Archery can improve both your mental and physical capabilities in many different ways. Just a few of the health benefits of archery include:

• Enhanced hand / eye coordination.
• Improved physical strength and control over your body.
• Calmness and patience from the practice of lining up for an accurate shot.
• Improved ability to concentrate.
• Increased finger flexibility.

Working on your body by exercising in between archery sessions and paying attention to what you eat means improving both your archery and your overall quality of life. Plus, you can exercise on days when you can’t shoot so you don’t lose your form when you’re traveling or not able to get to a range.

It makes sense to build a stronger body to up your game by targeting the muscles involved in drawing, holding, and firing your bow. Improving your core and shoulder muscles also increases your ability to move up to higher draw weights and fire more powerful shots.

You don’t need to do grueling workouts in the gym – as dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands all leverage your body weight for strength training at home. Effective strength training means both working your muscles and then allowing them to rest for up to 48 hours. You want to practice your strength training routine a maximum of three sessions a week. On the other days you can opt for cardiovascular exercises like biking, jumping rope, swimming, or brisk walking to keep you moving and mobile.

The 15 Best Physical Exercises to Improve Your Archery

The primary muscles used in archery are the core, back, and shoulders. The correct shooting sequence relies on primarily using your back muscles. Most exercises to improve your archery concentrate on these, but your core muscles and legs contribute heavily to a stable shooting stance. To put it simply, proper archery involves your whole body.

Strength training helps to increase your draw weight and improves your overall health. Whether you want to target specific muscle groups or condition your entire body, the following exercises are accessible and straightforward with minimal equipment required.

Single Arm Dumbbell Row

This exercise works your back muscles (Latissimus Doris) and improves core body strength. The benefit to your archery practice is strengthening the muscles you use when drawing your bow. To perform this exercise you only need a dumbbell and a bench.

Holding one dumbbell, adopt a stable standing position with both knees slightly bent. Lean forward until your back is parallel to the floor and put your free hand flat on the bench to stabilize your body.

Start with the arm (holding the dumbbell) fully extended, using your back muscles to lift the dumbbell in a straight line towards your chest. Pause and then control the release down to full extension. Repeat your desired amount of reps and then switch sides.

A strong back is essential to your quality of life outside of archery as well. A strong back protects you against back pain, improves your posture, helps avoid osteoporotic fractures, and is the best antidote to hours spent hunched over an office desk.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The dumbbell lateral raise targets the shoulder (deltoid) muscles. These provide support for your bow arm and help with the draw cycle. You can use one dumbbell and work one side at a time or use two dumbbells and either work both sides together or alternate raising and lowering your arms.

If using one dumbbell, put your free hand on your hip. Adopt a stable standing position with feet shoulder width apart, knees relaxed with a slight bend, back straight, head straight, and eyes looking forward.

Starting with your hand by your side, lift your arm smoothly to the side until it reaches a 90˚ angle. Pause and lower the arm in a smooth, controlled motion. Repeat until you reach your desired amount of repetitions.

Your shoulder is a complex body mechanism and vital for everyday actions like carrying groceries, washing dishes and cleaning your countertops. Around two out of three people experience shoulder pain at some point, and that really hampers your ability to go about your day, driving your car or even reaching for a drink. Strengthening your shoulder muscles is one of the best ways to protect yourself from injury and keep you mobile for life.

Dumbbell Shrug

The target muscle for this exercise is the trapezius muscle between your shoulder blades. An archer shoots with the back muscles, so toning and conditioning these muscles improves your shooting form over time.

Stand with a dumbbell in each hand in the same starting position as the lateral raise. Now, keep your arms straight, raise your shoulders and release (the shrug) and repeat until you are tired or hit a target amount of repetitions.

The trapezius muscle stabilizes your shoulders. Strength training with this underrated exercise contributes to overall shoulder strength, and this improves your posture (making breathing easier) and even your self confidence (you naturally walk with your shoulders back and relaxed).

Side Plank

The side plank works your core muscles targeting your abdomen, obliques (interior and exterior), and your quadriceps. A strong, stable standing position is best for shooting form and improves your overall health. Strong core muscles provide support for your organs, improved posture, and stability in movement.

You can use a yoga mat, but any flat level surface lets you exercise using your body weight to tone and strengthen. You aim to balance your body weight on your forearm (at right angles to your body) and the outside edge of your foot. You hold your body (straight and aligned along the spine) for a target amount of time or until you become too tired to hold the pose any longer. There are several variations of the plank if the side plank doesn’t suit you.

These core muscles improve everything in your life – better posture, more energy, and less risk of aches and pains. Plus, they support your organs and generally make every physical task more comfortable.

