More on Working Out (aka Part 3 of 2)

You may recall this was about older folks shooting challenging field rounds and being fit enough to do well. But topics do expand and I got a comment from Bob regarding Part 1 which contains a few more topics, namely: workout plans, “FORM difference between shooting on a flat range and shooting uphill (harder) and downhill (easier),” and “plan our yearly events to better fit our capabilities, doing shorter events earlier leading up to the long days.”

I suspect that Bob will also respond to Part 2, but I have some grist for my mill so I will address these topics here . . . and now.

Workout Plans If you work out at a fitness center of some sort, it is best to consult experts regarding fitness plans. They can take into account any weaknesses, frailties, etc. you have and design a plan to provides you with what you need.

Famous traditional archer Howard Hill was known for being incredibly strong. One story I remember is he strung a 100 lb. long bow while sitting down! Mr. Hill worked out daily and one of his go-to exercises is he hung 125 pounds of weight on a cable that was run through a pulley. He would “draw” this weight over and over for many minutes. He also shot 80+ pound bows for his trick shot exhibitions. (I once tried to draw a 100# longbow and to this day I am not sure I even bent the string.)

This is where the line between amateur and professional is drawn. How much time/effort do you have to support your shooting? If you are not retired, like me, you have work, family, and other concerns that limit the time you have. But there are some simple things you can do. For example, for about the first five years I shot, when the weather turned in the Fall, I packed away my bow until it turned back in Spring. Then it seemed like I was starting anew each spring. When I finally wised up and shot indoors during the late-fall to early-spring months, I started making more progress. (The best exercise for drawing a bow is . . . drawing a bow.)

Shooting Up-, Down-, and Sidehill Shots These were characterized in Bob’s comment as “shooting uphill (harder) and downhill (easier).” And, of course I have a story. My home range had several not-very-steep downhill shots built in, and almost no uphill shots. After traveling to quite a few field ranges in and out of California, this seemed to be a general pattern. I believe, but cannot prove that this is rooted in a safety concern. We do not in general place target butts on the edge of a ravine or an edge of a cliff. If you miss the butt, those arrows may go a long ways and be unrecoverable. Similarly, if you put a butt on the top of a rise and then someone misses the butt, where does that arrow land? Arrows can travel many hundreds of feet launched up into the air that way.

No matter, the point is that I had very little experience shooting uphill shoots and considerably more shooting downhill shots. Then I was in a shoot with an extreme uphill shot and I almost couldn’t release my arrows. Not only was it uphill, but at that time of day, the Sun was behind the target! I felt as if I were to fall over backwards. I had no compensations trained in and, basically, I embarrassed myself (nobody else noted as none of them were expecting much from me at the time).

So, the easier and harder labels may just be due to practice.

I have some friends who have competed around the world and thus encountered extreme field course, with very steep up-and downhill shots. They ended up making some foam targets (before they were readily available), driving up into the Sierra Nevadas and setting up some very steep shots to be able to practice them.

Sidehill shots can be problematic, mostly due to your footing but also particularly due to not having an horizon as a reference for being level and plumb. Again, practice is in order. If you can’t find such shots on your range find a somewhat unlevel shooting stake and place a piece of 4×4 down on the high side and take your stance on your simulated sidehill, then practice and, as always, be aware of what you feel and how you shoot. As always, mix it up, e.g. don’t always have your left foot as the high side, etc.

In all awkward body position shots, the goal is to preserve as much of your upper body geometry as possible. For example, open stances help in down hill shots, closed stances in uphill shots. When shooting downhill, you want to bend at the waist, not higher (to preserve . . .). So, your lower bow limb ends up swinging down, and if your stance is open the gap between your legs provides a space for that lower limb. On uphill shots, which Bob and I find more difficult, probably due to lack of practice and familiarity, there is a tendency to bend above your waist, and that shortens your draw. A closed stance tends to lengthen your draw to compensate. If you shoot compound, the draw length is built in, but if your body position shortens your full draw position, your anchor ends up in a “funny” position, which a closed stance can alleviate somewhat.

A Bonus in the Form of a Question How do you shoot a shot at a target directly below your feet or directly over your head (not that you ever would)? Two categories: no sight involved and sight involved. Put your answer in a comment.

Finally, Planning Your Yearly Events In my book “Winning Archery,” which addresses everything you need to learn besides how to shoot, I devote quite a bit of space on this topic.

If you are what I call a “serious competitive archer” which is someone who is not a professional but a large part of their “fun” is doing well, I strongly urge you to plan the events you compete in carefully. Often there are “important shoots” and “not so important shoots,” important to you, of course. To me the California State Field Championship was important, the Washington State Field Championship not so much, you get the idea.

Leading up to an important shoot you want to schedule similar events. You don’t want an important shoot to be the first of its type that year. So, before a challenging field event at a range requiring overnight travel, it is nice to have a similar event booked beforehand. Just shooting competitions at ranges close to home so that you are sleeping in your own bed and eating home cooked meals, etc. might not be the best preparation. An important outdoor event shouldn’t be your first outdoor event after shooting indoors all winter, especially if you have an “indoor bow” and an “outdoor bow.”

So, another story, I was at an outdoor target event when a fellow competitor pointed out that watching my arrows fly was making him queasy. It was then that I realized that the one bow I owned had been set up for indoors and I didn’t complete the reconfiguration of that bow for outdoor shooting. The setup I was shooting was for a different set of arrows. And I was wondering why my groups were so big! You want at least a couple of shakedown shoots before you attempt an “important shoot,” ones in which your trust in your equipment can be validated.

More? I presume more comments are coming and if there is something in this area you want me to touch, now would be a good time to ask.