When I started in archery many years ago it was common to say that archery is all about technique and fitness wasn’t important. You don’t need to be fit to start in archery, that much is true, and if you are not competitive and just like a pleasant evening with a few arrows and a chat then you don’t need to worry too much. However, the better you want to be the more important your fitness is.
We all tire a little bit through a round, but the last arrow you shoot needs to be as well controlled as the first. Let’s say you shoot a 30lb bow. If the heaviest bow you could physically get through a round with is 35lb, then that 30lb bow is still going to be hard work and the wobbles will be setting in towards the end. If you could theoretically finish that round with a 50lb bow, then the 30lb is going to be much easier. Proper control of the shot requires that you use just the muscles necessary hold and draw the bow and keep everything else relaxed. If we tire too much, those correct muscles will start unloading and other muscles will try to join in to take the load and arrows land further and further from the middle.
Ideally you will do some exercise separate to your shooting. Just shooting a lot of arrows will help, but there is a risk that shooting just for fitness lets your technique drift.
You might join your local gym. All good gyms have trained instructors, and if you tell them what you want to achieve they will advise on what is best to do to build up the correct muscles. In general, you need low weights with lots of repetitions.
There is a lot you can do at home with minimal equipment. Stretchy bands are fantastic, especially if you have three or four of them in different weights. A pair of dumbbells can be useful.
This isn’t the place to go through exercises in detail – there are plenty of online resources to give you some ideas. However, here are some tips.
- Set a regular timetable – you are more likely to actually do it and keep doing it.
- Exercise whilst your favourite TV/radio/podcast is on – it will seem less of a chore.
- Work your whole body – it is tempting to focus on arms and shoulders, but core strength and leg strength are just as important, and you will notice the difference in non-archery life as well.
- Set rest days – your muscles recover and build up in the rest time between exercise, so train three or four times a week, not every day.
It should go without saying, but I will anyway: if you are ill or injured then seek professional advice before launching into a workout.
Being fitter will make you shoot better, so why not?
