The Scientific Foundations of Predictive Shooting Volume II: Strength, Energy Systems, and the Transfer of Physical Preparation to Shooting Performance
1. Introduction
Volume I addressed the visual-motor (Vickers's feed-forward model) and cognitive (Klein's Recognition-Primed Decision model) foundations of target transition in dynamic shooting sports, showing that these mechanisms operate reliably within the sporting context. That volume closed on an unresolved question: do these mechanisms remain intact under the perceptual narrowing reported under genuine threat (tunnel vision, auditory suppression, an autopilot response), or do they deteriorate? Two opposing hypotheses were advanced the automaticity-preservation hypothesis and the fragility hypothesis with no data available to adjudicate between them.
This volume addresses not the unanswered part of that question, but an adjacent and more directly testable layer: physical preparation itself strength, explosive power, energy systems, environmental resilience and the mechanisms by which it supports or degrades shooting performance. This question is served by a literature in sport science and exercise physiology measured directly, often through randomized controlled trials.
The material in this volume intersects with Volume I at five points:
The distinction between agility and Change of Direction (COD) (Section 5) overlaps conceptually with the recognition-based/comparative decision distinction in Klein's RPD model and with Vickers's "tactical tasks" category agility, like tactical decision-making, requires a perceptual-cognitive response to an unforeseen stimulus.
The dependence of PCr (phosphocreatine) resynthesis on the oxidative system (Section 4) offers an explanation for the mechanism by which conditioning work supports explosive performance.
The capacity of fatigue to degrade technical training (Sections 4 and 5) overlaps with the stress-inoculation principle from Volume I (gradual, attainable difficulty).
Fatigue altering the biodynamic structure of movement itself (Section 5) can be read as a motor-skill-level counterpart to the dominant-response mechanism (Zajonc, 1965) discussed in Volume I.
Cardiac phase and breath control (Sections 7 and 8.3) add a technical layer to Volume I's discussion of tactical breathing.
The author's position as both a tactical shooting instructor and a karate instructor allows the strength-power-endurance literature's combat-sport-specific findings (Sections 3 and 5) to be examined on a ground directly assessable through personal experience.
The volume proceeds as follows. Section 2 addresses the relationship between postural strength and accuracy. Section 3 examines the effect of fatigue on shooting performance and countermeasures (sleep, caffeine). Section 4 addresses energy systems (ATP-PCr, the W′/Critical Power model) and their relationship to explosive performance. Section 5 addresses an institutional framework (NSCA TSAC), the agility/change-of-direction distinction, the mechanics of the plyometric stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), and the role of anthropometric proportions. Section 6 discusses the problem of concurrent training and possible solutions. Section 7 addresses a finding concerning cardiac phase and trigger timing. Section 8 examines environmental stress factors (heat, hydration, altitude). Section 9 brings together the five connections to present the volume's contribution. Section 10 closes with practical recommendations.
2. Postural Strength and Its Relationship to Accuracy
2.1. Trunk Stability and Aim Steadiness
The relationship between postural control (trunk/body stability) and shooting performance in the static-aiming context has been measured in several studies. A randomized controlled pilot study conducted with 10-meter air-pistol shooters (n=20, national level) found that unstable-surface trunk training (Swiss ball, BOSU, balance disc) improved shooting performance more than stable-surface training after an eight-week intervention, 10.5-ring hit stability improved by 31.55% (versus 6.48% in the stable-surface group), with an 8.74% reduction in muzzle sway, measured with the SCATT laser shooting-analysis system. This offers direct evidence, beyond the general relationship between trunk strength and accuracy, of which type of trunk training is more effective.
A study in archery (n=37) found a similar relationship: upper-body strength and lower postural sway (center of pressure) were correlated with accuracy. A review conducted in a military/law-enforcement context shows that additional load carriage (backpack, vest) disrupts postural sway, but that this can be corrected through proprioceptive training programs.
