Hopefully you're all staying healthy during this time. It's difficult training with limited or no access to ranges, gyms, fitness centres etc.
My friend Ramon over at OlympicPistol.com has a great article on home training exercises specific to pistol shooting. Go check it out!
Stay healthy, stay positive, stay productive, and wash those hands! :)
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Stay healthy everyone!
What a difference a month makes. I hope you're all staying healthy and staying optimistic about things. Keep washing your hands, social distancing, and staying home but also staying active!
I've found myself refocusing my time differently the last while. With my competition / travel calendar being postponed and cancelled I'm at home a lot more. Since returning from Europe I have been at home for more days in a row than anytime in the last 9 years or so. It's good. Good to get into some routines and developing better habits.
Also, doing things like this one colour puzzle:
And finishing a Rubik's cube while planking:
Stay focused, stay optimistic, get in touch with friends and family and check-in on how they're doing.
Stay healthy!
I've found myself refocusing my time differently the last while. With my competition / travel calendar being postponed and cancelled I'm at home a lot more. Since returning from Europe I have been at home for more days in a row than anytime in the last 9 years or so. It's good. Good to get into some routines and developing better habits.
Also, doing things like this one colour puzzle:
Finished the Ravensburger Krypt Puzzle 🧩@RavensburgerUK @RavensburgerNA #ravensburger #puzzle #krypt pic.twitter.com/WvwoAHVC1b— Allan Harding (@alharding) April 3, 2020
Stay focused, stay optimistic, get in touch with friends and family and check-in on how they're doing.
Stay healthy!
Monday, July 8, 2019
Spring 2019 Updates
It's been a busy couple months with training and travel. May and June I was away quite a bit with multiple stops to Toronto. The Shooting Federation of Canada's high performance team trials for the 2020 team were in May, then the ISSF World Cup stage in Munich end of May then a team training camp early June at the Pan Am Games legacy range in Cookstown, ON.
After the high performance team trials I stopped in and shot at Target Sports Canada with Nicolas from TheGunBlog.ca. Fun times! Noisy club but great to see how many people were out and interested in target sports.
I stopped in to visit ELEY to test out their tenex air pellets for my Steyr evo10e air pistol.
After getting back from Munich I had a few days at home before flying back out to Toronto for a training camp. I stopped in and visited a couple ranges while there. I stopped in and met with members of Toronto Revolver Club and also stopped in and visited Silverdale Gun Club.
Then back at the high performance team training camp to train with my Team Canada teammates on their way to the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
I'm currently in Whitehorse, Yukon and back to training soon to get ready for the 2019 Canadian National Pistol Championships. Stay tuned!
Also find me on Twitter and Instagram as @alharding!
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| My competitor number for the 2019 HPTT |
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| Lynda Kiejko, Allan Harding, Kim Britton, Liz Gustafson |
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| Mark Hynes and Allan Harding |
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| Do it! |
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| Visiting Target Sports Canada range with Nic from TheGunBlog.ca |
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| On my way to Munich, Germany! Thanks for the upgrade Air Canada! |
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| Competitor number for ISSF Munich World Cup stage |
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| Lynda, Lea, Lisa, me |
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| Team Canada out for food and drinks |
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| The busy indoor 10m range in Munich |
I stopped in to visit ELEY to test out their tenex air pellets for my Steyr evo10e air pistol.
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| Barrel testing ELEY tenex air in my Steyr evo10e |
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| ELEY tenex air acquired! Let's do this! |
After getting back from Munich I had a few days at home before flying back out to Toronto for a training camp. I stopped in and visited a couple ranges while there. I stopped in and met with members of Toronto Revolver Club and also stopped in and visited Silverdale Gun Club.
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| Visiting Toronto Revolver Club! |
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| Shooting 25m distance at Silverdale. Beautiful day! |
Then back at the high performance team training camp to train with my Team Canada teammates on their way to the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
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| Stuart Burns and Mark Hynes shooting 10m at training camp |
I'm currently in Whitehorse, Yukon and back to training soon to get ready for the 2019 Canadian National Pistol Championships. Stay tuned!
Also find me on Twitter and Instagram as @alharding!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
3 more weeks until the 2009 Canadian National Pistol Championships
Only 3 more weeks until the 2009 Canadian National Pistol Championships in Calgary, Alberta. I was reviewing some of my training material and journals and decided to update the performance tracking chart I created last year.
I also included an update to reflect the new 10M Pistol World Record set on April 12, 2009 by Jin Jong-oh.
There are 3 notable lines on the chart:
594 - The World Record
578 - The BC Provincial Record
563 - The Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS details)
There is a gap from July 2008 until May 2009 when I was recovering from a shoulder injury. It would have been nice to get some more shooting competitions in this year but I think it was good to ease back into it.
I'm travelling to Kamloops, BC on July 24th to begin the process to get my coaching certification. Then I'll be helping out at the 2009 World Police and Fire Games before flying to Calgary for Nationals.
I also included an update to reflect the new 10M Pistol World Record set on April 12, 2009 by Jin Jong-oh.
