Preview – The Muscle Mount

Photos by Jon Janeway

Tactical Training Tool or Fitness Fad?

WARNING!
The exercises and content expressed in this column are for illustrative purposes only. Consult your physician before trying any physical activity or nutritional plan. RECOIL and its contributors are not responsible for any harm or injuries sustained while attempting these techniques.

The Muscle Mount is a brand-new training tool that claims to improve your shooting. Is it state-of-the-art equipment that can truly make you a better shooter, or just another fitness fad that will fade away like the ThighMaster, Ab Rocker, or Shake Weight? Read on to find out.

The 411
The Muscle Mount System is a band-resistance training tool that overloads the muscles involved in shooting. Slide the Muscle Mount onto the rail of any training gun, then attach the band to both the Muscle Mount and any fixed point. Using a training firearm with the resistance bands targets the exact muscles used to stabilize both handguns and long-guns. This allows the user to build strength, endurance, and stability in the muscles used to shoot.

The system was created by former SWAT officer and firearms instructor, Jeff Quail. Among other things, his experience includes teaching room entry and hostage rescue. Built out of a personal need, the system proved to be effective in his own personal training, and shortly afterward, production began.

The Good
The Muscle Mount’s purpose is to specifically strengthen the muscles involved in shooting, which it does very well. This product was designed to help combat fatigue, a huge problem in shooting performance. It can build strength, stability, and/or endurance in your shooting triangle depending on how you’re using it. This will have direct carryover to your performance on the range or in a firefight. That’s a big plus.

Because the Muscle Mount adds resistance to the firearm from any fixed point, it allows you to provide resistance from either side, or any number of angles, not just vertically. This can come into play when developing a training program focused not only on shooting, but also other qualities, such as core stability or grip strength.

Regardless of how you use the system, you’ll definitely feel challenged. It’s not designed to give you a workout per se, but since it’s adding resistance to your current shooting stance, expect to feel it the next day. It would be a great idea, however, to include some training with the Muscle Mount in a workout to get a higher fatigue level and stress response. I’d recommend starting with lower volumes and building up over the course of several weeks to months.

We’ve used the Muscle Mount with the SIRT Training Pistol, which has been a great combination. Using a training pistol with laser capabilities is a great idea, as it’s perfect to work on target acquisition, dry-firing, and many other drills. In the month and a half that I’ve used the Muscle Mount, I already have seen improvement at the range, mainly in shot-to-shot accuracy.

The Not So Good
While the Muscle Mount is great for building a stable shooting platform in place, I didn’t like the inability to work on shooting on the move. Being attached to a fixed point limits the movement you’re able to make during drills. I was able to loop the band around my foot to work on moving drills, but that quickly wore away the band.

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