Better Form=More Muscles or Less??

[FarmerMarley]

Hey Guys,
I have been practicing archery for almost 2 years and this website has been great! Lately, I have really been trying to break down my entire shot and really find the best form.

My real archery form journey started a little more than 6 months ago. After straining my shoulder I dropped down in bow weight and realized I was not getting proper alignment or reaching my full draw (long arms). Since then I have been shooting a 40# @30" whip and trying to build my form from the ground up.

Recently I started wondering about something....and I am a bit confused from what I have been reading and seeing on videos such as MBB 1-4. When you have proper form and are engaging your back and pulling through the shot do you use more muscles or less?

I know that Rod Jenkins and others say that bone on bone support and proper body mechanics are supposed to make you use less muscle and get tired less. But I have seen others say that to get proper back tension and form they have to shoot a lighter bow.

I have found that the more I work on my form it feels almost like my bow keeps getting heavier or that I discover all kinds of new little stabilizing muscles that are sore after practicing at the blank bale. Maybe it is because I have slowed down my shot sequence or I'm engaging more small muscle groups in my back instead of relying on biceps or whatever.

I guess it is not a yes or no question...But I'm curious what all of you experienced archers on here think.

Thanks

[Rossco7002]

I can say that learning proper back tension and alignment has allowed me to shoot for longer sessions without becoming fatigued anywhere nearly as quickly.

Once I learned to pull with my back it made a huge difference (ie. pulling the bow with a very large muscle group as opposed to a small one) to how much weight I could comfortably shoot.

[BobCo 1965]

Briefly, think of it in the lines of isolation.

In general, say a person goes to the gym and can perform a bench press without good form at 250 pounds. Now they go to an incline fly machine which they are strapped in and not allowed to use their arms in any way, only their upper pecs are activated in the movement. They are now only able to perform with 30 pounds; this is mainly due to isolation. Maybe with incorrect form in the fly machine, they can use 40 pounds, but even there, it is much less than using a grouping of muscles.

[moebow]

My 2 cents is this.  With "proper form" you are using less muscle to hold the bow at full draw.  You are using bone structure to support the bow weight and only enough muscle to hold the bones in position (in line).  You also get a gain by using the skeleton as levers to draw the bow, so again you use less muscle overall.

The reason for the lighter bow suggestion ( again in my opinion and experience) is that LEARNING how to draw this way AND LEARNING how it feels at full draw, a lighter bow simply allows you to do (and LEARN) the motions without having to strain with bow weight.  Once LEARNED many are able to pull even heavier bows than before when the entire effort was arm muscles.

The large muscles groups in your back are FAR stronger than the long muscles of the arm  and they do not fatigue as fast either.  It is just that we seldom consciously employ the back muscles in our day to day lives, so we have to LEARN how to activate them in a more conscious way.

Arne

[Terry Green]

Yep...good stuff already posted...

"But I have seen others say that to get proper back tension and form they have to shoot a lighter bow."

Maybe because they were way over bowed to start with, I don't know but if you were NOT drawing the bow correctly and then you just woke up the next morning and somehow magically you WERE drawing correctly....you could pull MORE weight....and the bow you have been drawing would seem lighter in draw weight....IF your weren't over bowed to start with.

[FarmerMarley]

Thanks guys!
I wanted to believe that better form equaled less or more efficient muscle use...you guys backed that up for me.

I love how archery is such a journey, and form is such a deep topic; it's study could fill a lifetime.

Alrighty then,   back to the blank bale for me.