just need to buy a bunch of mags for it. I have no real plans on switching platforms as the next "best" limited gun would be a high end 2011 I simply can't afford while I'm in college. I shoot the TSO plenty well, and now need to work on myself as a shooter rather than focus on the gun.  

[Obvious]

Been a minute since I've posted an update but life gets busy. I decided to try to max and was able to hit 245 on squat which I'm pretty pleased with, I want it to be closer to 300 by the end of the year. Bench is currently plateau'd at around ~135-145 and I'm nowhere near happy with that. Looking into trying new exercises to specifically target different muscles better. I saw a big improvement and also a big decline in my cardio today. I finally got new shoes (brooks) and for the first time since starting, my feet didn't feel like they were going to explode on the treadmill. I was able to get 0.70 miles in ~11 minutes, however shin splints felt horrendous at that point and I had to stop. Now a few hours later and it still hurts to walk, if the pain keeps up I may talk to the doc about possible stress fractures. It's entirely possible I need to drop weight before I start pushing the cardio so hard. 

 

On the shooting side of things - I've been teaching my brother how to shoot and he's been doing amazing with my CZ P-01. I'm at around 500 rounds through my TSO and it honestly feels amazing to shoot. I haven't pushed my splits too fast yet because I don't have a shot timer anymore, but the amount of recoil feels incredibly low and the sights return just about exactly where I want them too. I tried making my own thumb rest and just couldn't make one I was happy with so I ordered the IPSC ALEX one and it should be here on the 6th, excited to see how that feels. The next big step is to chrono my load to make sure it makes major and then start building up my stash of it. I can't make it to the local outlaw matches that are held during the week because of school, but when my legs start feeling better I'll be looking for a weekend match I can shoot. Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks. 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Obvious

[RangerTrace]

Don't try to work through the pain.  You will end up side lined even longer.  How old are you and what's your current height/weight?  

[Obvious]

Just now, RangerTrace said:

Don't try to work through the pain.  You will end up side lined even longer.  How old are you and what's your current height/weight?  

Yeah I'm probably gonna end up just doing some light stretching through the weekend and maybe swap to bike or swimming for a week or two. Currently 22 and 5'11", sitting right around 250 lbs. Haven't weighed myself in a week or two but that's been pretty constant for the last couple months. 

[RangerTrace]

You certainly have youth going for you.  It might be a good idea for you to worry less about weights and look for some pure body weight routines.  Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges/squats, sit-ups, etc along with your cardio.  Personally, I love weights, but I don't ever try for max  lifts any more.  At my age, thats just a good way to hurt yourself.  If you are dead set on lifting, perfect your form using very light weights before trying to max.  I'd worry more about being able to do 25 push-ups and 5-10 pull-ups than maxing on bench and squats.  But, that is just my opinion.  

 

I admire your motivation to improve.

[Johnny_Chimpo]

8 hours ago, RangerTrace said:

It might be a good idea for you to worry less about weights and look for some pure body weight routines.  Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges/squats, sit-ups, etc along with your cardio.  Personally, I love weights, but I don't ever try for max  lifts any more.  At my age, thats just a good way to hurt yourself.  If you are dead set on lifting, perfect your form using very light weights before trying to max.  I'd worry more about being able to do 25 push-ups and 5-10 pull-ups than maxing on bench and squats.  But, that is just my opinion. 

 

A wise opinion too

[BigHand]

On 9/29/2022 at 9:05 PM, RangerTrace said:

You certainly have youth going for you.  It might be a good idea for you to worry less about weights and look for some pure body weight routines.  Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges/squats, sit-ups, etc along with your cardio.  Personally, I love weights, but I don't ever try for max  lifts any more.  At my age, thats just a good way to hurt yourself.  If you are dead set on lifting, perfect your form using very light weights before trying to max.  I'd worry more about being able to do 25 push-ups and 5-10 pull-ups than maxing on bench and squats.  But, that is just my opinion.  

 

I admire your motivation to improve.

 

This is wise advice, although I would not recommend never doing weight training, but you REALLY need to fight the desire to max out. I started lifting my Senior year of high school, and continued through the army and through college, etc. I've been weight training for 15+ years now. 

