Dry Holding!
How many of you almost scrolled down cause you’re not a big fan of dry holding and find it boring and monotonous? Well with ranges closed and the lock down seemingly unending, we at Aim Down Sight thought that this is the perfect time to convert all the haters out there and show them that even DRY HOLDING can be fun. As we told you about some of these practices on our facebook and instagram page in different posts. Here are all of them compiled together.
With Dry Holding being the only option for most shooters right now we will introduce 4 different types of dry holding that deal with different aspects and will keep you on your toes till your range opens up.
Practice 1 – Dark Room Holding:
No we’re not telling you to play dark-room like you did when you were kids but this practice does require a dark or extremely dim lit room. Holding in a dark room isn’t a common practice at ranges but it is a very important one because it cuts off one of your sensory systems, your vision. Thus while balancing, your body resorts to your ability to achieve proprioception or in simple terms your mind and muscle coordination ability. Your body is forced to balance itself out with the added weight of your kit and rifle without your eyes. So later on when you hold your rifle up during practice you’ll have a better hold.
By doing this 3-4 times a week for only 15 minutes can increase your proprioception and balance.
Practice 2 – Isometric Holding:
More commonly known as IT holding, this form of dry holding works on your muscle strength, your ability to hold your shooting position for longer periods of time, improves your stability and muscle memory and also helps you improve muscle tension regulation (which is very common during matches).
How do we do IT Holding then? The answer is simple – all you have to do is contract your muscles. While in your shooting position just contract all of your muscles and hold that contraction for about 15 seconds and repeat this a couple of times before putting your rifle back on your stand. If you are not able to do a 15 second hold at the start don’t worry, start off with whatever you are comfortable with and gradually increase it to 30 seconds.
You can do this exercise 3-4 times a week for about 15 minutes and you’ll be very happy with the results.
Practice 3 – Mirror Holding:
“Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the sharpest shooter of them all?”. This is not what we want you to recite in front of a mirror but we do want you to practice in front of it. This practice requires a full length mirror and some tape, all you need to do is stick a straight horizontal line of tape from the top to the bottom of your mirror and take your shooting position in front of it. Align yourself according to the tape on the mirror and hold your position.
This form of hold works on your center of gravity and helps you work on your position and alignment as you get instant feedback on your position as you can see it in the mirror. This type of holding can be done 3-4 times a week for 30-60 minutes depending on your abilities.
Practice 4 – Point holding on a straight line:
Yes the name is long but the practice is just as effective. All you need for this practice is a straight line on the piece of paper that you will stick on the wall at a height according to your shooting position. It is important to stand as close to the wall as possible and take aim on the line. This form of holding will help you work on your muscle memory and more importantly on your lateral body sway. During this practice even if you sway a little bit you will move away from the line by quite a lot and this is due to your proximity to the wall. This will force you to control your body sway and you will have to engage all the necessary muscles required to maintain a steady balance. Another hidden effect of this form of holding is that if you breath in a shallow and lateral way your body will sway back and forth but if you deep breath you will move in a vertical manner, therefore controlling your body sway better.
This practice can be done 3-4 times a week for about 15-20 minutes for best results. We hope you do these practices and take benefit from them. Share the article with your friends and make them learn more every week with AIM DOWN SIGHT by Shooter Paaji.