How to practice archery without shooting arrows?

To develop the skills archers need to make better shots, it's necessary to spend a lot of time training.

For a good archer, there are times when shooting numerous arrows per session is necessary to improve and best prepare for competition. However, a complete athlete must improve on other equally important points. So, sometimes it's appropriate to change the parameters of a session using specific exercises by removing the focus from the target during practice.

To approach this, many archers use various strength training, control, and concentration programs to teach specific skills. Here are some exercises to practice archery without shooting arrows.

Using the elastic band

Before each shooting session, the archer must warm up well and strengthen their muscles. This helps reduce the risk of injury and be effective from the first arrow. There are many solutions, such as the proper use of an elastic band.

A good warm-up lasts between 10 to 20 minutes. It consists of 4 phases:

• 1st phase 5 minutes: a short jump rope session with the elastic band will be more than enough.
• 2nd phase 2 to 5 minutes: flexibility exercises
• 3rd phase 2 to 5 minutes: muscle strengthening and protection

With the elastic band, perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions of two randomly chosen exercises (followed by an exercise without the elastic band). It is recommended to gradually increase the number of sets and repetitions, depending on your progress, choosing different exercises each time.

• 4th phase: arrowless shooting session

Stay focused on technique (posture, placement, and movement), and perform 20 simulations of elastic band shooting. If needed, you can gradually increase the resistance of the elastic band as you progress through these simulations.

Improving physical condition

Good physical condition requires preparation over time. In this case, there are different training phases, and each has a specific purpose. These include:

Jogging.

As in other sports, physical conditioning is just as important in archery. What better way to work on cardio, lungs, legs, and balance resistance than jogging.

Strength training

First, define the muscles to develop. Archery particularly requires working on your bow arm. For this, you need to strengthen your shoulders, back, arm with resistance bands or elastic or weights, stretch bands (shoulder girdle, back muscles, lower back).

Strength training with the bow

You can resort to shooting simulations with a training bow or other accessories specially dedicated to this purpose. Otherwise, there's always the archery shooting session. In this case, it's advisable to seek advice from your coach for maximum effectiveness.

Joint flexibility movements

This step aims to facilitate the execution of the movement and its precision. To do this, you can for example:

• Work with clubs in a safe space for the shoulders,
• Do exercises for the core, fingers.

Tip:

For effective training (precision of movements, endurance, etc.), consider organizing the calendar to work on physical condition outside competition periods. At the appropriate time, decrease work focused exclusively on strength training, gradually replacing it with specific work.

Mental preparation

For the archer to reach a state of flow or peak flow, in addition to being diligent in physical training, mental preparations must also be worked on. This is to be able to resist stress and fatigue due to complex, repeated, and extremely precise sequences during training and competitions. Therefore, to become an accomplished athlete, the archer must develop self-confidence and self-control, fully commit, be motivated, focused, but above all, be patient.

Besides training with the coach, you can practice exercises at home to perfect your mental training. But know that real mental coaching must be able to adapt to each athlete's blockage. It's not about brainwashing or a one-size-fits-all program blindly applied to everyone.

In general, mental preparation is based on a few key concepts, including:

• Setting goals;
• Relaxation;
• Concentration;
• Imagery.

Virtual archery practice

To practice archery safely without neglecting the development of movement coordination, balance, endurance, and concentration, opt for virtual archery. The advantage of this type of equipment is its adaptability for all ages by adjusting its resistance (10 to 70 lbs).

Referring to the ACCUBOW 1.0 TRAINING BOW, virtual archery practice requires:

• AccuBow equipment;
• Downloading the AccuBow app;
• Attaching the phone with the app to the AccuBow's bow handle;
• Start shooting.

The AccuBow 2.0 presents the following new features:

• Foldable handle with a folded dimension of 14 x 14 x 6 inches;
• String draw center with integrated D-Loop;
• 75% quieter and vibration reduction;
• Dual adjustable resistance dials from 10 to 70 lbs;
• New and improved phone holder design (included).