i am trying to build up some more strength in my arms so i can hold my bow longer. i have been pulling my bow back nice and smooth just like i would while hunting, set my anchor and just hold it back for as long as i can till im to the point of shaking. then i stop check a thread or 2 and go again. ill do this till i cant hold it back very long. anyone else have any good work outs to help build muscle in your arms to benefit bow hunting?
I like to do a lot of back muscle workouts with a cable machine at my local gym when bow season starts creeping up. Lat pulldowns and seated cable rows work well. Go on Youtube if you are not familiar. Another thing I do is practice in the backyard, and between drawing and releasing the arrow I try to hold for 10 seconds. After that session I move up to 12 seconds between every shot, and progress throughout the summer. Helps a lot.
Get a set of Therabands exercise bands. Hold band like you would bow. Draw back hold for 30 seconds and release. Repeat 20x. Do 3 sets. I would start out with either blue or green, and work your way up to black. Pretty effective. I used this exercise in my PT while recovering from neck break. Builds up muscle fast.
This is what I do ^^^^ I use the blue tied in a loop and as it gets easier you can shorten up where you hold it .
The bands seem like a very good idea. I just hold for 10+ seconds when practicing and I workout daily so that also helps.
I've used the method I described to help my 13 yr old daughter increase her draw weight. She's tall but tiny (5'5" around 98 lbs.) She is almost to her goal of 35 lbs. (DE state min. draw weight).
I like a pull up bar. Tons of pull ups and chin ups should help. Also pushups with you hands really far apart.
best bet if you are not into fitness but shoot at least 3 times a week that will increase your strength.
thanks guys i will have access to a gym in a week when i start my new job thought about buying one of thoes training aids that look like the middle of a bow riser with the bands. a lot of good ideas!
I just start to shoot more often as the seasin gets closer. Dont do a lot during off season because usually by tir grt home from work don't really have motivation, concrete takes its out of ya ha. If you were going to stsrt working out though I'd focus more in shoulders, back, and chest. You use those muscles a lot more than arms when pulling a bow back. Lots of good tips so far though.
I don't like drawing and holding the bow to build strength for a couple reasons. 1) When you get tired you are more likely to torque the bow on let down, this opens the potential for a derail of the strings. 2) The chance of a dry fire or shooting an arrow through the wall . Now I have done this out on my range and then taken the shot once I get tired just like if I was holding for a deer to take a step or two into my lane. I like to practice scenarios as close to hunting as possible.
I use this Bow Trainer – Strength Training For Archers it has helped me out a lot. It was a pretty cheap investment and you can do it without fear of dry firing your bow or over torqueing the bow either. If you don't want to spend that much just pick up some physical training bands and tie them off to a door or something and practice that way.
Just remember if you start working out to go for endurance an stamina instead of strength an power. Lower weight an higher reps will achieve the goal your wanting faster. Working out with your own body weight will also accomplish your goal
A good exercise using just your body weight is push ups try doing 10 an on the 11th one go halfway down an hold it for a count of ten continue this until your face hits the floor lol you'll be surprised how quickly that will happen
The best exercise for building draw strength would be actually drawing your bow as Pearce mentioned at first as every bow has a different draw curve. If that is not a possibility back, posterior deltoid and a little biceps strength training with your drawing arm while triceps and deltoid strength training with you grip arm works great! The resistance bands mentioned earlier work great and are cheap versus expensive equipment or gym memberships that many cannot afford. As a therapist I have actually had a couple of patients who were hunters come thru a clinic I worked at that their main goal was to bow hunt again after shoulder surgery. Both them met their goals of getting back hunting with their bows again!
