Trad Gang

I wasn't sure how to post this,but I'm looking for exercises to build strength for pulling more poundage.

Thanks for the advice,
David

Best exercise, in my opinion, is to get a heavy bow and pull it and pull it and pull it...

Other than that work your upper/mid back (rows, pullups, etc...) rear delts (bent over lateral raises, etc...)  and keep your rotator cuffs strong (internal/external rotation)...Mike

I like DB rows, lat pull down, pull ups, row machine and one that I don't have a name for..  

I will do my best to describe it...  I use an adjustable cable cross over machine to simulate drawing a bow back by planting my left hand on a stationary post (a leg extension machine next to the cable machine) about 2 feet from the pulley.  I start out with my right hand next to my left and pull it all the way back to my anchor point and hold it just as if I am drawing a bow back.  I then repeat this for my other arm.  This has been the best exercise for me as I have found it works the same muscles you use when shooting since it is the same motion.  Is there a name for this I don't know about?

This link has some good info about staying fit in general   Bowhunting fitness exercises (http://www.bowhunter.com/feature_articles/BW_fitness_1008/)

Best thing I found was the bent over rowing, for lack of a real name.  Bend over 90 degrees (parallel to the ground) - support yourself on a chair back if you like, then pull a 20 pound dumbell straight up to your shoulder.  Moderate weight with lot of reps works strength and flexibility.  Don't forget to do your bow arm as well.

I take the tubing that the chiropactor uses for rehab and make a couple of wraps around the riser to the string. Make sure you hold on the ends real tight. You can add more weight with more wraps. Could get up to 100 lbs with my heavy limbs on.

Push ups and pull ups. Simple, cheap and easy on the body.  :D

I'll second just shooting.

I'll 2nd push ups & pull ups. There are heaps of ways in doing both these exercises are there as cheap as they come, hence the Army loven 'em!


ak.

Your body weight is all you truly need.

Pull ups,push ups,crunches,reverse situps...
The main thing is STRETCH,before and after.

Remember to strengthen the whole 'shooting system' : arms,torso,back and yes even your eyes can be exercised.

that's my 2 cents.

If you like toys (and let's be serious, would you be on this web site if you didn't?), 3 Rivers sells a "Bow Fit" exerciser that's basically tubing with handles.  It's great for both stetching and strengthening - can be used for internal and external rotations for the rotator cuff by anchoring one end and otherwise for about anything you can do with a tubing exerciser, including by using the handles, replicating a bow draw (there are three sizes and by wrapping the tubing you can get almost any weight you need) without any risk to your bow.  

I also like a rowing machine; that works pretty much everything at the same time so you can not only shoot better you can get to someplace to shoot better.

im a football player and a powerlifter that spends 3 or 4 hours a day in a weight room, so i can actually help here, lol. basicly what everyone els said, rows, pullups, lat pulldowns and maby some tricep exercises, like skull crushers or tricep extentions.

but i have found that you jist get a hevyer bow and shoot it ALOT and in like a month or less it will feel natural. good luck.

I take an old axe handle, tie a rope to the top and bottom, and PULL.

When I can get the thing to full draw then I figure I'm ready to stop exercising.  

Sorry, couldn't resist!

I'm with Arwin on this one.  There are a lot of exercises that will work, but push-ups and pullups (both types of pullups...hands in and hands out) will get you in great shape.

Important to work you body evenly also, so if pulling a bow to get in shape, pull it as much with both hands.

I second the BowFit exercise device. It is cheap, light and compact so you can take it anywhere and use it. You can get a DVD with it that shows you the basic exercises to do. Don't get anything lighter than the Heavy model if you shoot normal poundage bows. For high poundage bows, get the Safari. I have both and take one with me on every trip to maintain strength. They are also good at home. The suggestions by others are good too, except the axe handle routine.        :)

Allan

I like the Australian pullup.You are basically laying on the ground with a bar supported by counter top or chairs etc.Pull yourself up to the bar.You can hold at the top of the rep to simulate holding a bow.Its close to the same motion as pulling a bow is why I like it.You can do quite a few reps as well for endurance or put some weight in a back pack for more resistance.Its also easy on the lower back compared to bent over rows.

Dumbells rows are good becaause of the full range of motion and freedom of movement and different angles you can pull through.

On some seated row machines you can use different attachments that allow you to pull back further and again allowing a fuller range on motion like when pulling a bow where you really crank back pretty far when you are locked in at anchor.

I use leftover therapy bands from my shoulder surgery.  Stick the Knot in the door.  Close door and pull just like a bow.  Plus I can do all sorts of other exercises with them.  Cheap at a therapy place.