2.2. The Limits of Strength The Balance of Fine Motor Control
More strength does not always produce a better result. One study shows that upper-body/forearm strength can be negatively associated with accuracy excessive hand/forearm muscle activation impairs fine motor control. This finding suggests that shooting performance is influenced not by maximum strength but by precise regulation of muscle activation.
This means strength training can be beneficial in the right place (trunk/core stability) while being ineffective or counterproductive in the wrong place (excessive forearm/grip strength). A targeted approach is needed particularly in the forearm/wrist region, critical for grip and recoil control (see Section 6.3, the BFR discussion).
3. Fatigue and Shooting Performance
3.1. The Combined Effect of Physical and Cognitive Fatigue
Frykman et al. (2012) found measurable degradation in shooting performance following an exhaustive lifting task, with or without torso-borne loads. Evans et al. (2003) measured the effect of upper-body fatiguing exercise on shooting performance. Together, these studies indicate that conditioning is associated not only with general endurance but with the capacity to preserve shooting performance under fatigue.
The combined effect of physical and cognitive fatigue is more severe than either produces alone termed a "compounding effect" in the military literature: a person fatigued both physically and mentally performs disproportionately worse than someone fatigued in only one respect. This finding indicates that training design should account for both forms of fatigue together.
3.2. Sleep Deprivation and Countermeasures
Shooting accuracy has been measured to decline by 13–37% under 24–72 hours of sleep deprivation; a single night of total sleep deprivation can produce degradation of up to 32% in hand-eye coordination.
Caffeine research offers a nuanced finding: under 72 hours of sleep deprivation, caffeine restores engagement speed but does not restore accuracy precision (Tharion et al., 2003). This suggests caffeine may affect speed and accuracy asymmetrically, meaning a pre-competition caffeine strategy should account for this distinction.
A finding relevant to reducing the effect of cognitive fatigue on performance concerns warm-up protocols: a systematic review shows that warm-ups incorporating short-to-moderate cognitive tasks produce the best results at a middle point between too little and too much cognitive load.
These findings support adding sleep planning (particularly the final 72 hours) and a cognitively loaded warm-up protocol to competition-week programming.
4. Energy Systems and Explosive Performance
4.1. The Oxidative Dependence of PCr
According to Laursen and Buchheit (n.d.), alactic (ATP-PCr, phosphocreatine system) power is not an isolated system. PCr resynthesis depends on oxidative metabolism as explosive, short-duration efforts are repeated (as in successive groups of targets within a stage), the quality of each new burst depends on how well PCr was restored after the previous effort, which is tied to aerobic capacity.
This relationship offers an explanation for the mechanism by which conditioning (endurance) work supports explosive shooting performance: conditioning is associated not only with general endurance but with the sustainability of successive explosive-effort quality.
4.2. The W′/Critical Power Model
Laursen and Buchheit (n.d.) place the relationship between Critical Power (CP roughly the upper intensity sustainable for 30–60 minutes) and W′ (the limited anaerobic capacity usable above CP) at the center of their model. When PCr stores are high, W′ is also high; this capacity depletes during intense effort and recharges during recovery, at a rate depending on recovery duration and intensity. The work:rest ratio is a programming variable determining the capacity available for the next explosive effort.
4.3. The Limits of Active Recovery
The scientific support for "recover actively, clear the lactate" is limited blood/muscle lactate does not have a direct, linear relationship with performance capacity (Laursen & Buchheit, n.d.). During short-interval work, active recovery can reduce muscle oxygenation and increase anaerobic glycolytic contribution if the goal is to limit lactate load, active recovery can produce the opposite of the intended effect. Example format: 10 seconds of supramaximal effort / 20 seconds of passive recovery allowing partial PCr resynthesis while preventing VO₂ from fully declining.
