Heavy weights

[wetfeathers]

I recently upgraded from a 55 pound Bighorn to a 65 pound Predator.  I absolutely love both bows but I struggle with the 65 pounder.  I can shoot 5 or 6 arrows VERY well, then I fall apart.  I can feel the muscles in my shoulders and back struggle.  It's been several months now and not much improvement.  I'd really like to stay with the 65 pounder and was wondering if anyone has any excercises or advice on strengthening my back and shoulder.  I've shot 12 arrows almost everyday for 3 months now.  Am I rushing it?

[STEVE R.]

I will give you my opinion. I think you are doing just fine. If you try to shoot too much you will develop bad habits, so do not push it too hard. Fred Asbell had some work out tech, in one of the tradhunter mags. It was some exercises to build up shooting strength. If I can find it, I will pm you the mag issue and maybe you can order it.

[BigJim]

I'm a heavy weight tipping the scales at over 300lbs....oh you meant bows.

Try cutting back on your daily routine to just every other day. That should give your body time to rebuild you muscles. Building muscle requires tearing them down a little and then allowing them to repair only stronger.
Although it doesn't seem like it, 10 lbs can be a big jump.
Best of luck and down give up if that is what you really want.
BigJim

[Blaino]

pull-ups. quality pull-ups! along with your regular shooting. rest is important too.

[bartcanoe]

I shoot 70#@31 inch draw with no issues.  I moved up to it by following Terry Green's program for increasing bow weight.

Start with 3 sets of 8 pulling the bow to anchor with good form when that gets easy, move to 3x8 with 3 second hold, then 3x8 with 6 second hold.  After moving through all those sets do the same with 4x10.  It'll take you a couple of months, but once you can do it, you'll have no problem shooting that bow.

Remember to do all sets with both hands to maintain balance.

[Kamm1004]

I second big jim. The body needs rest to rebuild muscles. You should shoot the heavy bow every other day. Also, You should try working out 3 times per week if you can. Pull ups are good. Seated rows are better, so are face pulls, back flys, etc. If you can find a thick rubber weight training band, and practice pulling that just like a bow, that'll help. When I was a college athlete and lifting every day, pulling a 70lb was cake. Now I have to work out and do the excercises I just shared with you to keep in shooting shape.
P.S. If you're sore from lifting or shooting, Dont be too hard on yourself if you're not very accurate. Use the sore days to rest, not shoot and try to improve your accuracy.

Push ups or butterflies to keep your shoulders centered. Use the bow as an excercise, don't shoot it.  Pull the bow past your draw a bit, hold, let it down some, hold, then slowly let it down. Do this left hand and right hand.

[snag]

To answer your question...yes, I think you are rushing it. Going up in 5# increments is plenty. But now that you have the bow and love it do as others have said...just don't overdo it or you will hurt yourself. This will result in going back down in weight and working your way up all over again!

[SARarcher]

I think everyone has posted good advice.  The biggest key to success will be REST.  Shooting a heavy bow every other day PLUS weight training is a key combination to overdoing it if your not careful.  I speak from experience.  You MUST listen to your body.  If your shoulder is sore, back off.  You may want to jump in and shoot all the time (I know I do) but if you hurt yourself you could be out for months.  Strength training is key to strengthen the muscles surrounding your shoulder joint.  They need to be strong to reduce injury.  unfortunately, no exercise will fully train you like shooting your bow will.  I like the progressive load given above by Bartcanoe.  
Shooting heavy bows is great if you can do it but the key is being able to pull the weight and control it for accuracy.

[bartcanoe]

I should have added that you do the bow pulling workout every other day, allowing for the rest that others have mentioned.

[Mark Baker]

One good arrow is worth a hundred "so-so" shots.  Shoot the 5 or 6 you can shoot well...give yourself a day or so rest between sessions...and always end on a good shot, as your confidence is more important to build up quickly than your muscles.   Shoot those half dozen shots, one at a time, then retrieve...and shoot from different spots.   Make it a journey not a regimen.

[monterey]

Shoot the lighter bow for every other day practice with a few shots with the heavier bow at the end.  Stop before you cave!!!

That same day, do an upper body workout for chest and back.  I have been working at this for about six months now following a shoulder injury 18 months ago and another injury that kept me bedridden and then in a wheel chair for months.

The work in the gym has paid off!  A good start is four sets of bench with weight that will take you to failure at about 8 reps; four sets of rows same weight selection method; four sets of lat pull downs same weight selection method; four sets of cable tri press same weight selection method.  About 1  to 1.5 min rest between sets.  Always at least one day of rest between.  Shoot the same day as the workout and don't shoot on the rest day.  

This would be pretty minimal as a workout but it will help get you on the road to improvement.  How long it takes will depend on your age.  I'm 66 and it goes a bit slow  

[SARarcher]

Adding on to what Monterey said, shoot before you workout.  Archery is a fine motor skill and if your fatigued from lifting your form and accuracy will suffer.  Good luck!

[RecurveRookie]

It's easy to over-train because you wanna shoot.  I like my bowfit and doing flys with the surgical tubes and handles.  I started out shooting 39# limbs 2 years ago.  Just now getting a good draw on my 59# limbs (27.5" drawlength), and I've been shooting these since Christmas. It was tough at first.  That's a 10# increase in 4 months, it takes time.  Don't expect to shoot well in the mean time while you're overbowed.  Good luck and patience

[Converml]

I carry chimney block and shovel mortar and concrete. Seems to help.       swim mile at a time in the river. Overall conditioning. I mainly focus when working on using muscle groups that I want to strengthen.

[wetfeathers]

Thank you everyone for the great tips. It is hard to rest when your having fun. I have to go shoot now. I'll take tomorrow off.    

[stalkin4elk]

The sets of draw and hold works great. I'll add that you don't need to shoot to build strength. In other words, some days just do draw  and hold series and don't worry about shooting form, etc. (Even shut your eyes and focus on the draw and anchor then let down) but always do the workout with BOTH arms to maintain balance and warm up first with light stretches and exercises.
Some days I'll shoot a few warm-ups with my 62# and then a few dozen with my 78#,always with a few draw and hold reps with off hand before retrieving the arrows.
I had to follow Moebows advise on the deep hook release(SHOOTERS FORUM) to solve some minor ring finger bone joint pain with the 78# bow which solved the pain issue as well as helped my release. I really enjoy the clean release from a heavy bow.
Heavy bows take some work but are very rewarding.

[monterey]

Yjr advice about not practicing when over-bowed is crucial.  Only thing worse than no practice is bad practice.  No point ingraining bad form or habits due to overbow!

[kbetts]

I just got the exact bow in a trade...but mine is 66#.  I'm 135 lbs and don't have an issue.....but, I've been shooting for a lot of years.  That being said, I don't pick up that bow with the intentions of shooting it all day.  It's a hunting bow so I need to be proficient but its not necessary to have to be able to put five dozen arrows through it.

Work on your off side.  That is what allowed me to take the next step.

[Ground Hunter]

Shoot the bow - keep shooting the bow.  Rest often.  Keep shooting the bow.  Repeat as neccessary.  People don't have "form" problems.  They have strength problems.  The fix is NOT shooting a lower poundage bow.  It is in increasing strength.  No brain - no gain.