When I attended my first training camp back in the early nineties, we were asked to develop training plans. As someone who had always just gone to the range on shooting night and shot a few cards, and attended any prize meetings that were available on the weekends, the concept of a training plan was a bit unknown.

Of course I had always worked on improving my technique, and tried not to change things just before an important competition, but beyond that? So we were asked to develop one of these, but I must confess to ignorance at the time as to what comprised a good training plan. Over the years I have developed my knowledge of training and how to plan to peak at the right time.  I have found that some athletes are extremely diligent at building comprehensive training plans. Russell Mark had a 3 year plan leading up to his gold medal win at Atlanta, with every competition, and day mapped out.

Each cycle, the training plan must be refined based on what has been learnt, so that one can continue to improve. Sometimes the plan will work better than others, and what works for me, won’t work for everyone, but if you don’t have a plan at all, then the following might help you get started.   

1. Get a one year calendar
2. Mark on this calendar the dates of the 2 or 3 competitions that you want to do well at in the next 12 months (the really important ones e.g. Nationals, NSW state champs)
3. Cross out the dates of any weeks you can’t train (e.g. Xmas, Holidays, Birthdays, Family commitments, Exam periods, etc.)
4. Mark out some rest periods. Normally the 1 – 2 weeks after the major competitions in item 2 above. In these weeks, have a break from shooting and do other stuff & have fun; don’t pick up your rifle to train. Some shooters may extend this break period.
5. For the 12 weeks (approx) period prior to each major competition, the plan goes as pictured below. Week 1 which commences on 9/6 (June 9^th) is the continuation from your rest period in item 4 above.

Fitness segment – Improve your fitness; run/swim/bike/etc or some kind of aerobic fitness 45 minutes, 5 times a week in this phase; Throughout the remainder of the 12 weeks continue fitness training, but only 3 times a week (for 45 minutes a time) is necessary to maintain the fitness you have built. Don’t do anything the day before the competition, but a walk & stretching on the day of the comp is good.

Equipment selection/setup – Make any changes to equipment at this point; fine adjustments to position, change buttplates, etc. Also test ammunition during this time. Spend the first week getting it basically right & the next two weeks refining.

Technique Training – Work on building technique; fix faults (e.g. trigger release; holding, sighting, etc.). Really focus on details and only on one or two aspects in each session. Shoot lots of groups; don’t worry much about score, but worry lots about recoil & feel. Occasionally shoot 10 shots for a score, just to see how you are progressing. 

Competition phase begins to build towards peaking at your major competition.
First session – shoot for a match score – this is the base that the final training sessions will build upon.

Score based segment training – Shoot for scores (either 10 shot series; step training; match scores, etc.)

Tracking competitions – try to pick one or two in the 3 weeks before the major competition to test how you are progressing. Don’t worry if the performance isn’t as good as desired, these are to provide an idea of whether progress is being made & to identify any areas of concern.

Result competition – On match day, do the best you can. Put into practice all the drills that have been done over the past few weeks.

Other notes:

-    Plan what you will do in your training each week – what will is the focus of each session; where are the areas for improvement, and so on.

-    It’s often good if the week after your major competition you can shoot another competition – just to see if the no of weeks works for you, or if you need to refine the 12 week cycle (e.g. start the competition phase a week earlier or extend the overall period to 14 or 15 weeks). However be aware that there will always be a little more pressure in the major competitions, so allow for this in your assessment of performance.

-    Don’t be afraid to adjust the above if it’s not working for you. This is a starting point only.

-    If there are competitions during the preparation phase, this is ok (generally this occurs), but remember that the results in this phase may not be as high as desired because the focus is on different things during this part.

-    Shooters competing intensively will have longer competition phases depending on the season, however will still generally have one competition that they wish to excel in during each year (e.g. World Championships, Commonwealth Games, etc.)

-    The training plan must support your overall goals. Don’t lose sight of these goals by focusing on events that may not help you achieve your primary goal (e.g. club pennant is important to many shooters which is great, however if your goal is the Olympics, then club pennant will take a day out of your training schedule that perhaps would be better spent improving technique.) Decide what is important to you, what will support achieving your goals, and build your training plan accordingly.

-     Refine the plan for the next cycle and major competition.