4.4. The Energy-System Profile of Short Intervals
The anaerobic glycolytic contribution of repeated very-short (10-second) efforts can remain more limited than expected myoglobin-bound oxygen meets a significant portion of the energy demand in the first seconds. This shows that the assumption "short duration equals anaerobic" is not always accurate; which energy system is targeted is a result determined jointly by duration, intensity, and recovery.
4.5. Combat-Sport Formats
The combat-sport section in Laursen and Buchheit (n.d.) illustrates formats of roughly 10–60 seconds at 85–100% HRmax (maximum heart rate), with recovery ratios of 1:3 to 1:4. This is supported by karate-specific literature:
Ravier, Dugué, Grappe, and Rouillon (2009) found that adding a small number of intensive intermittent sessions to regular training produced anaerobic adaptations in elite karate athletes.
A further study in elite karate athletes found that additional high-intensity interval training (HIIT) improved both aerobic and anaerobic performance (Sport Sciences for Health).
HIIT has also been shown to improve arm/leg muscle power, agility, and anaerobic endurance in the kumite category.
Technical repetitions performed while fatigued may harm skill development, indicating that physiological and technical-learning goals should be considered together. This overlaps with the stress-inoculation/graduated-difficulty principle from Volume I: technical training under fatigue is beneficial when it is graduated and controlled.
4.6. HIIT Target Types
Laursen and Buchheit (n.d.) define six target types (Type 1: predominantly aerobic → Type 6: predominantly neuromuscular, low metabolic load noted as not truly HIIT but speed/strength training). A single HIIT format does not correspond to a single physiological target varying duration, intensity, recovery, and modality allows a seemingly identical format to target different systems. The programming question should be not "which format?" but "which physiological target?"
5. Institutional Framework, Agility, and Change of Direction
5.1. NSCA TSAC
The NSCA's (National Strength and Conditioning Association) Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) program has existed since 2005 an official certification and curriculum specific to military, law-enforcement, and firefighting populations, grounded in peer-reviewed research. This shows that strength/conditioning training for the tactical population exists not only as experience-based individual coaching but also as an institutionally and academically structured subdiscipline. The reference source, NSCA's Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning (Alvar, Sell & Deuster, n.d.), includes plyometric/speed/agility and aerobic-endurance programming sections alongside general strength/power programming principles adapted to the tactical population. According to this source, the goal in the tactical context, as in sport, is to optimize performance on required tasks the starting point remains needs analysis and specificity.
The meta-analysis cited by Alvar, Sell, and Deuster (n.d.) shows: ≥80% 1RM loading produces the greatest strength gains; 40–70% 1RM moderate loads are appropriate for power development; ≤30% 1RM ballistic tasks show a strong effect on vertical-jump development. In weaker individuals, developing base strength first can produce greater overall performance improvement.
The source also issues a warning regarding recovery in the tactical population: physical stress arises not only from planned training load but from the job itself overtraining risk is real, and programming must not exceed the individual's recovery capacity.
5.2. The Agility/COD Distinction
This distinction connects directly with the Klein and Vickers material in Volume I. Alvar, Sell, and Deuster (n.d.) distinguish three concepts:
Speed: the ability to reach a high rate of movement.
Change of Direction (COD): explosively changing direction on a previously known course.
Agility: changing direction in response to a stimulus requiring a reactive stimulus and a perceptual-cognitive component: visual search/scanning → anticipation → pattern recognition → situational knowledge → decision-making → reaction time.
According to this source, "agility tests" lacking a reactive component are, in fact, COD tests meaning that what is trained as "agility" in many training settings is generally only COD.
This distinction overlaps with Volume I's RPD model and Vickers's "tactical tasks" category: agility contains the perceptual-cognitive component of encountering an unforeseen target or obstacle on a stage; pure physical COD training does not capture this. Volume I discussed a shooter selecting the first workable action without comparing options between targets (singular evaluation); the concept of agility here can be read as the motor counterpart of that decision process.
