I'm new to shooting and want to increase my draw weight. What are some ways I can get stronger to increase my poundage? Exercises, etc Thanks!
The absolute best way to increase your strength to handle drawing a bow more easily (or to move up in draw weight) is to simply shoot more and more; you could always start at something very easy for you to handle and crank it down a turn or two each week or whatever time frame you feel comfortable with. As far as excercises, there's a few you could do. Probably the best and simplest is the old classic pullup; I recently finished a round of P90X and was literally amazed at how easier it was to handle my draw weight I shoot at, and I handled it pretty easy before -- it's just that I had really increased my back strength which is an area I've traditionally neglected with all the pushups and bench pressing I've done over the years... Lawnmowers are another good one as well, and there's also a rubber-band type excersicer you can use to practice drawing with which works the same muscles as drawing a bow. Those are just the first few things that come to mind...
X2. Any exercises that target your back muscles (even shoulders). I know some might not agree with me, but I would also recommend stretching before shooting sessions (and lifting...although to a little warmup first...don't want to stretch cold muscles). Depending on your reasons for wanting to up your DW (because there are good ones), you may want to just stay where you are. I'm a fan of shooting a lower than comfortable draw weight in the hopes that overtime, I am lessening my chances of premature wear and strain on my body (if you shoot a lot).
X3 - here are some additional back/shoulder exercises BACK: pull-ups, chin-ups, seated rows - neutral grip (palms facing in), rows on a bench (knuckles facing the floor), straight arm pull downs SHOULDERS: front and lateral raises, shoulder press, reverse fly, rear delt fly have at it and good luck!
Thanks for all your advice. Right now I'm pulling 43.5lb (I'm a 19 yr old girl, if I forgot to mention that..) I'm trying to find time to practice shooting, but its hard because I'm in college and living in the dorms. They don't allow bows on campus because they're considered weapons so I'm trying to find a way around that...
Haha, actually I'm in a fraternity :P (its a service-oriented frat so they have to allow members of both genders). Maybe I can get my frat bros in on it lol
do some shoulder workouts..upright rows, things like that..or i just shoot my bow all the time, and work that muscle out.
Stack three plates on each side and bench away! That's what I do! Just make sure you have a spotter. HA! Actually there are resistance bands that are great for doing multiple exercises and they don't take up any room. Perfect for dorm rooms and give you a different style of workout compared to free weights. I use them when I'm just sitting around watching TV but what do I know, I'm just 210 lbs of twisted steel & sex appeal!
No bows on campus! That's too bad... I'm in school too and always had my bow in my car. Now I live right next to campus and shoot in my back yard all the time (I get a few strange looks from my neighbors). Does your school have an archery club that you could join? We have one here at our school and do a competitive shoot every week. As was said previously, just try and shoot as much as you can. It doesn't even have to be aiming, but the process of drawing your bow repetitively will build up the muscles, as well as muscle memory.
I haven't exactly asked anyone if it's allowed, but I'm pretty sure I would get in trouble for having it here. I didn't want to keep it in the car because I wasn't sure if extreme heat or cold would affect it. Didn't wanna take any chances! Unfortunately there is no archery club. I actually am considering starting one next semester, though.
Probably good thing to keep it at home. We had a neighbor boy expelled for having a Paint-ball Gun in his dorm room. It was a huge ordeal!
