That demands physical conditioning, endurance and mental perseverance. The lower an athlete's heart rate, the better they can shoot. They can take longer, deeper breaths, slow down and completely relax. Pulling the trigger at the moment the heart beats can have a negative impact on the bullet's trajectory, the idea is to relax and slow the heart rate down to somewhere around 45 or 50 beats per minute. The shot is then fired between beats, Johnston explained.
Shooting is the exact opposite of most sports.
It's not aerobic. Collegiate shooters compete from October through March. 6 to 8 p.m. Zydallas uses that time to train her squad, to motivate it to do better. On weekends, the team travels to matches. I have a great deal of pride in what the rifle program has accomplished.