5.3. The 75° Threshold in Deceleration
Alvar, Sell, and Deuster (n.d.) note that for direction changes below 75°, ground contact time is generally under 250 milliseconds, with speed-training-like qualities predominating. For direction changes above 75°, braking demand increases and ground contact can exceed 250 milliseconds; eccentric strength, maximal strength, and concentric explosiveness for re-acceleration become determinative. This threshold provides a boundary for which force quality is required for transitions at a given angle.
5.4. The Biomechanical Basis of the SSC
Verkhoshansky and Siff (n.d.) explain the plyometric mechanism through a three-component muscle model: the contractile component, the series elastic component, and the parallel elastic component. The source of the plyometric effect is not only active muscle fiber energy stored in elastic structures during eccentric stretch also contributes to the concentric action. This energy is not stored indefinitely: as the interval between stretch and shortening lengthens, a portion of the stored energy is lost as heat. The effectiveness of the SSC (stretch-shortening cycle) depends on the speed of the transition between stretch and shortening the amortization (transition phase) duration.
According to Verkhoshansky and Siff (n.d.), optimal load is not maximal load. As drop height increases, eccentric load grows, but this does not always mean a better stimulus. Beyond a certain point, the athlete can no longer reverse the load at the same speed amortization lengthens, movement structure breaks down, and the explosive/reactive character diminishes.
Within this framework, 20 high-intensity contacts and 20 low-intensity contacts are not biomechanically equivalent training volume the cost of each repetition, in terms of eccentric braking, rapid force production, impact absorption, and elastic recovery, differs. Verkhoshansky and Siff (n.d.) note that the correct measure is not "how many jumps were performed" but how many eccentric-concentric loading cycles of a given magnitude and quality were completed.
According to the same source, fatigue disrupts movement structure: as fatigue increases, amortization time lengthens, reversal slows, and the biodynamic structure of the movement drifts from its initial form. This finding can be connected to the dominant-response mechanism (Zajonc, 1965) discussed in Volume I: in both volumes, fatigue is shown not merely to reduce performance but to change the structure of the behavior or movement.
5.5. Shock Method / Depth Jump Programming
Verkhoshansky and Siff's (n.d.) programming recommendations can be summarized as follows:
Variable | Approach |
Goal | Explosive strength + reactive ability |
Drop height | Individual optimum; ~0.75m reference for reactive/speed-strength, ~1.10m may shift emphasis toward maximal strength |
Sets x Reps | Advanced ~4x10; less prepared athlete ~2-3x5-8 |
Rest between sets | ~10-15 minutes |
Weekly frequency | Generally 1-2 times |
Main loading block | ~3-4 weeks |
Competition-period maintenance | ~every 10-14 days |
Stop criterion | When reactive quality/speed begins to decline |
The method for determining optimal height: the athlete performs depth jumps from different heights, and the subsequent vertical jump is compared the height producing the best rebound is taken as optimal for that athlete.
5.6. Non-Impact Plyometrics and Karate
Verkhoshansky and Siff (n.d.) note that the concept of plyometrics is not limited to depth jumps/shock methods. In the non-impact plyometrics category, eccentric-concentric reversal, elastic energy, and explosive movement are present without high external impact the source's examples include boxing-like rapid movements and karate-like rapid reciprocal actions. Read alongside the energy-system literature in 4.5, this indicates that karate constitutes a relevant example for this volume on both the energy-system and biomechanical/SSC sides.
5.7. Sprint and Programming Values
Alvar, Sell, and Deuster (n.d.) identify rate of force development (RFD) and biomechanics among the limiters of sprint performance. In elite athletes, step length is reported at approximately 2.70m versus approximately 2.56m in novices; step frequency approximately 4.63 versus 4.43 steps/second. Plyometric volume (ground contacts per session): novice 80-100 (low intensity); advanced 120-200 (low) / 20-120 (moderate) / 20-40 (high intensity). Power-training load: for single-effort explosive movements, 80-90% 1RM (1-2 reps); for multiple-effort, 75-85% 1RM (3-5 reps); 2-5 minutes rest between sets.
