Mental Training

I've discovered how useful a tool mental training can be over the past while. Since the rifles have been handed back, and, in at least one case, redistributed, this is the only way I can get anything done. I mean, I don't want to get rusty before Germany, like.

I haven't yet set aside any specific times or plans for it, but that's owing a lot to the whole moving thing. However, at various points during the day it just strikes me that I'm not balanced correctly, that my leg muscles are tensing to keep me upright. This can happen anywhere: standing around the house; at a bus stop; and so on. I have even started to notice it while walking. Changing my centre of gravity to be over between my feet relaxes my back totally, something I wasn't even aware of tensing before.

The relaxing is a very simple thing too; I close my eyes and feel whether I'm pulling myself in one direction or another. In most cases I'm falling forwards, and in almost all these cases it's because my head isn't sitting upright; it's tilted forwards, or slumped down. Simply righting my head makes a lot of difference. This all starts to feed into my mental training again. Some balance work, which is then followed by shifting into a standing position, followed by relaxation.

The second part of this is the shot routine. I have usually done this on a bus or train. Closing my eyes while I sit there I try to imagine myself in the situation, mostly in UCDRC as it's where I do most competitions. I run through the entire shot routine from charging to checking the shot, paying particular attention to the final sight picture and shot release and making sure I'm relaxed all over. The next step is to do this standing up and see how it goes.

I'll move on a little more with doing this for prone and kneeling as well. I mean, I have to keep myself in shape. Speaking of which, I've brought my running kit all the way from Dublin to Cork and now to Roscommon, so I've never had a better incentive to do some than now. I've also got some new kit coming in the post this week, which will leave me with no excuse, funny looks be damned :D