Training advice (not your usual)

[Digsy]

As some of you may know I took up target archery a couple of years back and although I'm not exactly setting the world alight I've just got to the stage where I am scoring in the upper half of my club and I feel I can now enter proper competitions without the fear of totally embarrassing myself

I have just entered a FITA Star 90m shoot, which is the longest distance in target archery, and I've had to increase the poundage on my bow to reach out that far. Added to that, the 144 arrows you have to shoot is more than double what I have shot in competitions in the past. I'm finding I'm running into some stamina issues during training at around the 80 arrows point.

So I'm wondering whether apart from shooting as many arrows as I can as often as I can to simply get used to it, is there anything else I can do to help me not "conk out" to soon? I'm thinking energy levels for the shoot duration, or a quick top up if I start to lag, specific exercises, etc.

For those of you not used to archery its not exactly high impact, but you do have to maintain an incredible level of concentration while doing very precisely controlled repeated movements. This is akin to pulling a 18kg weight towards you using only a string over three fingers on one hand to exactly (and I mean exactly to the mm) the same distance and holding it there perfectly still for perhaps 5 seconds while you also push an 18kg weight away from you with the palm of your other hand. 6 reps of that at a time, then a couple of minutes rest, then repeat for 24 sets.

Any pointers?

[Dozymare]

Try this link

 

http://www.centenaryarchers.gil.com.au/archery_Fitness.htm

 

Not that I know much about it but looks pretty comprehensive to me.

[Purity14]

What are you running out of?

Are you running out of breath or are your arms physically unable to draw the bow after 80+ shots?

 

Or both?

[pedrosixfour]

Any pointers?

 

Sell the bow and take up knitting really wide scarves.

[michael]

Dextroamphetamine

[SupraStar 3000]

Good luck

 

Archery is a fascinating sport.

Just be carful where you aim!

 

http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.dailymail.co.uk/img/D011B747-F097-4677-850B-F0D7558AC421

[bluecoup]

are you using any of the energy drinks etc, i stopped drinking tea and moved onto energy drinks and they really make a noticable differance, not redbull, but some of these lucozade sport etc with the carbs in

[pedrosixfour]

Good luck

 

Archery is a fascinating sport.

Just be carful where you aim!

 

http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.dailymail.co.uk/img/D011B747-F097-4677-850B-F0D7558AC421

 

William Tell's first live show didn't get the reviews he was hoping for.

 

Of course his son's A.D.D. hadn't been diagnosed at the time.

[SupraStar 3000]

[pedrosixfour]

You really need to concentrate on your conditioning.

 

Certainly a weight training program focusing on stamina would speed up your transitition into the longer competitions.

 

But repeated practice is undoubtedly the best method of improving your ability.

 

Best of luck with it, my sister took this hobby up recently and loves it.

 

She is using 34lb limbs so if she can cope I'm sure you'll get there too!

[Purity14]

Id get one of those chest expander puller things and pull it like a bow.!

[pedrosixfour]

Id get one of those chest expander puller things and pull it like a bow.!

 

Why not just use the bow?

 

Think about it for a while, I guarantee you it will eventually make sense.

 

And if it doesn't then please remove yourself from the breeding population.

[Purity14]

Why thankyou; may I take a sip from your well of wisdom?

 

Perhaps he would rarther sit infront of the TV with one rather than his bow?

Perhaps he would rarther sit on the bus or in the office with one, rarther than his bow?

 

Do you know how expencive bows are?

Do you know that dry-firing a bow is bad for your expensive bow?

 

.. Its okay, you can be right sometimes Pedro, just not today - Mother still loves you.

[Digsy]

Whoa! This took off while I wasn't looking

 

I'm sure that I could attack this issue by simply building up loads of strength in my arm and back muscles so that drawing the bow gets easier, but I suspect that may take more time than I can devote to practise. I do have a stretchy elastic band than you can use like a one-armed chest expander but its practically impossible to hold it in a way that's representative of drawing a bow. Its also virtually impossible to get the right combination of draw weight and length.

 

Purity is right by saying you cannot dry fire a bow without risking damaging it. You can always draw to full length using an arrow and the clicker and then relax again but this is really dangerous because you become programmed into letting go when you hear the clicker go off. Quick anecdote: One of the top archers in my club wanted to have a quick try out with his new bow at home so he put it all together, put an arrow in and drew it back thinking all the time "I must not let go of this....I must not let go of this". The clicker went off and guess what? He let go and fired an arrow into his kitchen where it lodged in between two units. Keep in mind these things can go through 1" of wood at 90m range.

