Building up to heavier bow weights???

[Troy D. Breeding]

Rick,

I know what your talking about when you say the second time around. I used to shoot 72#. When I started thinging about increasing my bow weight I wondered if I'd ever be able to do it. Simply moving up from 60# (bow is marked 57#@28" I pull 29") to 65# at 29 is a big adjustment.

I started pulling lefty as well as my normal righty afew days ago. At first I couldn't even get my old 50# bow to full draw pulling left handed. I'm still not able to hit full draw and hold. However, it will come in time.

The one thing my dad always told me is "son, you have all the time in the world. Hurting yourself trying to do something too fast will only cost you in the long run".

I figure it will be late in the tournament season before I feel comfortable enough with the 65# bow to even think about using it. Time is something I have plenty of. Lost wages from hurting myself by being stupid and trying to rush things is something I can't afford.

[Rick McGowan]

Troy you got that right, I caused myself a problem years ago and had to set my bow aside for six months, that was tough. I think it is pretty amazing, I'm not a weightlifter by any means, but without a major effort I can get back to shooting 80#'s and even drawing and holding it left handed repeatedly. I did discover that it is a lot easier for me to stay in reasonable shape that to really let myself go and then try to work it back. Rick

[SilverTip]

hey rick, thanks for the info on the arrows, it worked great. as far as getting in shape, Paul S

[SilverTip]

ok, like i was saying before ma fingers went wild, lol. Paul Schafer told me he did alot of push ups and some on his fingertips. and also pulled the bow back and held it for 10 to 20 seconds. i did all this with very good results. he had me shooting 80 lbs in just a few weeks. but the finger tip deal im not sure about. really painful. im not a really big guy, i top out at about 170. but if ya work at it, you can amaze yourself. but think the push ups are one of the best things you can do for archery. takecare Billy

[Rick McGowan]

"if ya work at it, you can amaze yourself", I think you hit nail dead on that time. The most important thing is desire, you can do so much more than you ever thought, if you want to bad enough! Rick

[bayoulongbowman]

You guys have just nailed it ...you have to put in the time to pull more weight...just like shooting, good practice too...and not just slinging arras....but heck thats fun to..    mark#78

[Bowlim]

I had a friend who though a few pounds lighter than me was on the Canadian Olympic wrestling team in the 80s, while I was a couch potato.  He never could pull the same bow weight though.  No doubt he could have, but he didn't own the bows or have the interest I do.

With good health, any exercise is probably a good thing, but bow wise the range of muscles is so narrow great strength like my friend's, doesn't translate.  Get bows in 10 pound increments, at least one increment above the one you want to shoot.  Work first for power, low reps in escalating weights, then work on your target weight for maximum reps once low reps become the norm.  When gaining strength, as few as a few draws in the heavier weights spaced with a rest day is all you need.  Do the same number of push-ups as you do draws.  You can move up 20 pounds in a month or so with 10 draws every second day.  Time is on your side if you don't overdo it.

The only thing about me would is that I have a fair amount of upper body size, some of it good some of it fat.  I could imagine push-ups might not be sufficient to ballance out a lighter framed person's exercise regiment, for me they work fine.

[brmize]

The absolute key to improving a physical skill is frequent practice. I have competed in weightlifting, powerlifting and shot put and  without a doubt your nervous system plays a larger role than just your muscles. And the nervous system loves frequent perfect practice. Keep your heavier bow some where you will see it all the time, office, bedroom, living room you name it. Every time you walk by that bow pick it up and come to full draw as many times as you can with perfect form. DO NOT greatly fatigue yourself if you can draw the bow 5 times but by the fifth time you are shaking then only draw 3 times. Do this 3-6 times a day 5 days a week never fully fatigueing yourself. If you can do more reps without fatigue and your form breaking down do them but I wouldnt go over 6. This is why the Bulgarians lift 6 times a day 6 days a week and why 132 pound guys can put 400lbs over head. I once put 60 pounds on my benchpress in 4 weeks by benching 5 days a week but only one of those days was actually a heavy day. In weightlifting it is called greasing the groove. The more your nevous system does something the better it gets at it. I hope this helps.
Brian

[LBR]

Got my 98@28 flatbow out the other day (haven't scaled it, but well over 100# at my draw--hits a wall @ about 27").  Anyhow, I can still get it back and hold for a bit--think my 85@30 will be no problem adjusting to.  Troy, if you will pay my way I'll shoot back-up for you!  lol  Oh yeah--need you to throw in some arrows too.......

Chad

[Troy D. Breeding]

Chad,

Still waiting for you to tell me the heavy bow is in the house.

[LBR]

Still waiting on it......hopefully it will be here in a month or so.

Chad

[Tim Clark]

Troy, this is a little bit late I know but I haven't read another progress report so I thought I'd throw it in now.

Anyways, with office work being the norm for me nowadays, I sadly discovered that I'm nowhere NEAR the shape I was in when I worked outdoors. It isn't just being out of shape, but plain overall unhealthy and out of condition. Everything ached, all the time, especially my shoulders. My weight went from 185# rock-solid to 225# not-so-solid. At all. The pain in my shoulders made it so that drawing any bow was an excruciating experience; I'd pull to about 35# and started seeing stars, and it would hurt that way for days afterward. Also, numbness, as well as terrible muscle cramping and stiffness for no reason whatsoever, very unexpectedly. I had, and have, little to no time for much in the way of exercise.

