title: Upper body fatiguing exercise and shooting performance.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Military Performance Division, 42 Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5007, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Scoville
authors.forename: Max A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000502:physiology*