Archery Lessons: Training for Better Shots | Proper Archery Form

The upper body muscles.

We explained previously how the stance is really important to improve your precision in archery and bowhunting. In this post, we will talk about two things to improve your accuracy. First, the back muscles which are the main muscles for bow drawing at the anchor point (full draw) and second, the T posture which combined with back muscles give you the steadiness for straightener arrow flight shots.

 

Feeling overconfident ...

It may at first look really easy to draw a string but after few shots, the muscles are weakening bringing also your precision to decrease. Don’t underestimate the fact that depending on your poundage with a recurve or a longbow, shooting repetitively can be pretty exhausting for muscles. Compounds have a let off which makes it more bearable but training is not only to increase your poundage but also a good way to prevent injuries but also a good way to develop a proper archery form and then be more accurate when releasing.

That chain of muscle that we call antagonist or upper back muscles are usually forgotten in training programs but are essential in archery.  A simple rubber band or a Bow trainer would be a good asset to develop stronger back tension. These exercise conditioners recreate the movement of shooting without the pressure of shooting an arrow. There is also much more upper body exercises that you can do. For example, using Kettle-bells to develop back muscle can be part of your workout program. Here is a link to help you develop muscles for archery in an easy way and inexpensive. There is so many more videos and exercises available on the internet but this video is easy to recreate. Back muscles exercises. 

The upper body muscles are directly related to more precision when shooting by helping you keeping the T posture. So basically, those muscles are responsible for your steadiness and therefore, good for your archery form. 

 

 

First thing first! 

Knowing how to hold your bow is really important to keep consistent shots. After all, holding your bow is the first action you will do before any other actions. That said, the grip should be in-between your thumb and index touching your palm. The remaining knuckles should generate a 45 degrees angle away from your bow. To do so, rotate your hand away from the vertical grip of your bow in a 40-45 degrees angle. Knowing how to hold your bow is really important to keep consistent shots. So, the first step before going further, you need to learn how to solidify your grip. This link will show you how.

After that, how should I look?

The T posture is a combination of your feet anchored on the ground (The stance) and your full draw (The anchor point). To reach that position, if you are using the square stance, the bow arm must be slightly bent to avoid the string hitting your arm. This position is also using your skeleton to hold the bow rather than all your muscles. If you take the open stance as your main shooting stance, it generates a natural triangle structure in-between your bow grip arm, your body, and your shooting line. 

Secondly, the elbow and the hand of the pulling arm should be aligning slightly over the grip hand as demonstrated below to keep a direct line between the arrow and the target. Therefore, lifting your elbow up when drawing, you are actually using the back muscles chain to generate a balance with the front muscles. Remember that straightened the body is, the more accurate or consistent your shots are going to be. Having a proper archery shooting form gives a much straightener flight to your arrows when releasing. 

This position will bring you to your anchor point. Next step after building a good steady body position for shooting is the release moment. The release moment is easy but crucial to accurate shots. Our next post will explain further about the anchor point and the release moment. Rapidly, the consistency in the anchor point draw back motion will be a keystone for more accurate shots in Archery and Bow Hunting. Your anchor point should be comfortable, consistent and concise (no Plunking). If you keep your elbow lower, you are using your bicep to pull back which is not a good form. It will decrease the steadiness of your posture

 

 

So remember, no leaning back or forward in the position. Keep the T posture as much as you can with your elbow up as seen below. A straight shoulder line will help reduce left to right or right to left throws when releasing the string.

Conclusion

Increasing your upper body strength with a simple stretching and workout program will help prevent injuries from happening and definitely improve your precision by giving your arrows a much straightener flight. It will obviously increase your personal health also which is a bonus. 

 

Next Post: Archery Lessons: Training for Better Shots | Archery Release Technique

Thank you for reading us! Do not hesitate to ask more questions to get more information or leave a comment below.

*Join our newsletter to receive more Informative blog posts about Archery.