I'll hazard a guess and say that the glucose spike from eating the chocolate will more than outweigh the other compounds' effects and that any positive gain will be lost as soon as the sugar crash hits...pointingdevices wrote:Does anyone know how CHOCOLATE affects performance?
Diet...Holding Steady....accuracy?????
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, David Levene, Spencer, Richard H
Re: Chocolate
what to eat
You should eat three good meals and eat some fruit but no caffine or sugar.
breezey1
breezey1
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Guest
Do you have a timescale for those three good meals, breezey? I mean, I will shortly have a match beginning at 9am, and I'm not too sure that eating three good meals before 9am would be a good idea, or actually possible...
And what about matches starting at 1pm? I usually get hungry and eat my lunch at 1pm, so when should I eat my lunch instead?
And what about matches starting at 1pm? I usually get hungry and eat my lunch at 1pm, so when should I eat my lunch instead?
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jrmcdaniel
- Posts: 240
- Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:01 pm
- Location: Grantsville, MD
Not that I personally recommend it, but one of our field target shooters who won the Nationals a few years ago has a large hamburger and French fries the morning of a match. Matches typically last for several hours and his feeling is that rather than eat during the match, he loads up with a high-calorie meal for breakfast. It works for him!
Best,
Joe
Best,
Joe
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bubba_zenetti
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 1:43 am
- Location: Washington USA
i just recently quit smoking (for like the 50th time *LOL*) 8 months ago. that alone made a major improvment on how i shoot.
one thing i did notice however, i am addicted to energy drinks (red bull, rock start, etc) i cannot shoot worth beans after the consumption of any of those things. the last B-40 i pinned up in the garage after drinking 2 of those things a few hours before time looked like i peppered it with a 12 gauge.
thinking to myself that it was just the caffiene, i tried some energy drinks that were just a high dose of vitamin b. same results.
i find that during pratice sessions in the home range (air pistol only) i do my best after eating a a light meal such as a salad.i try to stay away from eating anything that causes gas or acid indigestion (burping or farting during the release of a shot is a sure way to miss :P )
one thing i was wanting to try is herbal teas. i hear kava kava produces a calming effect but i also hear that it can damage your liver now (no solid proof) has anyone here tried any herbal tea yet?
one thing i did notice however, i am addicted to energy drinks (red bull, rock start, etc) i cannot shoot worth beans after the consumption of any of those things. the last B-40 i pinned up in the garage after drinking 2 of those things a few hours before time looked like i peppered it with a 12 gauge.
thinking to myself that it was just the caffiene, i tried some energy drinks that were just a high dose of vitamin b. same results.
i find that during pratice sessions in the home range (air pistol only) i do my best after eating a a light meal such as a salad.i try to stay away from eating anything that causes gas or acid indigestion (burping or farting during the release of a shot is a sure way to miss :P )
one thing i was wanting to try is herbal teas. i hear kava kava produces a calming effect but i also hear that it can damage your liver now (no solid proof) has anyone here tried any herbal tea yet?
Both a high burst of caffeine (or other stimulant) or a sugar rush will detract from your shooting scores, perhaps for up to a few hours after. The same with gassy drinks. I always advise soft drinks or better still water, if you need the energy drinks then dilute them with about 2/3 water (and save some bucks !). It's worth noting that you need to get your fluid balance right before you start shooting as it takes about 30 mins to get in to your system.
Rob.
Rob.
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Nicole Hamilton
- Posts: 477
- Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:17 pm
- Location: Redmond, Washington, USA
- Contact:
My (totally subjective) experience is that even more important than what I've been eating is what I've been doing earlier in the day. Worst experience ever was an air pistol match I shot a few weeks ago on the same day I'd been driving 8' ground rods for my ham radio station with a 16# sledge hammer. (This was some really hard work given the rocky soil out here in Seattle!) I could have done as well just tossing the whole tin of pellets at the target. Even though several hours had passed, my arms were still tired when I got to the match and I just could not get a steady hold.
I do best when I've had an easy day but some practice (say, 100 shots or so with my AP in my basement) with at least a couple hours to relax in between then and the match so I'm not tired.
I do best when I've had an easy day but some practice (say, 100 shots or so with my AP in my basement) with at least a couple hours to relax in between then and the match so I'm not tired.
What foods are good and/or bad for holding steady?
Neither go hungry or too full..
No stimulants like caffeine , cigs No sugars for fear of 'rebound hypoglycaemia' when your blood sugar levels drop too far.
Best is , keep it simple... cheese sandwich an hour or two before a mach ... and keep more handy for when you feel hungry. Hunger is bad for the aim... affects muscle tone and disrupts concentration .
No stimulants like caffeine , cigs No sugars for fear of 'rebound hypoglycaemia' when your blood sugar levels drop too far.
Best is , keep it simple... cheese sandwich an hour or two before a mach ... and keep more handy for when you feel hungry. Hunger is bad for the aim... affects muscle tone and disrupts concentration .
Regards the effects of coffee before a match, for about six months I started drinking de-caf coffee. My scores actually went down. It may have been a co-incidence but restarting high-octane coffee brought some interesting observations.
A couple of months ago I went back to drinking full strength coffee and for a while was not having any on match days but I think the withdrawal symptoms probably brought on more shakes than ever.
The latest technique is to not drink caffeine in the three hours before a match and I have suddenly started shooting near by PB in most matches.