 

You can buy dampers that let you dry fire without fear of damage but I'm not sure how you judge the draw length.

 

The thing is that I'm not really sure what is going wrong with my body / mind. The first time you fail to get past the clicker it'll feel like you are drawing as normal but the damn thing never goes off. The next time because its in the back of your mind that you need to try extra hard, there's a feeling of fatigue that creeps in really fast. I can maybe shoot 78 arrows absolutely fine, then one of the next 6 will fail to go, then three of the six after than, then I'll maybe get one of the last six away before giving up. Since I breifly recover after a short rest, could it just be an energy thing? I generally don't eat of drink anything during practise sessions, which lasts about 2 hours.

[pedrosixfour]

Why thankyou; may I take a sip from your well of wisdom?

No, get your own.

 

Perhaps he would rarther sit infront of the TV with one rather than his bow?

Perhaps he would rarther sit on the bus or in the office with one, rarther than his bow?

Yes because a chest expander is a really convenient item to whip out on the bus into town. Its liable to get you shot by a peeler with an itchy finger in fact.

And I don't know about you but when I'm in work, I work.

Anyone for a feeble excuse?

Before this joker takes them all.

 

Do you know how expencive bows are?

Yes.

 

Do you know that dry-firing a bow is bad for your expensive bow?

Here is a wacky idea, double the training by NOT releasing the string when you draw back, simply return to the rest position in a controlled manner.

 

.. Its okay, you can be right sometimes Pedro, just not today - Mother still loves you.

Well tell your mother I had fun but I'm not looking for anyone heavy.

[Digsy]

Best of luck with it, my sister took this hobby up recently and loves it.

 

She is using 34lb limbs so if she can cope I'm sure you'll get there too!

 

I've just gone up from 38 to 40lbs in order to reach 90m - thats's with very lightweight arrows, too (Easton ACEs). I was hoping to be able to shoot at a slightly lighter draw weight, but looks like its not to be.

I reckon your sister can probably hit 90m with 36lbs? Girls tend to have a shorter draw length which means the arrows are shorter. If the arrow is shorter they can also be narrower for the same stiffness and therefore lighter - hence you don't need such a powerful bow to get them the distance. With blokes it works the other way. The bigger you are the more powerful bow you need.

[pedrosixfour]

Well she is 5'10" & I'm 6'4" and while I've only fired it a few times myself at 30m I've never noticed a lack of arrow length. At that there is no compensating for distance, you just aim at the target and release.

[Dave17]

Take up the violin mate, much easier. You still get string, you can sharpen the end of the bow, and you can throw it when the urge arises.

[Digsy]

Ah OK, I'm 5'10" tall too. Arrows are about 29" long. Yes, 30m is pretty flat

[Purity14]

Why thankyou; may I take a sip from your well of wisdom?

No, get your own.

 

Perhaps he would rarther sit infront of the TV with one rather than his bow?

Perhaps he would rarther sit on the bus or in the office with one, rarther than his bow?

Yes because a chest expander is a really convenient item to whip out on the bus into town. Its liable to get you shot by a peeler with an itchy finger in fact.

And I don't know about you but when I'm in work, I work.

Anyone for a feeble excuse?

Before this joker takes them all.

 

Do you know how expencive bows are?

Yes.

 

Do you know that dry-firing a bow is bad for your expensive bow?

Here is a wacky idea, double the training by NOT releasing the string when you draw back, simply return to the rest position in a controlled manner.

 

.. Its okay, you can be right sometimes Pedro, just not today - Mother still loves you.

Well tell your mother I had fun but I'm not looking for anyone heavy.

 

Unfortunately im going to 'bow-out' of this, as I have just had a 'quiver' shoot down my 'spine' - plus it seems like your being all serious.. so 'fistmele'

[pedrosixfour]

'fistmele'

 

To get that I fold mine in half

 

All was said in jest dude, I hope no offence was taken as it certainly wasn't implied.

[Purity14]

No dude its cool - I wanted you to bite, so I could exit via a very poor set of strategically placed archery terms.

[bluecoup]

all the energy food before practice would help too

[michael]

all the energy food before practice would help too

 

All of it? Won't he explode?

[Snooze]

Good point Michael - I think you need to build up to "all the energy food".

 

Start by eating "some" energy food.

Then you can progress to "lots" of energy food.

Aim to peak around competition time and bulk up with "all" the enegy food.

 

Of course - this is a one-shot deal - if you eat all the energy food, there'll be none left for next time, but that's the cost of success, I'm afraid.