I've read several descriptions of elite archers who shoot a ton of arrows each day. However, when it comes to working out a certain muscle group, conventional wisdom is that you do not work that muscle each day, but instead give it a day or two of rest between workouts. Why the difference?
Arcus
Arcus, every elite archer should have a training schedule that they follow. I think when we hear about shooting "every day", they often mean "almost" every day. It sure seems like every day, but rarely it is. Most training schedules will have archers shooting 4-5 days/week, then working on other things the remaining days like cardio, strength, technique or mental preparation.
That's how I'd set it up if I had the choice.
If all I did was archery, I'd want to shoot 100-150 arrows one day, 200-250 the next, then take a day off from shooting, then 200, then 150, then take two days off. Every now and then I'd probably throw in a 300+ arrow day, but I personally don't think that numbers are so necessary, esp. in the days of 3 arrow ends and the set system. Nowdays, technique, equipment and mental preparation are more important than sheer endurance IMO.
Even full time archers need something else to do. It doesn't take all day to shoot even 300-400 arrows. Usually, the archers are shooting a lot of those at close range/blank bale, or are shooting 10-12 arrow ends and can shoot 100 arrows in less than an hour. I do this all the time when I'm training, usually shooting 9 or 12 arrow ends to cut down on the wasted time of walking back and forth to the target, and to build up my endurance. That means I can shoot 100 arrows in just 11 ends or less, which I can easily do in an hour. This past Tuesday evening, I shot 200 arrows in less than two hours. Today, I'll likely shoot 100 arrows in about an hour.
So even if a "full time archer" is shooting 300-400 arrows in a training day, that leaves 1/2 a day for them to do something else.
At full effort, training an archer is barely a part-time job, unless you include travel time to tournaments.
John
That's how I'd set it up if I had the choice.
If all I did was archery, I'd want to shoot 100-150 arrows one day, 200-250 the next, then take a day off from shooting, then 200, then 150, then take two days off. Every now and then I'd probably throw in a 300+ arrow day, but I personally don't think that numbers are so necessary, esp. in the days of 3 arrow ends and the set system. Nowdays, technique, equipment and mental preparation are more important than sheer endurance IMO.
Even full time archers need something else to do. It doesn't take all day to shoot even 300-400 arrows. Usually, the archers are shooting a lot of those at close range/blank bale, or are shooting 10-12 arrow ends and can shoot 100 arrows in less than an hour. I do this all the time when I'm training, usually shooting 9 or 12 arrow ends to cut down on the wasted time of walking back and forth to the target, and to build up my endurance. That means I can shoot 100 arrows in just 11 ends or less, which I can easily do in an hour. This past Tuesday evening, I shot 200 arrows in less than two hours. Today, I'll likely shoot 100 arrows in about an hour.
So even if a "full time archer" is shooting 300-400 arrows in a training day, that leaves 1/2 a day for them to do something else.
At full effort, training an archer is barely a part-time job, unless you include travel time to tournaments.
John
I can't speak to your question as it directly pertains to archery, but as to the general point that you made about not working major muscle groups every day, I believe that "conventional wisdom" applies more to strength training. When I raced on the Navy Cycling Team years back, I came to understand that for endurance sports, you generally should train those groups nearly everyday. As cyclists, we took of one day per week, and very often, we skipped even that and made that day an "active recovery" day. Most of the manuals on endurance sports discuss something aliong those lines. Even in the Tour de France (which, granted, is competition, not training), which lasts three weeks, the competitors generally use the two "rest days" for recovery rides, sometimes riding distances up to 1/3 of what a race day would entail, albeit at lower intensity.
But since, like Limbwalker said, archery ends are short (3 arrows), with relatively long rest time between (more than 1:1), perhaps endurance isn't the determining factor for training plans.
But since, like Limbwalker said, archery ends are short (3 arrows), with relatively long rest time between (more than 1:1), perhaps endurance isn't the determining factor for training plans.
I think there is some merit to strength training, and the value of being able to shoot at or above 50# on the fingers. It has been well documented that shooting higher weights results in a cleaner, more forgiving release, lower trajectory and less time in the air for the arrow. All good things if you can handle the weight. And with the "game" going to 3 arrow ends with plenty of recovery time in between, I think a lot of serious archers need to be thinking about bumping up in draw weight if they can handle it.