I guess what I am saying is that in my experience it is best to reduce caffeine intake immediately before a match but don't starve yourself of the stuff if you normally drink it on other days. Just my 2 cents worth.
A couple of months ago I went back to drinking full strength coffee and for a while was not having any on match days but I think the withdrawal symptoms probably brought on more shakes than ever.
The latest technique is to not drink caffeine in the three hours before a match and I have suddenly started shooting near by PB in most matches.
I guess what I am saying is that in my experience it is best to reduce caffeine intake immediately before a match but don't starve yourself of the stuff if you normally drink it on other days. Just my 2 cents worth.
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ShuffleUpAndDeal
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:52 pm
I find it favourable to do a light weight lifting exercise (whole body) with a carefull strech (2x15min) followup, a pasta wholemeal and meat sacue dinner the night before the competition, and of cource drinking extra water around the meals.
On the competition day I start with a ordinary coffe, a glas of fat milk and a couple of boiled eggs and then a 30 minutes walk (07:00 for instance).
After the walk I have a banana and again a meal of pasta and meat sacue
(and extra water).
This seems to work for me with respect to steadyness at the line at 10:00.
Before I started using this routine I was never dreaming having pasta for breakfast :)
On the competition day I start with a ordinary coffe, a glas of fat milk and a couple of boiled eggs and then a 30 minutes walk (07:00 for instance).
After the walk I have a banana and again a meal of pasta and meat sacue
(and extra water).
This seems to work for me with respect to steadyness at the line at 10:00.
Before I started using this routine I was never dreaming having pasta for breakfast :)
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Nicole Hamilton
- Posts: 477
- Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:17 pm
- Location: Redmond, Washington, USA
- Contact:
Lately, I've been struggling with a slump in standard pistol, prompting a friend (who happens to be our best shooter -- with any gun he picks up!) to pester me to try a tip he picked up from the Marines team: Eat turkey. The tryptophan in turkey, so the story goes, makes you more steady.
I can't say if this is actually true, but yesterday, I did eat roast chicken (which actually has more tryptophan than turkey) and scored a PB at last night's match -- twice in a row, matter of fact -- hopefully ending my slump.
Does turkey (or chicken) really work? Who knows. But I've always liked chicken and suspect I may be in the mood for it again next week.
I can't say if this is actually true, but yesterday, I did eat roast chicken (which actually has more tryptophan than turkey) and scored a PB at last night's match -- twice in a row, matter of fact -- hopefully ending my slump.
Does turkey (or chicken) really work? Who knows. But I've always liked chicken and suspect I may be in the mood for it again next week.
Turkey Shoot
try a tip he picked up from the Marines team: Eat turkey. The tryptophan in turkey, so the story goes, makes you more steady.
This 'story' may have originated as follows : If the easiest shoot of all is a turkey shoot , then if you eat turkey , you shoot easy ?
The nice touch of course is singling out a particular amino acid from the turkey protein... as the 'magic ingredient' ...
I think the Shooting Sports would be very boring and arid were it not for all these things that people swear by .
If one has a mushroom omlette breakfast before a match , and does pretty well... Is it the eggs ? the butter , the mushrooms ? Or is it that magic combination of all three in the exact proportions that must be replicated each time to get the same effect ??
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Nicole Hamilton
- Posts: 477
- Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:17 pm
- Location: Redmond, Washington, USA
- Contact:
Re: Turkey Shoot
Well, okay, you have a point. It's also wearing the same underwear and not washing it. And abstaining from sex TNB.Elmas wrote:If one has a mushroom omlette breakfast before a match , and does pretty well... Is it the eggs ? the butter , the mushrooms ? Or is it that magic combination of all three in the exact proportions that must be replicated each time to get the same effect ??
What works is a meal low in carbs that doesn't cause rapid changes in blood sugar. Brian Zins pre-match meal of a turkey sandwich and a banana seems to work for him.Nicole Hamilton wrote:Lately, I've been struggling with a slump in standard pistol, prompting a friend (who happens to be our best shooter -- with any gun he picks up!) to pester me to try a tip he picked up from the Marines team: Eat turkey. The tryptophan in turkey, so the story goes, makes you more steady.
I can't say if this is actually true, but yesterday, I did eat roast chicken (which actually has more tryptophan than turkey) and scored a PB at last night's match -- twice in a row, matter of fact -- hopefully ending my slump.
Does turkey (or chicken) really work? Who knows. But I've always liked chicken and suspect I may be in the mood for it again next week.
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mikeschroeder
- Posts: 488
- Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:56 am
- Location: Kansas
HI
I put a couple of pieces of Turkey on a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese toaster (sandwich) from Sonic drive in one morning before a 270 shot match. I was fine for slow fire, and was sleepy during timed and rapid fire. Eating the Turkey between the Centerfire and .45 ACP portions of the match seemed to help more. I was more awake, but no shakes. Next time I shoot, I think I'll eat a couple of pieces of turkey after the smallbore portion.
Mike
Wichita KS
I put a couple of pieces of Turkey on a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese toaster (sandwich) from Sonic drive in one morning before a 270 shot match. I was fine for slow fire, and was sleepy during timed and rapid fire. Eating the Turkey between the Centerfire and .45 ACP portions of the match seemed to help more. I was more awake, but no shakes. Next time I shoot, I think I'll eat a couple of pieces of turkey after the smallbore portion.
Mike
Wichita KS