Increasing bow weight the right way

[Elmer Keith]

In what increments should the draw weight of a bow being increased to avoid harming to the shoulder, elbow and muscels?

What are your receipes to start from 40# up to 65/70#?

What are the signs of pain to stop at the proper draw weight and not to go beyond this point?

Thank you, experts!

[Scott J. Williams]

I can not speak for everyone, however I can honestly say that a difference of 5 pounds in draw weight is something that I can notice.

So that is where I limit my increases until I reach my goal.  I have to admit that since I have been shooting Widows, I have decrease my draw weights rather than increased them.  

Be interesting to see what others say. I need to add one other comment, you might want to double that if you have a trip coming up that requires the higher draw weight.  I include weight training with that weight increase.  Tension bands, and the like.

[AllenR]

When working to increase DW, I don't shoot heavier weight all the time.  I have a DW that I am comfortable with that I shoot every day to work on form.  Then two days a weak I work on strength with a much heavier bow.  I don't shoot, even though there's always an arrow loaded and pointed at a bale in case I slip.  I just draw, aim hold as long as I can with reasonably good form and let down.

My theory is that muscles need rest as much as stress.  This seems even more important (and a longer interval) as I get older.  I let down without shooting because a slow steady let down, is as important to building controlled strength as the draw.

I keep this up until the everyday weight seems too light, usually 3 to 4 weeks then I increase the weight until it feels right.  So far this has been about 3 lb increments.  

I haven't been increasing the heavy bow weight simply because I don't have the means to do so without buying a heavier bow.  It is becoming much easier to draw it, so I probably need to do something to keep challenging my muscles.

Has anyone rigged up rubber bands or something of the sort to increase DW?

[Diamond Paul]

Depends on how comfortable 40lbs is for you.  It's always good to start with light weight and develop form; however, you might be naturally strong (just how big an ole boy are you? LOL) and able to draw quite a bit more than that right now with no problem.  If 40 seems somewhat difficult, 65-70lbs will be very difficult to work into, and will take some time.  As described above, if you can find a cheap bow that's much heavier than yours, just draw and hold it a few times about 3 days a week.  When you can draw it ten times and hold it for about 5-10 count each time, try shooting it a few times a week after you shoot your other bow for form, finishing off by drawing and holding.  Any exercises you can do for your back and shoulders, like bent over rows, bent over dumbell flys, shoulder shrugs, etc. will help you to achieve your goal.  However, I have to ask, are you going to Africa, because a 55lb recurve with heavy arrows will shoot slap through anything in America!  Good luck, Paul.

[GroundHunter]

Elmer,

Going up 30-40#'s in draw weight is a challenge, and how you progress depends a lot on your age, physical condition and athletic aptitude.Do it right, and you will be happy.

If you are young and athletic you may be able to go up comfortably, and shoot the heavy bow very well in 3-6 months. If you are over 45 it may take a year.

Now, most people will find they can build the strength to shoot the heavier bow, even 30-40#'s heavier, much faster than that. That is not the problem. Injuries are the problem.

They come to the tendons and suppoting muscles which develop much more slowly than the big muscles you would think make for pulling heavier bows. And,they can ruin your day, week, season, year.

Avoiding injuries requires careful progress:

1. Always warm up before shooting a heavy bow. Not just by shooting a lighter bow, Do some pushup, pull-ups, shrugs, rowing, or cable exercises. Warm up - or else.

2. Regular workouts for the back and shoulders to build the supporting muscles. Shooting the bow is not enough.

3. Go slow. As soon as you think, "this is easy" and push it - you'll be sorry!

4. Stop when you develop any soreness, and let it rest a few days. Ice packs.

Injuries typically appear in the tendons and supporting muscles. The older you are the more likely you are to force an injury by pushing too fast, too heavy, too much repitition. Tendonitis can appear in the draw hand fingers and bowarm elbow. Muscle strains (even tears) can happen in the shoulder rotator cuff muslces and tendons of both arms, especially the bow arm if you do not line up with good form.

Back off at soreness as these do not get better with more exercise. You have let it heal then start back lower and go slower. If you get one of those "pops' that hurts like the dickens later in the day or next day, you are out for weeks. These injuries can force you to stop shooting at all for 2-3 months to heal - a real set-back for an avid archer. Go slow to go fast, or you can spend a year working through injuries. Ice packs help soreness and real injuries require a total layoff for 2-3 months.

Allen is right, practice with the lighter bow especially to warm up. Then limit your work on the heavier bow to a few shots, and do not shoot it every day. Slowly build up. Byron Ferguson shoots 73#'s and says he has to limit practice to every other day now.

Also the back and shoulder excercises help to develop the suppoting muscles which shooting the bow does not. Shooting the bow builds the muscles that are pushing and pulling the bow. The supporting muscles in the rotator cuff just sit there until one day, you are not lined up in good form, under heavy boww strain and "pop" a supprting muscle is sudenly called into action way over its limit.That's bad. Do excercises to build the shoulders and rotator cuff muscles. Don't go for the olympics here, or you can injure these little muscles in over-done workouts.

I was 54 when I jumped from a 50# recurve to a 70# longbow. Wow! The bow was not so hard to build up to, and I shot it every day, after two moths hitting a tennis ball regularly. Yep, got all of the above injuries, and finally one day I shifted my bow arm under strain, and "Pop" - had to lay off completely for 3 months to let the bow-arm rotator cuff heal. Could not even shoot the 50# bow to stay sharp.

After that I built up slowly and did regular, slowly increasing, weight training.

When i started back I ran into soreness, and found if I always warm up before I shoot a heavy bow in practice, that does not happen. Hunting is not so hard on you, as you may only shoot one or two arrows.

Today, I'm 56, and just got my 85# Howard Hill Wesley Special. It's a dream to shoot, and smoothly accurate. I can shoot it easily, but I warm up, and limit my number of arrows as I grow into it. This is the danger zone, as the strain/injury potential at 85# is greater than ever.

Two years from 50# to 85#, but we have to see if I can avoid injuries in this territory.

Good shooting!

[rebelrecurve]

I tried to jump up 10# last fall and severely damaged my shoulder.  That was October, and only now is it feeling much better.  I laid off shooting for a couple months, and started again with a very light bow to build up strength and form.  After several months of light shooting I am now moving up to a slightly heavier bow twice a week for two or three rounds of 6 arrows.  So far I've had no discomfort, but I suspect it'll be a year before I'm back up to hunting weight.  So my advice is TAKE IT SLOW, as a stupid injury can take away from your archery enjoyment for a long time.  Good luck with it.
Mike

[chuck172]

I'm trying to go up from 45# to 60# for hunting. I'm doing sets of push-ups in addition to lots of shooting. I feel the exercises are helping to strengthen my shoulders.

[Willow]

I recently jumped 12 pounds and am going to do another jump soon. But Im a 16 year old who works out fairly regularily.

Like another guy said, why do you want to increase so much? A lower weight is better if you are more accurate.

[Pat B.]

Ground hunter, I'm about your age and have to ask, WHY the heavy bows? Just a personal challenge? I'm sure you know you're flirting with disaster again... IMO...

[Berube]

I am 54 years old
I had same hesitation, was thinking of increasing
bow weight. I was hesitating between
55 and 60 . Had 50@24. Finally with lots of advise
from this forum I took the 55@24.

And its enough. It is a big difference. Before each shooting session I do warm up exercises.
I have this 55@24 since 3 weeks. I want to go
up than that but will go slowly. My next bow
will be 60@24 but not before a few months.