Physical Training for Archery

At some point, all my students or student's parents have asked what kind of exercises I recommend for building archery strength. Typically, the intent of the question is to increase the archer's draw weight. However, in my humble opinion, this is the least important focus on the athlete's strength level.

Archery is a finesse sport like golf or even dance where the benefits of an athlete's conditioning is highlighted in their stability and ability to make specific micromovements.

The gradual increase in draw weight comes through learning proper draw to load and bracing form. Then, repeating that proper form over and over again.

Many times, while coaching or practicing at Fort Grard Guns and Archery (Weatherford, TX), I've seen men come in to get their first compound hunting bow (that's our primary market in our area). They are clearly in good shape, yet they struggle to draw a bow with a 50 pound draw weight when I've had 14-year-old students drawing the same weight. It's all about the form.

With that said, following is a sample week's physical training I recommend for developing stability, balance, mobility and range of motion.

**Disclaimer - I am not a certified physical trainer. The following is purely anecdotal. I intentionally omitted number of reps or durations as that is up to the individual.

I plan to upload video demonstrations of the exercises to my YouTube channel in the future. In the meantime, I verified you can find examples on YouTube by pasting each of the exercises in the search.

Day	Focus Area
Monday	Upper Body + Core Stability
Seated Cable Rows
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Face Pulls
Overhead Dumbbell Press
Dead Bug
Plank with Shoulder Taps
Russian Twists
Tuesday	Lower Body + Mobility
Goblet Squats
Step-Ups or Lunges
Romanian Deadlifts
Calf Raises
Hip Flexor & Hamstring Stretches
Ankle Mobility
Thursday	Total Body Strength + Power
Kettlebell Swings
Pull-Ups (Assisted if necessary)
Landmine Press or Dumbbell Bench Press
Farmer’s Carries
Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
Stir the Pot
Side Planks with Reach Through
Saturday	Archery-Specific Conditioning
Resistance Band Draws
Wall Holds
Isometric Bow Hold
Balance Board Work
Breathing Control Practice