A karate-specific pilot study comparing six weeks of HIIT-sprint (repeated 5m sprints) versus HIIT-jump (countermovement jump) protocols found measurable improvement in speed, change of direction, and aerobic capacity in both.
5.8. Anthropometric Proportions
Two people of the same height with different leg/torso ratios can hold different biomechanical advantages or disadvantages depending on the task. The literature does not support a single rule that longer legs are always advantageous; the direction of advantage depends on the task.
In sprint, stair-climbing, and general locomotion tasks, longer legs appear advantageous: a study in elite sprinters (Tomita et al., 2020) found that a higher lower-leg-to-upper-leg (tibia/femur) length ratio was associated with better sprint performance the mechanism being reduced moment of inertia during the swing phase and a more economical step frequency. A study across sports found that lower-limb length correlates with stride length, endurance capacity, sprint ability, lower-body power, and jumping ability.
In ground-lifting tasks (including TCCC litter lifting), the relationship is reversed: a short torso combined with a long femur leads, in conventional-stance lifting, to greater forward trunk lean, a lengthened lever arm between the load and the hips, and greater back-muscle loading. A longer torso combined with shorter legs means a shorter travel distance and less back torque, providing a leverage advantage.
These relationships are partial and weak: Lockie et al. (2018) found that height, leg length, and arm length were associated with absolute lifting capacity but not with relative strength adjusted for body weight. Technique can also substantially offset this disadvantage: an athlete with a short torso and long legs can shorten the back moment arm using a sumo-style (wide) stance instead of a conventional stance.
These findings suggest that anthropometric differences within a team can inform task assignment and technique instruction: personnel with longer legs/shorter torsos may hold a mechanical advantage in sprint/stair/rapid-transition tasks, while personnel with shorter legs/longer torsos may hold an advantage in ground-lifting tasks such as litter carry.
6. The Problem of Concurrent Training and Attempted Solutions
6.1. The Interference Effect
Performing strength and endurance training in the same period or in close temporal proximity can blunt gains in strength and, particularly, explosive power (RFD) the interference effect, a finding repeated since Hickson's (1980) study and confirmed by numerous meta-analyses. The mechanism involves endurance and strength training triggering different, partially conflicting cellular signaling pathways (mTOR and AMPK).
A karate-specific study supports this finding: Xu and Wang (2025) tested how the sequencing of concurrent resistance training and short sprint interval training affects physical fitness and aerobic/anaerobic performance in karate athletes; the results show that which component comes first within a training session is a variable affecting performance.
These findings indicate that when conditioning work and strength/explosiveness work are programmed on the same day in sequence, strength gains can be blunted. The literature suggests: performing strength training before endurance work, leaving at least 24 hours between them where possible, and balancing running with less interfering modalities such as cycling or swimming.
6.2. The High-Load, Low-Volume Approach
Alvar, Sell, and Deuster (n.d.) treat the interference effect with a different framework. They do not support the assumption that resistance training harms endurance performance the systematic reviews they cite report that resistance training can improve strength, power, running economy, maximal sprint speed, and endurance performance. Heavy resistance combined with explosive/plyometric training is reported to produce positive results for running economy when paired with endurance programs.
The recommended approach is high load, low volume: ≥90% 1RM or ≤4RM can be used, with weekly resistance volume kept low to limit residual fatigue carried into endurance work. This connects with the tactical-personnel recovery warning in Section 5.1.
6.3. BFR
Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training / KAATSU, applying a pressure cuff to the limbs, produces strength/hypertrophy gains at low load (20-30% 1RM) approaching those of high-load training the mechanism relying on metabolic stress rather than mechanical load. A randomized controlled trial in elite boxers found that BFR training increased upper-body strength and punching force, and reduced cumulative joint/soft-tissue stress compared to high-load training. A meta-analysis of upper-limb BFR confirmed an acute strength increase (SMD=0.36).
