Do you stretch and warm up before a practice session?

[BigCountryOK]

Do you have any kind of routine to warm up and stretch before a practice session.

Two weeks from deer season and I have what I HOPE is tendonitis of the shoulder and elbow.  Looking back on it streching and warming up before shooting probably would have saved me all of this pain.  I do it before my daily workout....why not for archery practice.  After all it is a repetative motion workout with resistance.

So do you warm up and if so what are your routines.

[David Mitchell]

Guys, you may not feel the need now, but take care of those shoulders, some day they'll let you down if you don't. Most every athlete of every sort of sport does some warm up and stretching before they do their thing, we should too.  Just a word of wisdom from a 68 year old bowhunter who has learned (the hard way) that loosening up is important.  

[Night Wing]

For me, the answer is "no". That's one of the advantages of shooting light poundage bows for the last 47 years which you can see in my signature.

Even when it gets down to 30 degrees and I've been sitting in a ground blind for 2 hours, I don't have any problem drawing either one of my bows to my anchor point when the moment of truth arrives.

[bigugly1]

I do before long practise sessions. When hunting I do some circle warm ups with arms before walking in and even strtch out back and legs a little. While on way to stand in evening I will draw bow a few times and even a few times while in stand. Morning hunts are a totally different animal, bow has to be in case till 30 minutes before sunrise and usually into my stand or bling long before that. If in ground blind I will draw back a few times and will in tree stand after a the what I call golden hour. Yes it means I'm not perfectly still but I'll take my chances.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Google search stretching. Some experts are thinking it isn't as healthy as once thought.

[BigCountryOK]

Originally posted by Ben Kleinig:
Google search stretching. Some experts are thinking it isn't as healthy as once thought.

Streching alone...yes.  

You should always get your blood flowing with a warm up first and never stretch cold muscles.

[traditional beagle]

Maybe you should but I have never done it.

[Shawn Leonard]

Nope, never really. I have bad shoulders and used to shoot real high weights. Compounds as high as 100#s and trad bows up to 86#s. I now shoot 52-56#s. My shoulders are shot from years of abuse from football and a couple seperations. 3 surgeries and still don't feel a warm up helps much. When I grab my bow and hustle to one of my stands and a deer comes along I figure I am not gonna have gotten to warm up, so why when I step outside to shoot? Shawn

[Friend]

With bows in the 50 to 56# range, I may rotate my shoulders some but don't typically warm up. These poundages don't tax me until my arrow count goes way up.

Also, not a fan of stretching of cold muscles.
Believe that stretching after the shooting session would be safer and more productive.

[Breakfast Boy]

Whether you're supposed to or not, I never have before practicing.  Now, if I'm sitting in a blind or treestand for a few hours in cold weather, I will stretch just to keep the muscles a little loose.

[JDunlap]

Try running about 100 yards, then stopping about 30 seconds, then start running again. You can feel a very noticeable difference in your legs because the circulation has increased. The same holds true for warming up before shooting a bow. I have started doing about 10-15 pushups before a shooting session, then wait a few seconds to let the blood get going good. Obviously doesn't apply to hunting situations.
BTW, this didn't matter as much about ten years ago, but the older I get, the more important it is.

[Friend]

JDunlap....Not trying to be smart...but it would seem to me that many would need a warm-up prior to performing the 10-15 push-up vs. drawing the bow. The push-up focuses primarily on the chest muscles, the frontal deltoids and secondarily on the triceps. The draw involves some tricep however focus on the rhomboids.

[BobCo 1965]

Yes, I warm up and stretch before AND cool down and stretch after each practice session with an emphesis on the rotator cuff. I also try to have some type of food within 30 minutes of the session to aid in recovery.

It's just part of the practice session IMO.

I get a lot of weird looks, but I am used to it.      :D

[buckeye_hunter]

I think we can go with a few generalities here. I personally don't feel I need to warm up for my 53# recurve, but another shooter may have to warm up for that weight.

I am a special ed teacher. Some of my kids need to do excercises for their hands before writing to get them warmed up or strectched out. Others students can write all day and not stretch their fingers or hands/forearms. We are all different.

I believe, and this is just my opinion, that the heavier a weight is or harder the activity then warming up becomes more necessary. However, there might be a few guys on here that consider 80 pounds nothing while I would struggle. Their threshold for difficulty or intensity is different than mine.

Personally, I'll stick with my 53 pound curve and not sweat it. I can shoot it with total comfort regardless of the situation or how many shots I let go at my target.

[OkKeith]

I don't do stretches before I make a shot in hunting situations, I don't do stretches before I practice.

As Friend mentioned, I do roll my shoulders (when hunting and practicing). I don't know if it helps, it does help keep me comfortable and that helps me sit still. Also, while on stand or in the blind, I draw my bow once or twice each hour if I can get away with it.

When really drilling down and doing my best to practice for hunting situations, I may only take one shot every half-hour or forty-five min. Trying to replicate that "cold-bore" shot so to speak. My opinion is that all those second, third and fourth shots really don't matter except for ensureing good form.

OkKeith

[Brad_Gentry]

I don't ever warm up before shooting... not saying you should or shouldn't, just that I don't. I always figure I only got so much in me "performance-wise" anyway, I'd hate to waste any of it on the warm-up.  

[Bowwild]

I do sometimes.  Funny, when I'm on stand one of my first routines, once all my gear is stowed and I'm secured in, is to 1/4, 1/2, and then full-draw my bow a few times to warm up (and remind myself of any clearance issues).  When I practice I'm less likely to warm up.  

I should though -- at least the way I do on stand.

[lpcjon2]

I try and stretch before shooting(I shoot a 70# bow)and when on a stand I always flex my muscles in my arms and back to keep limber for the shot.It also helps keep you warm.

[Friend]

For practice seesions - If one wished to warm up prior to the session, then it may prove beneficial in executing your form w/o release and follow thru with a bow ~2/3 lighter than what you practise with. Would suspect ~8-10 paced sequences would have you ready.

[USN_Sam1385]

You ever see a lion limber up before taking down an antelope???