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How to practice archery without shooting arrows?

To develop the skills archers need to make better shots, a lot of time must be spent practicing.

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 proper use of the 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 sufficient.
  • 2nd phase 2 to 5 minutes: flexibility exercises
  • 3rd phase 2 to 5 minutes: strengthening and protecting muscles

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

  • 4th phase: arrow-less shooting session

Stay focused on technique (posture, placements, and movement), and perform 20 simulations of shooting with the elastic band. 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, improving physical condition is just as important in archery. What better way to work on cardio, lungs, legs, and resistance in a balanced position 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, rubber 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 session. In this case, it's advisable to seek advice from your trainer for maximum effectiveness.

Joint flexibility movements

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

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

Tip:

For effective training (precision of movements, endurance, etc.), consider organizing the calendar to work on physical condition outside of competition periods. When appropriate, reduce 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, fatigue due to complex, repeated, and extremely precise sequences during training and competitions that they must follow. So, to become an accomplished athlete, the archer must develop self-confidence and self-control, be fully committed, 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 brainwashing or a one-size-fits-all program that's 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 and 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.

AccuBow 2.0 features the following new additions:

  • 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;
  • Adjustable dual-resistance dials from 10 to 70 lbs;
  • New and improved phone mount design (included).