A disagreement exists in the literature on this point. Laursen and Buchheit (n.d.) treat BFR cautiously: it is not recommended as a core HIIT tool, and the time/effort-to-benefit ratio is not found sufficiently convincing for most athletes. This source's focus is not BFR itself but muscle oxygenation sprint interval training (SIT) itself is shown to produce deoxygenation levels approaching those of arm occlusion.
Taken together, these sources indicate that BFR finds support in boxing/rehabilitation literature but lacks field-wide consensus. In regions such as the forearm/wrist (flagged in Section 2.2 as an area where excessive strengthening can impair fine motor control), BFR may provide targeted strength gains at low load; this should be treated as an option with limited supporting evidence rather than an established standard.
7. Cardiac Phase and Trigger Timing
The ballistocardiac effect refers to the small mechanical oscillation produced in the body by each heartbeat; when this coincides with the exact moment of the shot, it can disrupt muzzle/body stability. This has been measured under laboratory ECG conditions (Konttinen et al., 1998, 2003, 2006; Gallicchio et al., 2019, measured post-exercise in biathlon):
Good shots occur more often 500-600 milliseconds after the R-wave (the primary reference point in the heart's electrical cycle); poor shots occur more often 200-300 milliseconds after the R-wave the latter interval is closer to when the pulse wave is felt in the body.
This window shifts after exercise/load; the "good" timing differs between rested and fatigued states.
ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) publications report that elite athletes deliberately control heart rate through breathing: slow, deep breathing lowers heart rate and reduces tremor.
Liu et al. (2024) measured how hand tremor affects shooting performance across skill levels, showing the novice/expert distinction through tremor amplitude.
These findings indicate that the moment of trigger pull can be trained relative to cardiac phase through biofeedback. Commercial heart-rate/ECG sensors can turn this into a real-time trainable parameter. This adds a technical layer to Volume I's discussion of tactical breathing (Grossman & Christensen, 2007): breath control can be considered not merely a general calming tool but a variable that can be synchronized with trigger timing.
8. Environmental Stress Factors
8.1. Heat Load and Fine Motor Control
Mild heat load (approximately 1°C increase in core body temperature) has not been found to produce measurable degradation in shooting performance. Under severe heat load combined with dehydration, target detection and shooting performance degrade measurably (U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine study).
8.2. Hydration's Effect, Independent of Heat
Dehydration is a performance variable independent of heat itself. At 2% body-weight fluid loss, performance decline of 3-4% has been measured in simple fine motor tasks (grip/pinch tests), and up to 16% in complex visual-motor tracking; under full hydration, heat stress does not have this level of effect.
Cognitive fatigue is a separate channel of degradation: in target-discrimination tasks (shoot/no-shoot decisions), cognitive fatigue increases false-positive firing errors. This shows the same pattern as the combined physical+cognitive fatigue effect in Section 3.1: a single stress source is not isolated but part of a mutually reinforcing whole.
These findings indicate that hydration status is a directly measurable performance variable independent of heat itself; pre-/during-competition hydration protocols (including electrolyte balance) should be planned accordingly.
8.3. Altitude and Oxygen Saturation
Two findings on this topic complement each other.
Acute hypoxia impairs shooting performance in a dose-dependent manner: a study at five simulated altitudes (sea level, 1km, 2km, 3km, 4km) found that increasing altitude significantly decreased shooting performance, with a threshold around 3000-4000m at 4km, resting shooting score was found to be 17.2% lower than at sea level. The degradation is associated with decreasing arterial oxygen saturation and increased ventilation; increased ventilation raises chest-wall movement, disrupting muzzle/body stability. This connects to the breath-control discussion in Section 7: increased ventilation at altitude affects the same stability mechanism through a different pathway.
Structured hypoxic training produces a different result: intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) applied at lactate-threshold intensity in well-trained biathletes improved aiming performance with little change in cardiovascular variables. This indicates that acute/unaccustomed hypoxic exposure and structured hypoxic training are different phenomena.