There are 3 notable lines on the chart:
594 - The World Record
578 - The BC Provincial Record
563 - The Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS details)
There is a gap from July 2008 until May 2009 when I was recovering from a shoulder injury. It would have been nice to get some more shooting competitions in this year but I think it was good to ease back into it.
I'm travelling to Kamloops, BC on July 24th to begin the process to get my coaching certification. Then I'll be helping out at the 2009 World Police and Fire Games before flying to Calgary for Nationals.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Mobile device usage temporarily affecting eye sharpness
I'm a huge fan of mobile devices... I've got a Sony PSP, Apple iTouch, and Nintendo DS which were gifts from previous employers and currently use a BlackBerry Bold and an HTC Google G1 phone which I unlocked to use here in Canada. The great thing about devices with built in wireless Internet is how connected you always are to things.
The other night after a busy work day I was at practice, and like many others I'm usually never really disconnected from the office. I was busy reading and writing emails on my phone and noticed when I got back to the line to practice my eye's weren't focusing on the front sights as easily. I didn't think much of it at the time... heck... the same thing can happen from eating really spicy food. Hah.
What I found is that it's not actually the mobile device that causes any blurriness, it's that I'm targetting visual focus to such a small area for prolonged amounts of time. Eyes get tired. So the combination of practice and focusing on a small area (front sight), coming off the line to rest and picking up a phone to focus on a small area puts a huge strain on one's eyes. The actual difference in sharpness is minimal and not quite on par with Guitar Hero vision, but it's enough that it can make it difficult to focus; especially when trying to hit an area smaller than a dime at 30'.
What I have started to do with more discipline while I'm at the range is to turn the phone off. Disconnect. I'm there to shoot 10s not extend my office hours any longer than I need to. I'll need to find someone to send out Tweets during Finals at Nationals on my behalf. ;)
2 weeks until the 2009 BC Handgun Provincials in Campbell River, BC!
The other night after a busy work day I was at practice, and like many others I'm usually never really disconnected from the office. I was busy reading and writing emails on my phone and noticed when I got back to the line to practice my eye's weren't focusing on the front sights as easily. I didn't think much of it at the time... heck... the same thing can happen from eating really spicy food. Hah.
rest your eyes while shooting... turn the mobile devices off
What I found is that it's not actually the mobile device that causes any blurriness, it's that I'm targetting visual focus to such a small area for prolonged amounts of time. Eyes get tired. So the combination of practice and focusing on a small area (front sight), coming off the line to rest and picking up a phone to focus on a small area puts a huge strain on one's eyes. The actual difference in sharpness is minimal and not quite on par with Guitar Hero vision, but it's enough that it can make it difficult to focus; especially when trying to hit an area smaller than a dime at 30'.
What I have started to do with more discipline while I'm at the range is to turn the phone off. Disconnect. I'm there to shoot 10s not extend my office hours any longer than I need to. I'll need to find someone to send out Tweets during Finals at Nationals on my behalf. ;)
2 weeks until the 2009 BC Handgun Provincials in Campbell River, BC!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tracking progress to achieve high performance
In a recent post I mentioned about my progress since last year and I thought it would be a good exercise to show it visually. In the last 10 months since returning to the sport I've managed to get myself back to where I was as a junior in the mid 90s when I was a National Junior champion to shooting the best I ever have.
In the chart below are various shooting events I've attended since my first competition back in May 2007. Each competition had 1 to 3 matches which I took the average of all scores shot during a particular competition. In total I have shot 12 matches at 6 different competitions in the last 10 months.
There are 3 notable lines on the chart:
593 - The World Record
578 - The BC Provincial Record
563 - The Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS details)
I've also added a trendline so I could see how I was doing over time. The last marker around the 570 mark is located around the time the Canadian Nationals in Calgary are. That's my goal.
I've got a long way to go before competing Internationally, but I'm happy with my progress and intend to keep doing my best to get better. Even though I've been shooting higher than the Olympic MQS lately it doesn't mean much (yet). It's 'good'... but great comes after 580. ;) My last score of 568 would only have put me tied for 51st at the European Championships held a few weeks ago. Need more practice! :)
I also want to say a massive Thank You to all the new subscribers and readers of my blog. Thanks!
In the chart below are various shooting events I've attended since my first competition back in May 2007. Each competition had 1 to 3 matches which I took the average of all scores shot during a particular competition. In total I have shot 12 matches at 6 different competitions in the last 10 months.
There are 3 notable lines on the chart:
593 - The World Record
578 - The BC Provincial Record
563 - The Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS details)
I've also added a trendline so I could see how I was doing over time. The last marker around the 570 mark is located around the time the Canadian Nationals in Calgary are. That's my goal.
I've got a long way to go before competing Internationally, but I'm happy with my progress and intend to keep doing my best to get better. Even though I've been shooting higher than the Olympic MQS lately it doesn't mean much (yet). It's 'good'... but great comes after 580. ;) My last score of 568 would only have put me tied for 51st at the European Championships held a few weeks ago. Need more practice! :)
I also want to say a massive Thank You to all the new subscribers and readers of my blog. Thanks!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Pistol shooting conditioning for peak performance
Going into the final week before I compete at Nationals... it's all about getting all of the training to date to be timed right for a peak performance.
