Upper body fatiguing exercise and shooting performance

This study assessed the effect of upper extremity muscle fatigue on shooting performance while in a standing, unsupported firing position. Nine male and three female soldiers fired at targets before and after performing upper extremity exercise to fatigue using both (1) an upper body ergometer and (2) a Military Operations in Urban Terrain obstacle course. Shooting accuracy, assessed by the number of hits, misses, and shot group size, was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) immediately following both types of exercise and recovered to pre-exercise values within 5 minutes for all measures except the number of misses, which returned to pre-exercise values by 10 minutes. There was no relationship between fitness measures and shooting performance, although muscle endurance was a factor in the duration of exercise prior to fatigue. We conclude that shooting accuracy recovers rapidly in fit soldiers following fatiguing lifting, climbing, and pulling activity.