"Shooting precision enhancement in biathlon through combined relaxation and specific shooting training"

Performance in biathlon is dependent on both the speed of skiing and the accuracy of shooting. As regards shooting performance, in addition to good general shooting skills, the elite biathletes must have a high ability to recover fast after the high intensity skiing bout just before the shooting, as well as have the capacity to focus on shooting under a high competition pressure with both external and internal stimuli that might be disturbing and intrusive such as for example thoughts connected to the subject’s own demands for competition success, the sight of other competitors and how they perform, sounds from the spectators and other competitor’s shooting manoeuvres, and so on.

The aim of this project is evaluate the usefulness of a specific relaxation training procedure (“Applied Tension Release, ATR”) as a means of enhancing the performance of elite biathletes, especially the shooting performance.

The overall rational for exploring the potential usefulness of ATR training in order to enhance the performance in biathlon is that: (a) it might enhance the ability to decrease physical exertion and physiological arousal when approaching the shooting station, (b) it might enhance the ability to decrease arousal, such as heart rate and muscle tension during the actual shooting, (c) it might enhance concentration and the ability to focus on the shooting performance, despite disturbing, intrusive and stressful external and internal stimuli, and (d) it might furthermore enhance the efficiency of recovery and recuperation between training and competition events.