Building up strength to shoot a heavier bow?

[Ground Hunter]

I disagree!  Strength will greatly help with both issues of target panic and form!  When you are strong enough to control the bow - YOU CONTROL THE SHOT!!  Now you can regress and go to a lower bow weight or you can gain straighten and move forward.  One requires work - the other luck.  Nothing - nothing improves shooting a bow as strength.

[Gary Logsdon]

Gee, a lot of this sounds pretty complicated to me . . . when hunting critters I've always just concentrated on the spot I wanted to hit and then let-r-rip. Hundreds of big games animals have hit the ground with me doing that and basically nothing more.  Guess I'm lucky in that regard; I don't know what I'd do if I had to go through all of these trials and tribulations. Understanding them isn't the problem; I shot indoor league for years and remember all of my checkpoints quite well.  295s and an occasional 300 score were achieved through hours of training myself to be as mechanized as possible.  That type of consistancy required repetition in a controlled environment . . . it didn't work for me in the field while pursuing game however.  Once I left my college archery team I reverted back to a more instinctive "touchy-feely" approach. Whatever works for you guys as long as you're accurate on game animals AND still having fun.

[Raging Water]

I have to put my 2 cents in....

I went from 85# at 28" to 102# at 28" in about 2 1/2 weeks. When I first got the 102#, I stopped short of anchor by about 3 inches. Wow, it kicked my butt.

However, I pulled that bow every day for about 4 days. I started with 1/2 draws and moved to 3/4 draws. After 2 days, I tried real hard to get full draw, but could not.

Then, took 2 days off.

Then pulled it again every day for 5 days. Then, took 3 days off - vacation.

Then I shot my 85# for three days straight. I shot about 350 arrows +/-.

I went back to the 102# and I was able to reach full anchor.

How did I train? Well, first off, I made it fun. Not a chore. I would pull the bow for 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps and then set it down. Then, every few minutes I would try and draw it again (1/2 draw and 3/4 - nothing that would cause an injury by being "Cold"). I did this for an hour or so while watching TV, every night.

After I got a little more "Muscle Memory" or "neuro-muscular overload" for that kind of weight, I could draw the bow to 1/2 or 3/4 anchor without much warm up.

Later on, I would just grab the bow off the rack, pull it 1/2, 3/4, and then try to go to full draw.

I turned 47 on Monday. So, I ain't getting any younger. But, I believe the consistent effort and desire to be able to draw the extra 17# was the key. I went to a local 3 D shoot with my 85# bow. One of the shooters that was with me made this comment, “not only can you draw that weight, but you can hold it, too”. What I realized is the 17# heavier bow made my 85# easy, in comparison.

It makes drawing my 85# Howard Hill Half Breed a lot easier. My 80# and my 70# Howard Hill's are even easier.

Warm up with a lighter bow first and then pull heavy.

I use the heavy bow for strength and the lighter bows for form and hunting.

[Gil Verwey]

This the excercise I use with the formaster.

 http://www.texasarchery.org/Documents/FMaster/formaster_exercises.htm

[C Kerley]

I can't believe no one has mentioned training both sides of your body.  Any of these methods will work, but make sure you switch bow hands and do it with your left hand also.  Use your right handed bow, that's fine, you're just getting the pulling workout.  

As for me, I do a half a dozen different back exercises in the gym anyway, and I'll see a noticeable difference in my shooting if I miss the gym for a month or so.

[Ground Hunter]

I think that most here are saying the same thing.  Yes, going to to a heaver bow is very do-able.  Yes, it takes desire and effort.  Yes, you need a balanced program to follow.  And largely, yes it is well worth the trouble.  I will add that proper training prevents injuries.  Not just when working up in bow weight, but also overall.  By increasing strength you can do many, many things easier and with less danger of injury.  Your hunting will improve.

[RedShaft]

I went and shot a 3-d shoot today, i felt good but for the life of me could not get a solid anchor and pause at anchor for more than a split second.(snap shooting) i kept telling myself to hold but that arrow was gone eveytime i touched corner of my mouth. one of the reasons i was wanting to get stronger and increase draw weight was if i could get stronger and make the bow im shooting now feel easy, maybe i would be able to easily hold at anchor for a few seconds without the panic taking over. im going to have a long road overcomin the panic, its so ingrained and hard to shake. very frustrating! thanks for all the advice guys!

[RedShaft]

Im very proud of myself as of lately! i moved up close and tried very very hard to come to full draw and hold. well after some struggling i have been shooting the past week with no target panic. being able to hold at full draw without the rush of having to cut her loose has been wonderful. the bow has gooten a little lighter but i still feels a bit tough to hold. but i can feel myself gaining. im not trying to rush anything and take it slow. i dont want to loose the grove im in. i belive some of it has to do with trying to strengthin myself to make it easier to come to full draw.

One thing that should not forgotten.  You should always work on opposing muscle groups.  Draw with both sides will help keep your dorsal/cervical connection at the base of your neck straight.  I do vertical dumb bells and butterflies with dumb bells to keep the shoulders centered. also, some arm curls to help with elbow balance.

[straitera]

Hat's off RedShaft for your concern & efforts. First thing, there's No harm shooting a compound. You prefer trad for whatever reasons & you can & will develop technique & sufficient strength to get the job done. I've seen it too many times. Folks do exactly what they want to do. Your drive is enlightening. I have exercises developed by none other than Howard Hill himself I can send you. Just e-mail me. Good luck, b