Then, a friend took pity on me - or got sick of me whining, who knows - and turned me onto Matt Furey. I'll be the first to admit that the guy leans a bit toward left field, and I refuse to subscribe to his "beliefs," but he doesn't push them all that much and his program is for real. Kind of like, "chew the hay and spit out the stubble" - take what's good and filter out what's bad. Anyways, he's got a routine that's for real, as I said. Check out his website, just type matt furey in your search engine. I have to wait a little while before I can justify ordering what I want to get, but I know the shape my friend USED to be in, and the shape he's in NOW - he used to be far worse off than I am now, but now he's in better shape than I ever was even when I was in my 20's. I stop short of making any claims I myself have not yet realized, but this man has been a trusted friend for more than 17 years. In fact, it was the change in him over the last 4 months since I last saw him that made me whimper about wishing I was back in shape, and he felt bad for me so he shared what he'd done. I have to say, I had pretty much given up, but man am I excited again.

Anyways, I'm posting this for you and any other guys (or gals) who may be in the same boat as me. Or, as I believe I'll soon be able to say, the same boat that I used to be in.

To your health!

[Doug R]

Could you explain about some of the stuff that you dont like about Furys beleifs?
I looked up is site but I get a little concerned when it comes to to much belief in self or eastern religion thinking being a christian. I know alot of martial arts people tend to lean that way.
His excersizes sound like they might be on the technical side to execute to get results.

[Troy D. Breeding]

Tim,

Still working out with free weights about every other night. Chin up as many time as possible atleast every two to three days.

One of my shooting buddies has been working with me on my shooting form and I'm finding this to be as big of a help in bow weight as anything. I would have never known that my form was as bad of shape as it was if it hadn't been for him.    

I'm not in a big hurry to jump into the heavier bow weights and only try for 10-20 shots with it. Once this mad rush of tournaments get past me I should be able to put in more practice time.

The upper body and back muscles seem to be coming right along. It's the rest of the body that feels like jelly.  :D

[REMWIN]

I would switch every other day; shoot just the lighter bow to maintain form, and shoot the heavier bow the next day, but ONLY until I felt "PLEASANTLY TIRED": as you get older, about in your mid-30's, you don't heal quite so fast, so you've got to pay attention to strains and soft-tissue damage; rotator cuff damage is not just a big-league pitcher malady.  If that Prize Patrol Van would just show up, I'd be looking at a BOWFLEX, & add that to my routine.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

jsut jumped from 48 to 61...the first week was trying.  But now into the 3rd week or so it's a gimme...drawing it with no problems what so ever and shooting it with ease!

[rcr]

In the June/July 2004 issue of Traditional Bowhunter there is an article written by G. Fred Asbell about strength exercises.  He suggest using surgical tubing or the spring cable sets.  I just started following the procedure so can't tell you how well it works.

[Vance in AK.]

I just started using Asbells program this week too.  Can't tell you how well it works, but it FEELS like it should work!
I took a few months off from shooting due to a hand injury.  Started shooting again about 2 weeks ago.  Used my 58# bow the first day, & it felt good.  Went stumping the next day.  Hmmm... which bow to take.  Of course I grab the 70# Martin M14. Not only heavy to draw, but there's a BIT of handshock there.  My arm vibrated for a half hour after I quit shooting.  I'm not the sharpest spoon in the drawer sometimes.   And maybe I need to raise the brace height on the Martin a bit more.
Vance in AK.

[Don Thomas]

I've been through this twice now... first in preparatin for a Zambian buffalo hunt that fizzled, as described in TBM. I've been through it again this spring, getting ready for buff in Oz this August. As noted elsewhere, I usually shoot #72 so I didn't think the jump to #86 would be tough... wrong! The good news is that by doing it right, going slowly and progressivley, I'm now fine. I warm up with 20 arrows from #58, shoot a few more from #72, then go to #86. The trick is to do it every day, even if it's just a few arrows. Conditioning is part of it, but there is a lot of muscle memory too. This week I shot our local course (30 targets) with the #86... acceptable accuracy and no discomfort whatsoever. Time and consistency are the keys... Don

[8th Dwarf]

Troy and others:  Try this.  IT WORKS!

I normally shoot 70-74 pounds at 26".  My Buffalo bow is 85 pounds at 26".  As Don says, it's TOUGH moving up there.  What follows has worked perfectly for me...no extra weight lifting or work-outs, either.

Keep the bow strung (not in a hot place).  Each morning for a week to ten days, draw the bow without an arrow on the string five times.  Now here is the important part... Draw it to your EAR!  I reckon this is 2-3 inches past my normal draw/anchor at the corner of my mouth.

This trains your muscles to think they have to go there every time.  I do five reps each morning and five each night.  DO NOT SHOOT THE BOW DURING THESE WORK OUTS!

After the first week or so, increase the reps to ten pulls each morning and night.  A week or so later, go to 15 reps, then 20, etc.

When you can draw the bow to your ear 25 times, you are ready to shoot.  Now keep in mind that your muscles "think" you are going to draw to your ear.  When you nock an arrow and draw this "puppy" back to your normal anchor, your muscles will smile, sigh, and not let you down.

I was just in Oz and banging arrows out all day from the 85 pounder.  Piece of cake, mate!  I'm headed to Africa in July for Cape Buff and back to Oz next June for Water Buff.  I'm feeling so good about the heavier weight that I'll probably hunt with that weight this fall.

Keep in mind, too, that I am a wee dwarf and SIXTY ONE years old!  (That's older than DIRT!)  If I can do it, so can you.

Too F. Short