 

I highly recommend doing body weight, and LIGHT weight training, accompanied by daily stretching and some form of activity. If you've been a little heavier your whole life, then you have to take it slow and let your body adjust. Work mainly on form, with any exercise. Doing 25 smooth and rigid pushups is far better for you than slamming out 50 sloppy half push ups.  I also highly recommend working your core almost daily. Bigger guys often neglect this and its detrimental to their performance. 

 

Fight the urge to look like you're doing something awesome, and instead focus on bettering your mind and body, and understand it will come with time. Injuries and sub par results just aren't worth it. 

 

Regarding your shin splints. I think you just need to go less distance, and give yourself time to adjust, but I don't recommend stopping. This is also where your form is important, even for walking. Most people walk onto their heels. Either way, just listen to your body and don't stop. 

[RangerTrace]

2 hours ago, BigHand said:

 

This is wise advice, although I would not recommend never doing weight training, but you REALLY need to fight the desire to max out. I started lifting my Senior year of high school, and continued through the army and through college, etc. I've been weight training for 15+ years now. 

 

I highly recommend doing body weight, and LIGHT weight training, accompanied by daily stretching and some form of activity. If you've been a little heavier your whole life, then you have to take it slow and let your body adjust. Work mainly on form, with any exercise. Doing 25 smooth and rigid pushups is far better for you than slamming out 50 sloppy half push ups.  I also highly recommend working your core almost daily. Bigger guys often neglect this and its detrimental to their performance. 

 

Fight the urge to look like you're doing something awesome, and instead focus on bettering your mind and body, and understand it will come with time. Injuries and sub par results just aren't worth it. 

 

Regarding your shin splints. I think you just need to go less distance, and give yourself time to adjust, but I don't recommend stopping. This is also where your form is important, even for walking. Most people walk onto their heels. Either way, just listen to your body and don't stop. 

Absolutely.  We agree here.  Just going from the max lifts he quoted, I felt like he'd benefit more from body weight exercises now and progress to weights after he's developed some upper body strength.  

[Obvious]

On 9/29/2022 at 6:05 PM, RangerTrace said:

You certainly have youth going for you.  It might be a good idea for you to worry less about weights and look for some pure body weight routines.  Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges/squats, sit-ups, etc along with your cardio.  Personally, I love weights, but I don't ever try for max  lifts any more.  At my age, thats just a good way to hurt yourself.  If you are dead set on lifting, perfect your form using very light weights before trying to max.  I'd worry more about being able to do 25 push-ups and 5-10 pull-ups than maxing on bench and squats.  But, that is just my opinion.  

 

I admire your motivation to improve.

Appreciate you looking out! A bit of background here might help. I started playing football and running track back when I was in middle school and the coaches had us in the weight room from 7th grade onwards. I took a break during late highschool and college to focus on school, and am finally getting back into the swing of things. I'd say I have solid form and I'm not exactly pushing my max's everyday. I just did them last week to figure out where I was at for a sort of baseline so I can better gauge improvement in the future. As regards to bench, 135 is where I can rep, not my max. It's where I end my set and I might struggle a bit, but it's doable for me. I use the gym at my school so on the weekends I like to stretch and do some yoga, but I think I'll start incorporating some calisthenics into that routine going forward.  

Edited October 2, 2022 by Obvious

[Obvious]

On 10/1/2022 at 10:13 AM, BigHand said:

 

This is wise advice, although I would not recommend never doing weight training, but you REALLY need to fight the desire to max out. I started lifting my Senior year of high school, and continued through the army and through college, etc. I've been weight training for 15+ years now. 

 

I highly recommend doing body weight, and LIGHT weight training, accompanied by daily stretching and some form of activity. If you've been a little heavier your whole life, then you have to take it slow and let your body adjust. Work mainly on form, with any exercise. Doing 25 smooth and rigid pushups is far better for you than slamming out 50 sloppy half push ups.  I also highly recommend working your core almost daily. Bigger guys often neglect this and its detrimental to their performance. 

 

Fight the urge to look like you're doing something awesome, and instead focus on bettering your mind and body, and understand it will come with time. Injuries and sub par results just aren't worth it. 

 

Regarding your shin splints. I think you just need to go less distance, and give yourself time to adjust, but I don't recommend stopping. This is also where your form is important, even for walking. Most people walk onto their heels. Either way, just listen to your body and don't stop. 