John
John
shooting every day doesn't mean shooting all day either.
A properly developed training schedule can easily accommodate shooting daily, without damaging muscles and joints, and still giving appropriate rest periods to recover.
Besides actual shooting, exercises like SPT can be substituted also for conditioning and development. There are a lot of advantages to shooting regular amounts daily, as part of the process and conditioning. If you shoot 300 arrows a day, turning up to a 72 arrow event, even with warmup arrows, its not going to tax you at all, it's a leisurely stroll and you'll be shooting in peak technique and strength. Heck, if you shoot 300 a day, every day, rocking up to a double FITA with ~180 a day including your warmups, you're still going to walk away from the double not even feeling pushed physically....
A properly developed training schedule can easily accommodate shooting daily, without damaging muscles and joints, and still giving appropriate rest periods to recover.
Besides actual shooting, exercises like SPT can be substituted also for conditioning and development. There are a lot of advantages to shooting regular amounts daily, as part of the process and conditioning. If you shoot 300 arrows a day, turning up to a 72 arrow event, even with warmup arrows, its not going to tax you at all, it's a leisurely stroll and you'll be shooting in peak technique and strength. Heck, if you shoot 300 a day, every day, rocking up to a double FITA with ~180 a day including your warmups, you're still going to walk away from the double not even feeling pushed physically....
I have asked this question before, in addition to whether folks take an off season. I am not elite and I shoot senior even though I am masters age. I can, and have shot 7 days a week, but it beats me up over the long haul. I currently practice 5 to 6 days a week and am actually resisting the temptation to go to the range, even as we speak. It is hard for me to take a day off. My issue is my age and the year of wear and tear that I have gone through (not archery related). There is a practical limit that I think I have found. I am a member of a gym but cannot mix gym work and shooting on the same day. I would like to integrate the two. I have not taken an off season in almost four years. And I am sooooooooo tired at times, but still lovin' it.
Arcus -
I'm going to have a slightly different take on this.
A lot depends on your level of shooting and your "real" goals. Most of the people I shoot with or teach are basically weekend warriors, in the good sense.
For brand new shooters,I require at least two sessions per week, typically one hour each. One supervised and one or more on their own. I strongly suggest that they NOT shoot, or do activities that use the same muscle groups on consecutive days. The reason is that in the beginning, the archery muscles are being either used for the first time or at least being used differently than they would be used otherwise. Therefore, the similarity to actual weight training is considerable and the muscles need time to heal.
After a while, the muscles adapt, and for a while the weight lifting analogy isn't as strong. From a muscular perspective, it becomes more akin to a repetitive, sub maximal exertion exercise, in a sense like walking. (Slight exaggeration). At that point increasing the frequency of training sessions is possible and IMHO, necessary. Here 3 - 4 times a week should be the norm, and that obviously implies at least one episode of back to back shooting.
Beyond that, and here were talking about more dedicated / pro shooters, I don;t think shooting every day is a bad idea and again, possibly necessary. At this point, shooting every day doesn't mean doing the same thing every day.
For example, lets assume a 5 day/week schedule. There might be three days using the shooter's standard weight shooting for score, with one day practicing with limbs 5 - 10# lighter than usual for form training and one day with (usually a shorter session) with weight lifting limbs, meaning limbs 5 - 10# heavier than usual. At this point the real muscle break-down should only occur after the weight lifting days.
Naturally the type of shooting prescribed will be affected by the season and up coming matches and/or league play (of job/family requirements). A local league may be one of the shooting sessions. The exact schedule depends on the shooter's need and time. The above a rough examples.
These days, I try to shoot 4 days a week. Two regular practice sessions, one league and a light training and/or weight lifting session. That's also affected by how many student's I'm working with. (I was at the range for about 5 hours today, and may have loosed about 40 arrows ... ).
Now, I also do regular weight lifting 4 times a week, but always after a shooting session.
Viper1 out.
I'm going to have a slightly different take on this.
A lot depends on your level of shooting and your "real" goals. Most of the people I shoot with or teach are basically weekend warriors, in the good sense.
