Home workout, with gun and music

If you’re worried about your shooting technique slipping during lockdown, Simon O’Leary has put together a workout plan that will not only keep you shooting straight, but also keep you fit!

- Simon O'Leary

And so, we enter another week of controlled lockdown. Familiar faces have become a memory, the car has cobwebs on the wing mirrors and the guns have become ornaments in storage. Some, however, may be fortunate enough to turn their hand to small tasks in and around the house. I’m usually the first to complain about not having enough spare time – but I now have zero excuses!

I must admit, though, the holiday mentality could easily descend; a couple of later nights, a bottle or two more than usual and before you know it, things have started to relax, worse still, far less exertion leads to a lot less energy, which can become very bland. With this potential blanket of lethargy upon us, we might reminisce of past shooting outings and long for the nod that enables us to reignite our favourite pastime.

However, all repetitious physical tasks, once paused for a small length of time, tend to be a little tougher than usual when revisited. So, I’ve compiled a few moves that one can entertain at home, or if applicable, in the garden, to regain and maintain condition during these somewhat restrictive times.

Now, to make something quite clear, I’m the last person to play the ambassadorial role for physical fitness and those who know me will, I’m sure, wholeheartedly agree! However, the little-and-often mentality is far superior to nowt. The obvious starter exercise is the practice mount, which I covered in January’s edition. Here’s a brief overview.

The practice mount