These findings indicate that altitude environments can degrade performance under acute exposure, while graduated, structured hypoxic training can be used to improve performance this distinction follows the same logic as the uncontrolled-difficulty/graduated-difficulty distinction in Section 6.
9. Synthesis The Integration of the Two Volumes
Five connections to Volume I have been established in this volume:
The agility/COD distinction (Section 5.2) relates to Volume I's concept of singular evaluation agility and tactical decision-making can be read as manifestations of the same principle at different skill levels (cognitive/motor).
The oxidative dependence of PCr (Section 4.1) offers an explanation for the mechanism by which conditioning work supports explosive shooting performance; this proposes a mechanism, for at least one component (the sustainability of explosive performance), toward Volume I's question of whether sport-based mechanisms are preserved under high stress.
Fatigue degrading technical training (Sections 4.5, 5.4) overlaps with Volume I's stress-inoculation principle (gradual, attainable difficulty).
Fatigue altering the biodynamic structure of movement (Section 5.4) can be read as a motor-skill-level counterpart to the dominant-response mechanism (Zajonc, 1965) from Volume I.
Cardiac phase/breath control (Sections 7, 8.3) adds a technical layer to Volume I's tactical-breathing discussion.
Read together, the two volumes indicate that performance in sport shooting is shaped by the interaction of four layers:
The visual-motor layer (Volume I) eye leadership, feed-forward control
The cognitive/decision layer (Volume I) recognition-primed decision making, singular evaluation
The physical/biomechanical layer (Volume II) postural strength, the kinetic chain, the SSC
The energy-system/environmental layer (Volume II) ATP-PCr, heat/hydration, altitude
The question left open by Volume I whether these layers are preserved under genuine high-stress conditions has not been fully answered in this volume. However, Volume II indicates, for the physical/energy-system layer, which conditions support performance (graduated training, hydration, recovery sequencing) and which degrade it (acute fatigue, uncontrolled difficulty, dehydration).
10. Conclusion and Practical Recommendations
Recommendation | Source |
Trunk/core stability training (particularly on unstable surfaces) should be incorporated into shooting programs; forearm/grip strength should be trained selectively | Pilot RCT (air pistol); fine-motor-control literature |
Sleep planning and a cognitively loaded warm-up should be added to competition-week programming | Tharion et al., 2003; systematic review |
Conditioning training can be considered a factor supporting explosive performance (via the PCr resynthesis mechanism) | Laursen & Buchheit |
If strength and endurance are programmed on the same day, strength should come first, with ≥24 hours between them or a high-load/low-volume approach preferred | Hickson, 1980; NSCA TSAC; Xu & Wang, 2025 |
Plyometric/explosive training should prioritize quality over volume; repetitions should not be added once movement quality declines with fatigue | Verkhoshansky & Siff |
Anthropometric differences can inform task-assignment planning | Tomita et al., 2020; leverage literature |
Breath control can be trained to synchronize trigger timing with cardiac phase | Konttinen et al.; Gallicchio et al., 2019 |
Hydration protocol should be treated as a variable independent of heat management | Military hydration literature |
Altitude/hypoxia exposure can acutely degrade performance; structured hypoxic training can improve it | Tharion & Swain; biathlon IHT study |
This volume has added the layer of physical preparation to Volume I's visual-motor and cognitive layer. Together, the two volumes indicate the multilayered nature of sport-shooting performance. The remaining question how these layers interact under genuine operational threat remains open for future empirical work.
Author
Dr. Selcuk Aksak
Shooting Sport Instructor & Coach
IDPA Certified Safety Officer / Licensed Gunsmith
Burkut Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
References (draft full formatting required)
Alvar, B., Sell, K., Deuster, P. (Eds.) (5th ed.). NSCA's Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning. Human Kinetics.
