Archery is sometimes considered a static sport compared to other sports like soccer or snowboarding, but it actually requires just as much physical training and conditioning as any other. There is a big difference between professional and amateur archers, and the reason why professionals are so much more proficient is due to several reasons. Obviously technique and equipment play a huge role, but physical training should never be overlooked. At your local archery range, you’ll probably find people who don’t stretch, don’t warm up, usually don’t get any exercise at home, and eat mostly pizza, beer, and soda.
These people may be pretty good, but they will never get to be the best because they don’t have the body or the training to meet the physical requirements of professional competition. Archery is a sport that requires full control over your body and bow while shooting. This means the whole body, not just the arms and shoulders.
Extension
First, a good stretching routine is absolutely critical to your ability to perform at your best. Archery puts a lot of stress on the biceps, pecs, shoulders, triceps, and fingers, so a proper stretching routine should focus on all of these areas. As you focus on those body parts, be careful not to neglect your legs, which are used for balance, and your core, or torso, which ties everything together.
strength training
Drawing a bow is hard work, and you need to make sure your body is in top physical condition to be able to do it with the least amount of effort possible. Overhead presses, bench presses, and pushups target the upper body. The goal of physical training for archery is to increase lean muscle mass without necessarily adding excess bulk. Extremely bulky arms can get in the way. Compound exercises target multiple muscle groups at once and deliver a lean, full force that’s ideal for archery. When you draw an arc, your fingers are tense; your triceps flex to bring the force back from your biceps. Your biceps are anchored by your shoulder. All these muscles must be able to work together at any given time.
Endurance training
Being able to draw a bow and shoot it perfectly once is great, but can you do it over and over again with the exact same accuracy every time? Muscular endurance is just as important as pulling muscle strength when it comes to archery. Focus on your ability to complete a specific action multiple times without sacrificing movement quality. One way to develop this is to run a routine where you time yourself for 5 minutes and see how many arrows you can shoot in that time. Don’t throw a bunch of random shots, but rather focus on your range of motion and technique for each shot.
Archery, despite common opinion, is as physical as any other sport, and as such requires physical discipline and training.