Archery endurance and Kidwell Drills

[LongStick64]

As it starts to warm up and I can get a chance to shoot more outdoors I have decided on a game plan to get me shooting as best as I can before October
First I'm only going to use one bow, all of my other bows will sit on the rack.
Second I am going to work on building my endurance not by shooting more but by using the Kidwell drills. Using drills like drawing and holding for a set number, then letting down for some draws and shooting for others, will help build endurance as well as instill patience during the shot.
Together I believe will have me shooting my best. Getting comfortable with the same bow and working on being stronger on the shot I feel will bring more consistency to my shooting.

[McDave]

A variation on this theme would be to shoot your normal round, and then draw and hold for 10 seconds and let down. Repeat until exhaustion. It might combine accuracy building with strength building. They say that exercising a muscle to exhaustion followed by a sufficient recovery period is the best way to build strength. As long as we don't injure ourselves in the process, of course.

[smoke1953]

I purchased a bowflex when I decided to pursue the longbow in 2007 and that has been great for me. It allows you to exercise those muscles at multiple angles with multiple weight bands for all those different muscles involved. Now being over 60 it allows me to maintain the upper body so that I can continue to enjoy my life sport. Aches and pains are always present it seems but I feel better about them.

[tracker12]

Nice thing about having a bowflex or similar item is that you can work both right and left sides of the body.  I picked up a cheap left to help strengthen my opposite side.

[Jack Hoyt 75]

What are kidwell drills?

[McDave]

Best would be to buy his book "Instinctive Archery Insights," by Jay Kidwell, where he describes his drills and many other useful tips and insights into traditional archery.