Effects of two neuromuscular training programs on running biomechanics with load carriage: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Evans, R.K., Scoville, C.R., Ito, M.A., Mello, R.P. (2003). Upper body fatiguing exercise and shooting performance. Military Medicine, 168(6), 451.
Frykman, P.N., Merullo, D.J., Banderet, L.E., Gregorczyk, K., Hasselquist, L. (2012). Marksmanship deficits caused by an exhaustive whole-body lifting task with and without torso-borne loads. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26, 30-36.
Gallicchio, G., et al. (2019). The influence of physical exercise on the relation between the phase of cardiac cycle and shooting accuracy in biathlon. European Journal of Sport Science.
Gutknecht, A.P., Gonzalez-Figueres, M., Brioche, T., Maurelli, O., Perrey, S., Favier, F.B. (2022). Maximizing anaerobic performance with repeated-sprint training in hypoxia. Frontiers in Physiology.
Hadi, H., Yudhistira, D. (2023). High-intensity interval training method in karate athletes: Can it improve power, agility, and endurance in the kumite category?
Hickson, R.C. (1980). Interference of strength development by simultaneously training for strength and endurance. (Full citation to be verified.)
Konttinen, N., et al. series of studies on cardiac cycle and trigger timing (1998, 2003, 2006).
Laursen, P., Buchheit, M. Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training. Human Kinetics. (Edition year to be verified.)
Liu, Y., Hu, N., Sun, M., Qu, F., Zhou, X. (2024). The Effects of Hand Tremors on the Shooting Performance of Air Pistol Shooters with Different Skill Levels. Sensors, 24(8), 2438.
Lockie, R.G., et al. (2018). Anthropometrical determinants of deadlift variant performance. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 18(3), 448.
Ravier, G., Dugué, B., Grappe, F., Rouillon, J. (2009). Impressive anaerobic adaptations in elite karate athletes due to few intensive intermittent sessions added to regular karate training. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 19(5), 687-694.
Additional high intensity intermittent training improves aerobic and anaerobic performance in elite karate athletes. Sport Sciences for Health (Springer).
Six weeks of HIIT based on repeated 5-meter sprints vs. countermovement jumps: effects on physical performance among karate athletes. A pilot-study.
Siff, M.C., Verkhoshansky, Y.V. Supertraining (6th ed.). (Edition/publisher to be verified.)
Tharion, W.J., Shukitt-Hale, B., Lieberman, H.R. (2003). Caffeine effects on marksmanship during high-stress military training with 72 hour sleep deprivation. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 74, 309-314.
Tharion, W.J., Hoyt, R.W., Marlowe, B.E., Cymerman, A. (1992). Effects of high altitude and exercise on marksmanship. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 63(2), 114-117.
Tomita, et al. (2020). A pilot study on a potential relationship between leg bone length ratio and sprint performance. BMC Research Notes, 13, 297.
Correlation Between Leg Length and Physical Performance According to Sports Characteristics of Well-Trained Athletes (2025). Applied Sciences, 15(7), 3836.
Head, J., Tenan, M.S., Tweedell, A.J., LaFiandra, M.E., Morelli, F., Wilson, K.M., Ortega, S.V., Helton, W.S. (2017). Prior mental fatigue impairs marksmanship decision performance. Frontiers in Physiology, 8, 680.
Intermittent Hypoxic Training at Lactate Threshold Intensity Improves Aiming Performance in Well-Trained Biathletes with Little Change of Cardiovascular Variables. PMC.
Xu, Y., Wang, S. (2025). Sequencing Effects of Concurrent Resistance and Short Sprint Interval Training on Physical Fitness, and Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance of Karate Athletes. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 24(1), 205-216.
Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149(3681), 269-274. (Reference carried over from Volume I.)
Blood flow restriction training enhances punching force and upper body strength in elite boxers: a randomized trial. PMC.
[Note: Full bibliographic details for some sources on military hydration, heat load, sleep deprivation, and baroreceptor literature require verification.]
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