The last few weeks I've been at the gym quite a bit and doing a lot of fast walking between 3.2 - 3.8 mph at a 15.0 incline on the treadmill. This helps for cardiovascular training as well as increasing core strength in leg muscles which will ultimately give you better balance in your shooting stance. I also do a lot of weight training rotating muscle groups to allow for at least 72 hr recovery periods. Every muscle group during a recovery period ends up affecting my shooting performance during practice sessions. This is a result of the muscle building process, extra water in the muscles during this time and overall recovery fatigue. I break up muscle groups into the following categories: chest, back, arms, shoulders, abs, legs.
If I've had an active week at the gym (like this week) and I go to the shooting range, my shot grouping has a larger spread. It is when I'm fully rested and recovered that I'll get the small tight groups on a practice target. There is a lot more to shooting better than just being well rested though. Training and conditioning for a shooting competition requires a lot of mental conditioning as well as physical. Much like other sports, shooting is probably 95% mental.
In order to get all of the training aligned I need to take into account recovery periods, diet, sleep, travel time, and of course mental preparedness. I'll touch on the mental aspects in another post as there is a lot that you can't calculate as easily as something like physical recovery patterns. Any kind of physical training will result in the body needing to recover. If I work out with weights I will have delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) for about 72 hrs, knowing that, I won't be doing any major physical activity for at least 4 days before the match. Sleep is another one you can calculate to some degree -- though I've read no exact research or science into this, I'm going by my own experience with my own body - I know how much rest and sleep I need. I know this because I've done it daily for a few decades. ;)
As serious as all this talk of training sounds I still consider myself an "unlikely athlete". Competitive pistol shooting may not appear to be a very physical sport -- especially since one of the primary goals is really to minimize movement as much as possible to have the most accurate shot. I'd place it in a similar group to golf and archery. Ultimately all of these sports require physical and mental conditioning in order to create repeatable physical routine.
I say "unlikely athlete" because at first glance I don't think anyone would expect to call me that.
I do know that if I want to make my performance better I will need to make my mind and body better.
When I get back from Nationals I am going to find some time to add to this website so it's not quite so generic. I'll be training for an event in September. During that next month I'd like to provide a more detailed view into my training activities so it is easy to browse and monitor progress.
If you have any specific questions you want me to answer please don't hesitate to send me a comment on http://www.allanharding.com/.
The last few weeks I've been at the gym quite a bit and doing a lot of fast walking between 3.2 - 3.8 mph at a 15.0 incline on the treadmill. This helps for cardiovascular training as well as increasing core strength in leg muscles which will ultimately give you better balance in your shooting stance. I also do a lot of weight training rotating muscle groups to allow for at least 72 hr recovery periods. Every muscle group during a recovery period ends up affecting my shooting performance during practice sessions. This is a result of the muscle building process, extra water in the muscles during this time and overall recovery fatigue. I break up muscle groups into the following categories: chest, back, arms, shoulders, abs, legs.
Heart rate data captured of 20 minutes of cardio,
40 minutes of weights, and another 20 minutes of cardio
40 minutes of weights, and another 20 minutes of cardio
If I've had an active week at the gym (like this week) and I go to the shooting range, my shot grouping has a larger spread. It is when I'm fully rested and recovered that I'll get the small tight groups on a practice target. There is a lot more to shooting better than just being well rested though. Training and conditioning for a shooting competition requires a lot of mental conditioning as well as physical. Much like other sports, shooting is probably 95% mental.
In order to get all of the training aligned I need to take into account recovery periods, diet, sleep, travel time, and of course mental preparedness. I'll touch on the mental aspects in another post as there is a lot that you can't calculate as easily as something like physical recovery patterns. Any kind of physical training will result in the body needing to recover. If I work out with weights I will have delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) for about 72 hrs, knowing that, I won't be doing any major physical activity for at least 4 days before the match. Sleep is another one you can calculate to some degree -- though I've read no exact research or science into this, I'm going by my own experience with my own body - I know how much rest and sleep I need. I know this because I've done it daily for a few decades. ;)
As serious as all this talk of training sounds I still consider myself an "unlikely athlete". Competitive pistol shooting may not appear to be a very physical sport -- especially since one of the primary goals is really to minimize movement as much as possible to have the most accurate shot. I'd place it in a similar group to golf and archery. Ultimately all of these sports require physical and mental conditioning in order to create repeatable physical routine.
I say "unlikely athlete" because at first glance I don't think anyone would expect to call me that.
I do know that if I want to make my performance better I will need to make my mind and body better.
When I get back from Nationals I am going to find some time to add to this website so it's not quite so generic. I'll be training for an event in September. During that next month I'd like to provide a more detailed view into my training activities so it is easy to browse and monitor progress.
If you have any specific questions you want me to answer please don't hesitate to send me a comment on http://www.allanharding.com/.
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