Pre shoot eating

[JonSkeet2]

Hi All,

With the current hydration thread out there about what to drink etc. I had a thought about pre shooting food.

I have been back through my log and historically all the times I have shot well I have eaten before the shoot, maybe an hour or so, sometimes less.

Not Ideal I know but at the Beretta world I had a 1\4 pound cheeseburger and shot a PB having eaten it about an hour before.

I have eaten a breakfast prior to shooting 93ex100 at skeet.

Rice Crispie bar before winning a club shoot.

I'm certainly not one for breakfast but really grasping the fact that good shooting encompasses Mental, Nutritional, Technical and many more aspects.

Interested in the communities thoughts

Jon.

 

[Tom]

I think you will definatley perform better after food, providing it isn't a massive meal, eating breakfast is a must for keeping metabolism going and improving concentration.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[Fuzrat]

Never have been able to eat until I have been up for a few hours, goes back to my farming/greenkeeping days when it was start at 6, breakfast break at 9ish.

If I can I try to force a couple of weetabix down before I leave for a shoot.

 

[Bob_P]

Never have been able to eat until I have been up for a few hours, goes back to my farming/greenkeeping days when it was start at 6, breakfast break at 9ish.

If I can I try to force a couple of weetabix down before I leave for a shoot.

And then half a smoked dead pig between a couple of slices of bread when you arrive

 

[MX8man]

You can't beat a Bangalore Phal just before a big shoot!

 

[EdSolomons]

The level to which you do it depends on how serious you want to go but whatever your take on it shooting on an empty tank is a bad idea.

You will not be able to keep sharp and focussed for up to 3 hours (on and off) with no food inside you.

The problem is most food available at the grounds is pants (fried/fatty) which is better than nothing but not much. I am not a breakfast person but force myself to have one everyday (started off because of gym but transfers to shooting). Generally I go for a bowl of porridge with fruit (fresh berries), eggs and a protein shake. The porridge gives you a good steady release of energy for the first part of the morning and the rest of it is handy for recovery particularly if you have exerted yourself in the previous few days. Keep fruit (I take bananas) and low sugar oat granola bars with for mid round to keep topping energy up.

All very interesting but most of you will still have a fry up! I'm a fan of a big breakfast at the weekend too but try and do it after I shoot. Depends what you want to get out of it really; it's important to me from a personal point of view, te fact that it is a help to shooting is an extra as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Salopian]

Porridge,slow energy release, banana, oat bar midmorning, drink as and when required, not habitually more like to quench a thirst. Proper sensible portion evening meal.

 

[Clanchief]

Think this is one for my housekeeper to read, she usually takes care of everything for me.Damn fine spread. Do not know where she learned to clean the guns,maybe the previous housekeeper I had.This one has been with me for years now.

chiefy

 

[DarenO]

.

 

[Harley]

From my previous experience eating before a shoot causes the heart to beat at a higher rate digesting your food, this had a massive affect on my shooting.

So no I would not eat unless I had a couple of hours to digest it before hand.

 

[VicW]

All this talk about pre-shoot eating is making me hungry 'cos a hearty cooked breakfast is one of my favourite meals.

There is no way I would eat a big meal before shooting,it definitely slows me down and I'm nearly at a stand still as it is!!

There is a shooting ground of my acquaintance that solves the problem by not serving cooked food,that's right a shooting ground with no bacon butties,the shooters staple food!!

It's in Notts north of Nottingham.

Vic.

 

[Hamster]

This is something I've done a fair bit of experimenting with and although on the face of it eating something like porridge makes perfect sense it just doesn't seem to suit me. Eat breakfast like a horse on holiday but otherwise can't stomach anything till around noon, even a small toast or a tiny bit of porridge doesn't seem to help as I definitely appear to shoot best on empty.

A cup of tea helps with routine and the other thing I've found is that other than a tiny sip of liquid when dry mouthed, drinking water seems to have an adverse affect too! :mellow:

As Ed says the food generally available at grounds is revolting although if shooting two comps then I force myself a few bites off a burger and bin the rest just to avoid triggering a headache for going too long with no fuel.

I've also found RedBull to have a very negative impact on my scores which is odd as I just can't feel any difference after drinking it! The only drink that seems to be good news is Lucazade so I often carry some in the car.

 

[Harley]

I know it's not the same discipline but I could watch my crosshairs move off the target completely, and back on again, so it's like shooting with a pendulum affect , absolutely terrible.