For brand new shooters,I require at least two sessions per week, typically one hour each. One supervised and one or more on their own. I strongly suggest that they NOT shoot, or do activities that use the same muscle groups on consecutive days. The reason is that in the beginning, the archery muscles are being either used for the first time or at least being used differently than they would be used otherwise. Therefore, the similarity to actual weight training is considerable and the muscles need time to heal.
After a while, the muscles adapt, and for a while the weight lifting analogy isn't as strong. From a muscular perspective, it becomes more akin to a repetitive, sub maximal exertion exercise, in a sense like walking. (Slight exaggeration). At that point increasing the frequency of training sessions is possible and IMHO, necessary. Here 3 - 4 times a week should be the norm, and that obviously implies at least one episode of back to back shooting.
Beyond that, and here were talking about more dedicated / pro shooters, I don;t think shooting every day is a bad idea and again, possibly necessary. At this point, shooting every day doesn't mean doing the same thing every day.
For example, lets assume a 5 day/week schedule. There might be three days using the shooter's standard weight shooting for score, with one day practicing with limbs 5 - 10# lighter than usual for form training and one day with (usually a shorter session) with weight lifting limbs, meaning limbs 5 - 10# heavier than usual. At this point the real muscle break-down should only occur after the weight lifting days.
Naturally the type of shooting prescribed will be affected by the season and up coming matches and/or league play (of job/family requirements). A local league may be one of the shooting sessions. The exact schedule depends on the shooter's need and time. The above a rough examples.
These days, I try to shoot 4 days a week. Two regular practice sessions, one league and a light training and/or weight lifting session. That's also affected by how many student's I'm working with. (I was at the range for about 5 hours today, and may have loosed about 40 arrows ... ).
Now, I also do regular weight lifting 4 times a week, but always after a shooting session.
Viper1 out.
Read up on Periodization, a term/therory for physical training programs and how the physical body responds and developes. But with archery there is a mental game too. You get stagnant if you train too much. Map out your plan, try it for a few weeks or months and re-evaluate. Not taking anything away from advice so far, but under the gun some folks preform best with the hard work done over months prior to the event and then take a rest and get prepared in their minds and just do it.
I watched the Tin Cup recently and Tommy Chong told Kevin Costner to get drunk the night before the open.... why? to get his conscience mind dis-connected so that the rest could take over. Sometimes in archery lots of hard training is good, but re focus before the event.
Just a few observations...
I watched the Tin Cup recently and Tommy Chong told Kevin Costner to get drunk the night before the open.... why? to get his conscience mind dis-connected so that the rest could take over. Sometimes in archery lots of hard training is good, but re focus before the event.
Just a few observations...
If I can't shoot as many days/week as I'd like, I try to at least take 10 minutes and shoot a few dozen "familiarization" arrows, working on a few key things, so I don't forget what those are.
Just like in golf, it's way too easy to forget simple keys to a shot if you get away from it too long.
The flipside of that is if you develop some bad habits (as I sometimes do in golf) a good long break can allow you to forget those and go back to your more natural shot.
Some of my best scores both in archery and on the golf course have been shot after taking weeks or months off. Go figure.
CC, I like to take a day or two break from shooting before a big competition. Get all my final preperation in at least two days ahead of time, then just rest.
John
Just like in golf, it's way too easy to forget simple keys to a shot if you get away from it too long.
The flipside of that is if you develop some bad habits (as I sometimes do in golf) a good long break can allow you to forget those and go back to your more natural shot.
Some of my best scores both in archery and on the golf course have been shot after taking weeks or months off. Go figure.
CC, I like to take a day or two break from shooting before a big competition. Get all my final preperation in at least two days ahead of time, then just rest.
John
I seem to be shooting more pucks at my son than arrows at a target these days.
Since I just started Archery I do stretching exercises daily and shoot once a week. Soon I'll increase Archery as time dictates.
Since I just started Archery I do stretching exercises daily and shoot once a week. Soon I'll increase Archery as time dictates.
I try and shoot every day. I have heard and read that Reo Wilde shoots 5-6hrs a day, every day, leading up to a big shoot.
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