Basic Push Ups

The push up strengthens the shoulders but also works on the chest, upper arms, and improves stamina. Archers require upper body strength, and this exercise doesn’t need any equipment and can be performed on any level surface.

You start by supporting your body weight on your outstretched arms (shoulder width apart) and the tips of your toes. You lower your body down (by bending your elbows) towards the ground, holding, and raising.

Improving your upper body strength improves your mobility – you reach, lift, pull, and push with your upper body. Maintaining and increasing your upper body strength makes life more enjoyable on all levels.

Turkish Get Ups

This exercise works all the muscles and really strengthens your shoulder muscles. You need a dumbbell or a kettlebell, and you will get up with the weight from a prone position.

Start by lying down with the weight near your right shoulder. Rollover so you can grasp the weight and pull it to your chest while lying sideways. Holding the weight tightly, roll onto your back, keeping the weight at your chest.

You will perform a set of strength maneuvers that raise the weight into the air and take you into a kneeling position and then a standing position. To learn the safe sequence and which muscles to engage, it is best to watch the video.

Turkish get ups need you to keep your muscles engaged and locked in position throughout the entire exercise, which is why it strengthens all your core and upper body muscles and improves body awareness and control.

Shoulder muscles are essential for archery, but this body conditioning exercise’s benefits include increased mobility and stability. In practical terms, it is easier for you to walk, run, twist, bend, and lift – everything you need for many different everyday actions.

Swimming

Swimming is a cardio workout that supports your body while you build strength and stamina. It’s one of the best low impact exercises that’s great for all age groups. You can benefit from interval training, water aerobics, or an ever increasing number of laps in a pool. For an archer, swimming has the benefits of body conditioning and improved strength and stability to improve your overall shooting form.

Swimming is an excellent relaxation and exercise activity by yourself or with family and friends. Strength training isn’t something you do every day, because you need to let your muscles relax and recover in between sessions to get the maximum benefits. Swimming provides an alternative exercise that is fun, works your body, and improves your overall health.

Chest Press with Resistance Bands

You can complete this exercise sitting or standing. Place the resistance band behind your back while holding each end. Then extend your arms in front of your chest, pulling the elastic band with you. Repeat for a set number of repetitions.

This exercise targets your pectoral (chest) muscles along with your deltoids, triceps, biceps, and serratus anterior muscles, building the upper body strength that you need for drawing, holding, and firing your bow.

Your chest muscles move your arms up, down, and across your body and allow you to flex and rotate. Strong chest muscles increase your ability to do anything from washing your hair, waving to a neighbor, or opening a door without discomfort. You use your chest muscles for many different activities, so there’s no reason not to build them up.

Triceps Press with Resistance Bands

Put the resistance band under the heel of one foot. Run the band behind your body and use both hands to pull it up above your head. Relax and repeat. It’s a straightforward movement with some excellent benefits.

The triceps (working with your biceps) allow you to straighten and bend your arm. They also stabilize your shoulder joints, and this is a crucial area for any archer. Strength and stability in this area are essential for maintaining your archery capabilities.

Strong triceps are important and increase both your flexibility and range of motion. That improved flexibility and range reduces your risks of injury in sports or other daily activities.

Resistance Band Pull Apart

Hold one end of the resistance band in each hand and stand in a stable position with your feet hip distance apart. Raise your arms to chest height and then smoothly pull them apart, stretching the resistance band. Release and repeat.

This exercise works your back, chest, and shoulders – all the muscles involved in drawing and shooting your bow. The benefit of this exercise is that it builds a strong back. A strong back improves every aspect of your physical life and helps to avoid distressing back pain.

You can get a full set of Pro Resistance Bands to workout anywhere, all in one great package. You get a full variety of different weights, accessories and a carrying bag. Check these out, there’s a lot of bang for your buck in this package!

Resistance Band Bow and Arrow

This exercise mimics the movements you make when holding the bow and drawing the bowstring. It works your shoulders, chest, and triceps, and you repeat it on both sides of the body. Hold one arm in front of you, fully extended, and use the other arm to draw back and release.

This exercise helps you work the specific muscles involved in drawing and releasing a bow (on one side of your body, and it builds upper body strength. Archery works one side of your body more than the other. This exercise gives you the benefit of using the other side of your body to maintain balance in your muscle strength. Upper body strength is essential for an active life.

Battling Ropes

You can set up a pair of battling ropes with an anchor point at home. You can use several exercises with battling ropes, but the straightforward one is moving your arms up and down to create rope waves.

This deceptively simple exercise builds core strength and stability while building up those crucial shoulder muscles, giving you an increased draw weight in archery. Battling ropes give you a dynamic workout that works your shoulder and arm muscles. Plus, it improves your coordination and general energy levels.