Let me add something, whatever you do to one side or shoulder , do to the other, balance. Balance out both sides , keeps everthing where it needs to be. Also there is book called Archery massage, a good massage once or every other  week, when shooting really helps you stay in the game!    :thumbsup:

Any type of exercise mentioned here will make you stronger...but the fact is if you want to get stronger pulling the bow, then you have to exercise that motion to get stronger pulling the bow.  You have to work the muscles needed in the form they will be working.  

Doing push ups will not increase your ability to pull a heavy bow, just like pulling a heavier bow wont allow you to do more push ups.  You must condition the muscles in the motions.

yep

Sorry but I have to disagree with only training muscles that you "think" are the mucsles used to pull a bow.  You should always train your entire body.  If you want to handle any kind of heavy weight then your whole body needs to be strong, not just your back and arms. YOu need a strong chest program to hold the bow steady. You need strong legs for a solid base, the Korean archers are not even allowed to pick up a bow until they can lift a certain amount of weight with thier legs.
Also if you just train a certain part of you body you will become un-balanced and create problems in the areas you do not train.

Elk...I didn't say you shouldn't do other exercises, but simply doing push ups and pull ups aint going to automatically able you to pull a heavier bow. Anyone that knows about body training knows that you must work the muscles needed in the motions used to gain strength for that use.  Its not an opinion but a provable fact.

If your chest is use during that motion, then you will condition the chest and strengthen it to do that job.  Its not what muscles I 'think' I am using....its what muscles I AM using when I draw the bow because that's what I am doing.

I will say that if I work on drawing my heavier bow, and not do push ups, I WILL gain strength in that realm. And if I only do push ups, I will not get anywhere near the same results.  That is provable.

I also draw both left and right handed to keep the balance.

I remember in the mid 80's there were 'roid' guys that trained their whole bodies that could not pull back my 80# compound.  These guys competed, and they thought I had a trick switch on my bow.  They couldn't break over the wheels, and then I proceeded to do so 10 times.  They were a lot bigger guys than me, they just had not done THAT motion as a workout, and I'd done it since a young kid.  But, they could bench press 100 pounds more than me.

Glad I'm not a Korean archer.     :D

I know a bunch of people much stronger than I am who cannot pull back the recurve bows and longbows I can draw without any difficulty -- even guys who can pull back much heavier compounds that I cannot begin to draw! Just like any motion, the muscles are very specific and must be trained specifically. Ultimately, drawing a heavy bow is what will have to be done. In the meantime, cross training your muscles is very important too. Terry knows what he is talking about. All I am doing is agreeing with him.

Allan

Pull your bow a lot sittin in front of the tube.

Terry - You are right. If all a person is interested in is "pulling" a heavy bow then focus only on the muscle groups that work the drawing motion.  That being said if you want to "shoot" the heavier bows accurately then you need to train your chest and shoulders, your legs and your core.  Because to shoot accurately they all come into play, especially in a hunting situation.

I agree with shooting the heavy bow till you can handle it, but it takes time. Don't try to rush it by shooting many, many arrows at each practice session. Increase the number of arrows fairly slowly - it helps avoid injuries and bad form. I like heavy bows and shoot a 78# bow and a 65# bow and really like them. However, after a layoff, I must work back into them over a period of several weeks or else the bow handles me instead of the other way around. Not knocking the exercise methods, but they don't allow you train your form as you train your muscles.

Pushups and drawing your bow. I do 75 pushups 3 days a week and draw 74# with ease.

Price Ebert had a video some time ago "Pulling Big Bows" it listed a series  of exercises that incorporate your bow and a spring chest expander. Gary Sentman   used one to increase his strength prior to setting the world record of 176l b @28" back in 1975. It is a very effective set of exercises that specifically target muscles of the back that are used in shooting a bow as well as forearms  for grip.

Thanks to all for all the advice.

I'd like to apologize for getting out of character this AM with my post.  I broke my own rules, and for that I am sorry.  Rough morning and bad timing but that's no excuse for my response.

Here's a better response....

I think you can certainly get accurate shooting a heavier bow by shooting a heavier bow.  Once you work up to the weight you want, then more practice is always rewarding if its the correct practice.

I usually shoot 60-64 pounds in the winter, and again build up to 70 every spring.  I drop down in weight due to deer hunting in cold weather as being still and not necessarily warm like when hog or bear hunting when I'm much more mobile in warmer whether.

Sure, I'm not as accurate the day I pick up the 70# bow, but by week 3 it starts coming around, and within a month my accuracy is the same as with my lighter bows.

So for me, I don't have to do any other work outs with any other parts of my body to build up 5 to 10 pounds, nor do I loose any accuracy once the build up is acquired.

Again,....sorry for getting out of line this AM.

I trained an olympic archer 4 yrs back.. Besides doing what many here have already said.. We took dbs 10-25 # and simulated drawing and holding. A static hold will do wonders for strengthening your draw, anchor,and hold. Both sides. You will notice that most archers have more development on the side that pulls the bow. If you look  the rear delts, upper lat, rhomboid, and trap will be larger. Training the other side as well will balance your muscles and help as well.
Of course pulling your bow should be a constant(Its the best) and the workout an enhancement.

