Warming Up Before You Shoot

[Friend]

Just figuring, that in a year’s time, I will have at least 250 practice sessions.  I may also shoot at game up to fifteen times a season. I have not always made warming up a priority and after warming up each time for the past three weeks, I have noticed some great benefits.

1. No minor aches and pains I always  experience on those the 1st  few arrows
2. No shoulder issues after a 60+ arrow practice session
3. ~94% reduction in possibly exposing myself to injury
4. Hopefully continue to shoot even when I’m a fossil

Do any of you religiously warm up?

Have you noticed any benefits and what are they?

What does your warm up entail?

 I would suspect that some heavy bow shooters may have some more elaborate routines.

Hope to hear some feed back and also hope that this thread motivates others to properly warm up when possible.

[lpcjon2]

I Always stretch before I shoot(I shoot 70# bows)it's a must for me!

[glass76]

If I want to continue shooting everyday I have to stretch before I shoot. I use a fairly heavy piece of surgical tubing about three and a half to four feet long and stretch out my arms and shoulders with. Whatever it takes to keep the aches and pains away.

[magnus]

I do before work only makes sense to before shooting.
Thanks for ghe eye opener.
Magnus

[dpowers311]

Yes I do. The only problem with stretching before your shot is you will not get the chance to stretch before your shot while hunting so keep that in mind when you pick your bow weight.

Dave

[Friend]

My routine consists of:

1. Some tortional rotations between door openings
2. I perform some lower back stretching
3. Take a 30# bow- Draw it 8-10 times
                 - Draw bow back then utilize back muscles only to squeeze shoulders blades together five times. I repeat this process five times.
                 - Draw bow back and expand to anchor for five times.

Seems to be quite effective in preparation for drawing a 55# bow,however I would be interested very interested in what others are doing.

[reddogge]

I partially draw the bow several times before drawing it fully several times.  Then a couple warm up arrows and I'm good to go.

When I hunt I do the same but shoot the arrows with judo point on them into the ground in the dark.   I draw the bow during the day to keep loose.

[Shooty1]

I hate needing to warm up, but it takes me a dozen shots before I'm ready for real business.

[cbCrow]

I usually strech out my arms and shoulder then head to do my 9-12 arrows at the blank bag before shooting.

[Arwin]

Since my first arrow is the only one that really counts, all the other shots are warm ups.    

 I haven't tried warming up and like mentioned above, I try to simulate hunting the best I can when shooting. Jumping-jacks on stand might scare the deer away!!  

[COLongbow]

Friend's routing above sounds great. I also warm up before shooting. Of course you're not going to do anything to warm up before a hunting shot, that's not the point. I want to minimize any injury potential during practice sessions so that I'm healthy enough to pull off that cold hunt shot without straining.

That being said, stretching alone is not a good warmup. Stretching a cold muscle may actually result in micro-tears in the muscle fibers and connective tissue, that when healed form scar tissue and actually make you less flexible and increase the chances of future injury.

Your best bet is to perform movements that closely approximate the motion to be done in practice, and to engorge the muscles with blood. This makes all muscles, tendons and ligaments better able to handle the stresses.

30+ years of martial arts training has taught me these things the hard way.  

[JEJ]

I always warm up some before shooting, but thanks to COLongbow I'm changing my routine. Think I'll pull on some "air bows" for awhile, then pull on my son's 25# recurve a dozen or so times, then hit the blank bale with my bow for a dozen "form" shots, before doing some serious "down range" shots. Good question, and good suggestions, thanks all.  

[fryar34]

I just stretch before I shoot, and I try to do so when I get to the base of my tree.. I know if you r sitting for hours on end that dosent help much but every little bit helps!!!

[David Mitchell]

No athlete just jumps into his activity without warming--except most bow shooters!  I always do some gentle range of motion exercises, stretching, and a few partial draws of the string before I haul it back to shoot.  As you age it will become more apparent that you should have done these things when you were younger   :D

[wapiti792]

I played baseball in college and would never let go of a ball at full speed without warming up my arm. Matter-of-fact at now 40 years of age, it could do me in    ...I think of my first 12 shots as a warm-up when practicing. I start at 10 paces with my first 3 arrows then move a little further after the next 3 and so on.

Now deer hunting on stand or elk hunting in an ambush is different. I draw my bow several times to keep me loose and hope all that practice pays off! I fugure a torn cold muscle is worth it's weight in backstraps  

[fatman]

never.   I don't get to stretch before a shot at game.  If I'm shooting a bow that's so heavy I have to warm-up, I'm shooting too much poundage.

 

[Jim Keller]

You've got me thinking. I need to start doing warmups. Right now I'm taking two weeks off from shooting due to pain in my bow shoulder( not happy!!!) Start some physical therapy in the morning, hope it helps. Thanks for bringing this subject up.

[Friend]

Proper warm up may help alleviate some of the minor discomfort as experienced during those first few shots and quite possibly reduce the risk of further injury during practice sessions. Overall, my training session experience from the initial to last shot and after is more pleasurable when I have properly warmed up.

Convincing others that don’t have any issues, at this time, may prove difficult.
They may have the opportunity to reap the greatest benefits of all.

[sagebrush]

I usually shoot 3 to 4 times a week. I find that my bow weight is comfortable and I don't need a warm up. If I were shooting a bow that was new and heavier than I was used to I would probably warm up. Gary

[bigiron]

i stretch my bow arm out & then stretch the string back to the corner of my mouth & release. stretching before shooting.