Jump Rope

Jump rope is a popular part of many top athlete’s exercise routines because it increases stamina, coordination and builds strong bones. The muscles worked include the full range in the legs, forearms, abdominal muscles, and deltoids. Most archers benefit from overall strength training, and a jump rope is economical and you can take it anywhere.

Bonus Tip: If you pick up one of these you can increase the effectiveness of your jump rope routine several times over – without having to do any extra work!

This full body workout improves your heart health, coordination, strength and can even make you more calm. The Jump Rope Institute promotes jump rope for a healthier lifestyle because it works your mind as well as your body.

Farmer’s Walk

If you want to build a strong back, increase your shoulder strength, and improve your grip (all essential for excellent shooting form), try the farmer’s walk with two dumbbells or kettlebells. It’s insanely easy – hold a weight in each hand, walk with short steps as fast as you can in one direction, and then turn around and walk back.

It’s effective and straightforward to perform this exercise. If you’re interested in burning off a bit of belly fat, it can do that as well. Your hand’s grip involves your forearm muscles, and a good grip is equally as essential for opening a jar as it is for picking up an arrow.

Rowing Machine

The other exercises listed in this article don’t require access to machinery, but if you want to invest in a machine to exercise, consider the rowing machine. It works the major muscles in your legs, core, arms, and back in a low impact, controlled exercise. Most people know that archers develop strong back and arm muscles, but a stable stance is also crucial for good shooting form.

Archery practice targets one side of the body, so physical exercise that rebalances the muscles with stretching and toning is excellent for overall health. The benefit of exercising on a rowing machine is that you work all your muscles in one session. There are even low cost rowing machines designed specifically for home use that are pretty high quality, like this one. So anyone can get the benefits of a rowing machine without an expensive gym membership.

Resistance Bands: The Archer’s Anytime / Anywhere Workout

Resistance bands are affordable and versatile tools to help you with many different exercises. They increase muscle strength, joint mobility, and assist with rehabilitation after a shoulder, knee, or hip injury. They come in a range of sizes, and you can use them for warm ups, opportunistic workout sessions and overall body conditioning.

The benefits of using resistance bands in your exercise routine include:

• Better quality of exercise because your muscles experience constant tension from the band.
• Learning control of both the tension and the release (like a bowstring).
• Targeting the stabilizing muscles that improve your core strength.
• Building joint mobility because you move more with resistance bands.
• A more natural and affordable alternative to gym machines.
• Light and easy to pack in a bag, so there is no excuse for not fitting more exercise into your day.
• Improved coordination because you work groups of muscles and gain more conditioning.
• Avoid joint strain and help in recovery from injury because you can adjust your weights and working angles.
• Maintaining consistent effort and form from the first repetition to the last.
• Building body awareness of which muscles are working and how it feels to use them.

You can use resistance bands instead of free weights or as an addition to your exercise kit. They come in different tension levels and shapes. If you are not familiar with resistance bands, go for the most uncomplicated design but invest in at least a light, medium, and heavy band. You will want different intensities when you are used to working with them. As I mentioned before, you can get everything you need in this package deal.

Nutrition

You know how to eat right – portion control, a small amount of protein and plenty of vegetables. It’s a simple equation – if calories in don’t equal calories out, you end up with flab. All calories are not created equal, so 80-90% of the time, opt for lean meat and fish, a rainbow of vegetables with plenty of greens, a limited amount of carbohydrates, and some healthy fat.

Now for some good news. If you’re not trying to lose weight, then working out means you’ll have some extra calories to burn. You still need to put in the right fuel for your body, but it does mean the occasional treat or snack won’t impact your fitness goals as easily.

Whatever you like to eat, focus on quality and portion control, and you’ll provide your body with the right fuel to spend a day working out or target shooting.

Proper Hydration

Your body needs and craves a lot of water because it is crucial to body functions like:

• Temperature regulation.
• Lubricating joints.
• Fighting infection.
• Feeding body cells.
• Sleeping well.
• Avoiding brain fog.

You don’t need to stick with just water, but avoid sugar filled drinks and the empty calories they contain. Most people don’t get enough water, and if you’re exercising, you need more to replace the moisture loss and keep your body working efficiently.

Building a Better Body for Archery

If you focus on building a healthy, strong body in peak condition for archery, you’ll also gain an improved quality of life in general. Improving and maintaining the muscle groups you use when drawing, holding, and firing your bow also enhances your ability to engage in your hobbies, avoid injury and rake up the fall leaves. Not only will these exercises help to improve your archery, they’ll improve your overall quality of life too.

You can’t stop growing older, but you can maintain your mobility, flexibility, strength, and mental sharpness by exercising your archery muscles between shooting sessions, feeding yourself the right fuel, and getting plenty of water.