Shooting

The aim of this study was to evaluate Sustained Attention Performance and Reaction Time in Shooters of National Rifle, Pistol and Trap Teams and compare these groups with each other. In this causal-comparative study, 33 players of men national teams, including 11 from rifle team, 11 from pistol team and 11 from trap team were selected by available sampling method and evaluated using continuous computer performance test. Covariance method was used to compare the variables of continuous performance test including (number of errors and reaction time) between the three groups. The results showed no significant difference in the performance of sustained attention and Reaction Time between the three groups ( P > 0.05), despite the superiority of the trap group in both components. Based on the findings of the present study, the performance of sustained attention and reaction time in the shooters of the national teams of rifle, pistol and trap is equally important. These findings can be justified by the similar nature of different shooting disciplines in the use of sustained attention and reaction time.

Shooters typically make great efforts to strengthen their physical and motor abilities, but are often less aware of the cognitive and psychological factors that affect their performance and skill performance. Therefore, it seems that shooters, especially novice shooters, are not very familiar with the mental skills related to shooting and pay less attention to mental training. However, cognitive training has recently been recognized as one of the basic skills required in perceptual-motor activities. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of training cognitive imaging strategies versus training of motor representation strategies on the acquisition and retention of shooting skills. This randomized controlled clinical trial study was performed on 45 undergraduate military science students with an age limit of 18 to 25 years, studying in the second semester of 1997-98. Subjects were randomly selected from a university of military sciences in Tehran and randomly divided into three groups of mental imagery, motor representation and control using a table of random numbers. The intervention groups received a three-week mental imagery training program, motor representation along with shooting training (five sessions per week). The control group only participated in shooting training. In order to evaluate the performance of shooters in the pre-test, post-test and memorization stages, a SCAT machine was used. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS20 software and p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The results of combined analysis of variance showed that both cognitive imaging and motor representation interventions had a significant effect on improving the record of novice military shooters (P≤0.05). The results showed that although there was no significant difference between motor representation and cognitive imaging groups in the post-test stage, however, a significant difference was observed between the motor representation and cognitive imaging groups (P = 0.006) in the retention stage. The results show that cognitive imagery and motor representation interventions can improve the performance of novice military shooters, although motor representation is more likely to be effective than cognitive imagery

Several metabolic changes caused by regular exercise, can lead to adaptive mechanisms in athletes. These changes create a new dynamic balance that ensures better performance. On the other hand, because most studies on changes in the metabolic profile of the blood have been conducted in male athletes, this study investigated the effects of different exercise conditions on reactive oxygen species (ROS), adiponectin, and subjective mood in female athletes. A cohort of 30 females, 20 professional players (10 target shooters and 10 basketball players), and 10 sedentary females as control group were enrolled in the study. Capillary blood samples and the Brunel Mood Scale questionnaire (BRUMS) were collected at noon before the training session. ROS and adiponectin were determined by the ELISA method. To compare among groups, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used at the significance level of P<0.05. Physiological evaluations showed a significant high level of adiponectin in basketball players (p=0.005). The anger subscale in the basketball group had a significant increase compared to other groups (p=0.04). The tension subscale exhibited a higher level in the shooting group than in the control group. (p=0.017). Regarding the vigor subscale, there was no significant difference in experimental groups, and there was a significant difference in the non-athlete group (control) (p=0.001). Basketball, being a team sport, exhibits a greater degree of aggression in contrast to shooting, which is classified as an individual sport. More focus of coaches on adjusting in another sport with non-competitive and non-confrontational features to reduce anger is suggested.