Just don't over-shoot and get tendonitis like me. Exercise all the muscles evenly by drawing right and left, doing the exercises mentioned above. And most importantly, as soon as you're tired, put the bow down. If I would have done that I wouldn't be in this mess.

Zack

I remember Paul Brunner sayin "ya will never shoot a heavy bow by shooting a light one.".. he also advocated drawing and holding a heavier bow as excersise...

I think it was Brunner that I read about where he advocated having a heavy bow easily accesable and pulling that bow every morning back past full draw (like to your ear) and holding for 5 to 10 seconds and working up the number of reps you can do--I don't have a really heavy bow but I have done this with my normal hunting weight bows and it seemed to help and condition the drawing muscles.

Yes....I think holding at full draw helps, and do that as well.

When I start to move up, I do 3 sets of ten and don't hold....then after a week I do 3 sets of ten....and then after another week I do 3 sets of ten and hold on the last 3 reps for 5 seconds.

I do that every other day as to let the muscles repair and build.

I should have posted that earlier,....but as usual, I'm running 90MPH.

Try the "Perfect Pushup" they are really helping me!  When you start you will be able to do about 1/3 the amount of pushups that you could normally do.  And the payoff is rapaid!

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IN GOD WE TRUST

All great ideas. I don't have an extra heavy bow laying around so I use the heavy bow fit band. You can double the band back on itself to get even more resistance. Nothing like drawing to get the bow drawing muscles built up.
Now, that said, a whole body conditioning workout helps to increase your whole body strength and endurance and keeps you in shape for the hunt. I'm a great fan of the Matt Furey Combat Conditioning system. He also has a great set of exercises for keeping your shoulders loose, strong and pain free.

I 3rd the bow fit,you can take it with you and it works the muscles that you need to shoot exactly.Not to say you don't need to work the rest of yourself,rows,pullups etc. all of the above are very good too but the bow fit is so handy!I have a bowflex home gym and love it but its hard to take on trips and to work.

Keep shooting as you do move up in weight.Your building the right body parts and muscles.When it comes ot bow shooting it's not just all muscles.

Pretty much all has been said here by somebody or other. Here's what I have done to work up to 85#'s. I do have several bows from mid 60's to the 85# so I don't try and do it all at once, but I could if I wanted to. I keep the heavy bow strung all the time, right where I will see it and whenever I notice it, I will draw and hold it as far back as a can, without forcing it, yanking it back, is a sure way to hurt yourself. Even when I get to the point where I can draw and hold it at full draw for 10-15 seconds, I will stop at 1/3 and 2/3rd's draw and hold it there for 10-15 seconds. After I do that as many times as I can without forcing it, I switch hands and do the same thing left handed. You are much less likely to have problems if you develop both sides equally AND you will develop faster, since ANY exercise helps the whole body, hench crosstraining. When I start out, I only draw the bow every third day at most. Exercise dosn't build muscles it tears them down, BUT when they rebuild they rebuild stronger, but it takes about 72 hours for that to happen. After the muscles get built up where you can shoot the heavier bow, I shoot it almost everyday, but not to the point where I am having a hard time drawing it and if the muscle hurt the next day or day after, I go run up and down the mountain or do some situps or some other exercise not involving my arms. After a couple months, I can draw and hold 85#'s with out any trouble, both right and left handed 10 or more times in a row.

It all helps put the best way is get a heavyer bow.If you can come up 2,3 to 4 pounds at a time.The slower the better is the way to go.This way your not just building muscles.Your slow'ly changeing your form.

The problem with a heavy bow for building muscle is it can also build bad habits and form.

Look up how to do face pulls. It is probably the one exercise that will really help and create better form.
thanks

I have to agree with a heavier bow.
I diagree with form getting worse. Form might be worse with heavier bow only because you most likely will not be able to come to full draw. Not a problem. But after shooting the heavier bow you stretch out and form will naturally get better and probably increase alil in draw length.

I disagree with it also, the purpose is to work up to a heavier bow, so regardless of what you do to build up the muscles, you are still going to have to shoot the bow at some point.

One arm rows...with a static hold.  Also hold a db (weight varies)out straight just like your bow.. now take another dumbell and simulate drawing your bow string. Star from the bottom up draw/ olympic style/then Korean style. Both sides!!

They say strengthening ur core makes you stronger every where, dont see why this won`t help sum in both  making a solid stance an  in draw strength especially if you practice drawing standing on a Boz or fus ball(   :confused:   sorry not sure how to spell it) It would force you to use only the right muscles. Its a little out of the box but i think it would help. I just think drawing the bow is the major key with a little help from other stuff