deskjockey said:
I shoot a Pearson Stealth set at 65lbs. draw with a 29" draw length (I am 6'3"). I was shooting by trying to touch the string to my nose, but felt I was limiting proper form. Now, after some thorough searching I have tried to force myself to bring everything in a little tighter. I closed the space between the string and my bow arm shoulder by turning my body clockwise like Nuts & Bolts suggested in his postings on form. Now my string touches my mouth. This position feels like it shortened my draw length. I guess I am wondering what the proper bow arm position should be as far as position of elbow (where should it be pointing), how much bend should it have, etc. I feel like I'm doing something wrong, especially since my shoulder gets really sore after shooting maybe 15 arrows. It's definitely a sore feeling (no pain). It's as if I'm lifing weights. This bow is a little on the heavy side. I just wonder if this sore shoulder is an indicator of improper form. Last night I drew back in front of the mirror to check my form. I noticed that I tend to lean back at the waist.
Also, I think my draw stop is a little out of whack. If I pull all the way into the stop it pulls a little through the 'wall', maybe about 1/8" - 1/4" past. Is this a bad thing? What affect would this have as long as I'm consistent and draw to the stop each time?
Hello deskjockey:
What is your wingspan?
Bow fit to a shooter is made up of three components:
a) Bow AMO draw length
b) d-loop length
c) wrist strap to trigger distance.
you can adjust any of the three to have the bow fit you.
When you rotate your body clockwise (RH shooter),
you are increasing the distance from the grip to your chin,
so yes, you are increasing your body's draw length requirements.
That's a good thing, because most folks have purchased a bow with the DL set too long.
You also mentioned that you noticed that you are leaning backwards.
That's a hint that you were definitely shooting with the DL set too long for you.
How much to bend the elbow?
Is that elbow a straight one, a slightly bent one, a "locked" one...?
Using your index finger on your bow hand, stretch your bow arm out
and point the index finger at the top left corner of the door. That's how much to "bend or not bend" your elbow.
When you line up your feet towards the target (more clockwise than before),
and draw your bow to full draw,
keep both shoulders level....
push off the rear foot and force your body forward (more than before)
push off both feet and stretch your upper body upwards (stand tall)
get your adams apple right over the button of your jeans (standing centered)
when you stand tall, now you should be able to hit your normal anchor point.
when you stand tall, you may or may not need to take some twists out
of your bow string to add maybe 1/4-inch to the bow draw length....
I can't reallly advise you without a picture...
but I suspect that until you teach your body muscles
a new muscle memory...
it will feel strange.
shoulder soreness is different than shoulder pain.
when you are rotated more clockwise,
and your bow arm is more in line with your two shoulders....
you can actually relax the bow arm and the release arm (biceps)
and let the bones in your bow arm and two shoulders take the load...
(that's why you don't want too much "bend" in the bow arm elbow)
if you take 3 blocks of 2x4 lumber...
each piece 6-inches long
stack them end to end to make a 18-inch high stack of 2x4 lumber
because each piece is directly on top of each other,
you can push down on the top piece of 2x4
and the column is stable.
The bones in the bow forearm (between the wrist and elbow) is the first piece of 2x4.
The bone in the bow upper arm (elbow to shoulder) is the 2nd piece of 2x4.
The two shoulders and the left and right collar bones are the 3rd piece of 2x4.
When these three pieces line up as straight as you can,
then it takes very little effort to maintain a steady hold. So, you can actually relax the bow arm muscles between the wrist and elbow,
and you can use very little effort to keep the bow shoulder down,
as long as the riser shelf is at your shoulder height.
You want the bow shoulder to be down.
Now, on the release arm side.
You also want the release side shoulder down.
Once you are at full draw, you are only holding 12 lbs
for a 60 lb bow with a 80% letoff.
Just like mashing the brakes on a car with a panic stop.
You have the pedal down to the floor in order to stop the car.
Once the car is stopped, how many folks are still applying 100 lbs of pressure
on the brake pedal?
You need the arms muscles to pull through the 60 lb peak draw weight.
Once you are at full draw,
you need to reduce your holding pressure to 15-lbs or so, just a little over your holding weight.
Once you hit full draw and are at anchor,
you need to shift gears.
You used the arm muscles to get through the peak draw weight to get to full draw and anchor.
NOW change gears to the shoulder muscles.
Relax that right bicep.
Relax the right shoulder muscle.
Squeeze the right arm pit muscles along the right side of the ribs (lats).
Pull down the right elbow tip with your lats on the right side.
Squeeze the right side shoulder blade.
You can swing your right arm and elbow just like a door.
Try to smoothly swing the right arm and elbow (door)
back behind your head 2-inches, while maintaining a downward pressure on the right elbow tip.
YES, doing two things at once, like patting the top of your head (left hand),
and rubbing your stomach in a circle (right hand).
So, if you are exercising the right shoulder blade muscle,
(for the first time), then you will feel soreness,
and then it's time to stop shooting that day,
and try again 2-days later.
One day of shooting training.
One day of rest.
Start shooting again on day 3.
One day of rest on day 4.
You get the idea.