I said it in the previous reply but to address is again, I only maxed on squad so I have a baseline for myself and can judge improvement in another month or two. I may swap up my routine and do less running/walking and try biking or swimming for a day or two and see how that feels. The distance isn't what bothers me but more so the pace that I'm running at. I can walk a mile in 20 minutes with no pain at all, but my legs start to hurt like hell after I up the pace. I think part of this might be due to the fact that I can't get a full extension of my legs at a comfortable running pace on a treadmill. There's an indoor track I think I'm gonna try and see if that same pain still happens. Going forward I'm definitely going to incorporate more calisthenics/body weight exercises as I find my upper body strength lacking, and it's harder to hurt yourself going this route. Appreciate all the insight!

[konkapot]

I'm not seeing anything about training methodology. Be sure to find a good coach; an A/M/GM with a good track record of improvement might be a good start. 

 

A good trainer for the physical stuff would be in order as well.

[Obvious]

6 minutes ago, konkapot said:

I'm not seeing anything about training methodology. Be sure to find a good coach; an A/M/GM with a good track record of improvement might be a good start. 

 

A good trainer for the physical stuff would be in order as well.

Lol, currently a college student and coaches/trainers/classes aren’t exactly in the budget. As of right now, it’s been a lot of dry fire and a bit of live fire to confirm what I’m doing is either right/wrong subjectively. Very soon in the next week or two I’m going to be paying for a membership at a range where I can have a private bay and do more testing/practice by myself. Getting another shot timer is also on the very short list of things to get to help me keep better track of shooting performance. 

[konkapot]

You've already got shinsplints at 22 years old.

 

Ammo is expensive.

 

Spending $1 on training will probably save you $5 in wasted time/energy/ammo. 

[BigHand]

On 10/1/2022 at 3:41 PM, RangerTrace said:

Absolutely.  We agree here.  Just going from the max lifts he quoted, I felt like he'd benefit more from body weight exercises now and progress to weights after he's developed some upper body strength.  

 

For sure, I agree. 

 

1 hour ago, Obvious said:

I said it in the previous reply but to address is again, I only maxed on squad so I have a baseline for myself and can judge improvement in another month or two. I may swap up my routine and do less running/walking and try biking or swimming for a day or two and see how that feels. The distance isn't what bothers me but more so the pace that I'm running at. I can walk a mile in 20 minutes with no pain at all, but my legs start to hurt like hell after I up the pace. I think part of this might be due to the fact that I can't get a full extension of my legs at a comfortable running pace on a treadmill. There's an indoor track I think I'm gonna try and see if that same pain still happens. Going forward I'm definitely going to incorporate more calisthenics/body weight exercises as I find my upper body strength lacking, and it's harder to hurt yourself going this route. Appreciate all the insight!

 

I don't want to assume anything, but this sounds like you are wanting to extend your legs straight out and I do not recommend this at all. This may be why you're getting pain, is if you are extending your legs, impacting with your heel, its going to generally cause pain. I used to run leaning slightly forward, with my back arched(chest out), and took full strides. It caused me some serious pain issues in the ankles, knees, and lower back. 

 

Here's a good link that can help show you proper running(and walking) form. 

 

As far as a coach. Just hit up matches and befriend people. Ask questions and if theres someone who's super nice or helpful ask them a ton of questions or ask if they'd like to practice sometime. I've had an A shooter help me quite a bit and now I'm very close to being in A, I'm asking Master's and GM's for help with the next growth spot. 

[Obvious]

40 minutes ago, BigHand said:

 

For sure, I agree. 

 

 

I don't want to assume anything, but this sounds like you are wanting to extend your legs straight out and I do not recommend this at all. This may be why you're getting pain, is if you are extending your legs, impacting with your heel, its going to generally cause pain. I used to run leaning slightly forward, with my back arched(chest out), and took full strides. It caused me some serious pain issues in the ankles, knees, and lower back. 

 

Here's a good link that can help show you proper running(and walking) form. 

 

As far as a coach. Just hit up matches and befriend people. Ask questions and if theres someone who's super nice or helpful ask them a ton of questions or ask if they'd like to practice sometime. I've had an A shooter help me quite a bit and now I'm very close to being in A, I'm asking Master's and GM's for help with the next growth spot. 

Seems like the link might not have posted? I’d love to check out the video though! And yes I’ve made a good couple friends that are into the M range, I plan on talking to them more and going back and forth with them. But I don’t expect these folks to make time for me all the time when they have their own life to deal with. So once I identify what I need to work on, I’ll be able to do so by myself.