Training for heavy bow shooting

[Yeomanbowman]

I believe the fastest way to up your draw weight is through specific training.  The idea of moving up bows in about ten pound increments is the traditional way and has a certain aesthetic appeal.  However, it is expensive unless one makes ones own tackle.  I've done it by both methods in conjunction.  I should say that I have, in the past, done a lot of weight training for contact sports and could pull an 80 pound bow (albeit without much style) from the word go. l won't claim my method's necessarily safe, if you want that shoot a 45Lb'er!
Here goes..
First obtain some means of simulating a bow (I don't think pulleys really cut it as they do not facilitate a fluid draw).  here's my bow exerciser and I know it looks like the unholy alliance between a hospital bed and a compound.
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q280/yeomanbowman/?action=view&current=Dscn7141.flv
Here are the images of the 'bow exerciser'.  It's 6' long and 40mm wide.  These are the springs from 'Morris Springs'  http://www.morrissprings.co.uk/extension.html.  Go for the ones with longest extension or use shock cord.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q280/yeomanbowman/Dscn7118.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q280/yeomanbowman/Dscn7117.jpg

Protocol
Basically warm up with a lightweight for 15 draws or reps. Over 3 sets increase this weight until it's around 80# (for example) and your nice and warm in the shoulders.  Now the heavy stuff begins-put on 100# and rep this weight SMOOTHLY one after another and holding art full draw for as MANY times as possible in good form.  In the next few weeks, when you can get 12 reps out add more resistance and try and build the reps back up to 12.  Continue this process.

Points to remember
Only do this once a week tops, less if you have shot heavy recently
Small increments can be added with bungee cords
Pre-load the springs to get a more realistic F/D curve.
If you're still sore don't train
Place an arrow/dowel in the bow marked at 32 with a tape stop to ensure full draws.
The same sort of thing can be done holding looped shock-cord, so I'm told.
Hope this helps,
Jeremy

[D. Tiller]

Jeremy, might want to try drawing like the guys do on the Englishwarbow.com sight. Watch some of the videos there. I think it will be even easier for you to draw in the style they are doing it in. From what I'm seeing your doing all your drawing with your left arm. The other ways seem to even it out a lot more across the upper body.

I like the setup for training. Looks a lot more fun than just lifting weights.

David T

[markinengland]

I am not huge or small but I find it is not too difficult to draw a 100 bow. It helps if the bow is long and doesn't stack. You need a very different drawing style to that used on a lighter bow. The body and chest needs to be IN the bow. Using this whole body style I can draw a bow twice the draw weight on one I would use in the style I use for field archery that uses a more static arm/shoulder draw style. I have found that there is a very real difference between a long 100lb bow I can draw and a 120lb stacking bow that I can't.
Mark in England

[duffontap]

Jeremy,

Thanks for this contribution.  I'm going to make up a machine like that ASAP.  I thought it was interesting that you say to only do this once a week.  In medieval England they were only required to shoot once a week and I've often thought this was ideal for building up to high weights.  Giving your body lots of time to recover and build muscle.

LOL David,
Yeomanbowman can draw 155# with proper, fluid form.  He's one of a few people in the world who can do that.  Last I heard you were hoping to work your way up to half of that?

              J. D. Duff

[SimonUK]

What a great contraption! I'd thought of something similar using weights, but as you say it wouldn't replicate a bow very well.

Have you been tempted to shoot an arrow out of it?

[D. Tiller]

LOL David,
Yeomanbowman can draw 155# with proper, fluid form.  He's one of a few people in the world who can do that.  Last I heard you were hoping to work your way up to half of that?

              J. D. Duff

Come on JD! He wont be happy if he pops a rivett here and there.  I know how that feals!!!    Pain is never fun.  If I could find an easier way of drawing a bow of heavy weight I sure would go for it.

David T

[duffontap]

I'm just giving you a hard time DT.  Look at Jeremy's post on his 155# bow.  The video there shows his form and it's very similar to Glennan's.  He also has a long history of weight lifting so he knows how to take care of his joints.  I'm not sure he could even pull a 155# bow without proper form. 

            J. D. Duff

[heavybow]

Jeremy thats the same device that mark used to break the record 200#. What i used is pulling two bows and pulled them together also had a 290# made pull that with all my strength it does work. and alot of weight training going real heavy bent over rows,one hand rows, heavy shoulders front press, behind the neck press, heavy triceps excercise so your holding arm does not calaspe.alot of heavy curls so develop more pulling power. the device that you made is very well you can adapt any poundage with the spings pulling it for reps thats the way to do it. Well done marlon

[duffontap]

Marlon,
Thanks for the exercises.  Have you maxed out with a bow lately?  You were up to 180# weren't you?

        J. D. Duff

[heavybow]

Hello Josh yes I would shoot 12 arrows its a fiberglass bow 180# @27" Not a warbow marlon

[outcaste]

Hi Guys,

I am yet another cast adrift since the demise of EWB. So it's good that I found somewhere else to hang out (Thanks Marlon for getting in touch).

Just thought you lot might want to know that Yeomanbowman and I have trained together (gym etc) over a number of years and we have taken the same analytical and sustained approach to improving our draw weights. As you can see with the 'Bowerciser' it allows improvement in manageable increments, to the extent that I have put over 50lbs on my draw weight and with a strong coffee and a few words of encouragement from my 'buddy' I can draw up this fine bow. Back in Blighty there seems to be some resistance to mechanical forms of training, maybe they see it as not sportsmanlike?

Cheers, Outcaste 

[duffontap]

Welcome Outcast--we're still missing a lot of people.  If someone could get ahold of Nick, perhaps he would be willing to let people know we're here? 

If my memory serves correctly, Steve Stratton didn't like the mechanical bow? 

                    J. D. Duff

[sagitarius boemoru]

I sont like a special conditioning for heavy bow shooting, because the moment you cease training and diet your ability to shoot goes to hell.
But any hard work which actually strenghtens tendons is advisable.
Most of men who weight around 80 kilos is quite capable of shooting 100# on spot, but they wont shoot any well.
Good technique is more important than brute strenght.
I m in crappiest physical shape I was in last 10 years and I still do well with that new bow of mine which is like 92# and I only use 2 fingers for draw (flemish).
This is because my form is relaxed and gives equal share of strain to lots of big muscles.
People with massive joints have advantage in terms of less body compression and also the sinew joints are more massive.

I made a 65# yew bow for my shooting buddy here, hes got it since autumn, didnt even pulled it yet. I even gave him an ash strenght bow for training.

But I asked him "You do 50 pul ups every evening as I told you?"  "You eat raw cereals to build up the mass?"

Answer was "No" in both cases - he knows better, he will train with bows to get there. He does not realise that hard physical work is original conditioning he needs.

Raw cereals are also good for strenght and mass. Most people things its meat, but its quatch. Mind you, you wont get nice body eating this like "fitnes style" (well unles your genetics works in you favor", but as a diet it builds up the strenght as tuna and other things.

Again its not much of worth if you need to keep lift the weights to be able to shoot your bow.


Jaro

[heavybow]

Jaro diet is important and rest. Outcast get the others here marlon

[sagitarius boemoru]

Marlon, the archers at campaigns eat what they could and they were often forced to shoot afte rmany days of long march, or after a period of very poor nutrition, hard physical labour, with disenteria, without sleep etc.....

Off course they fought literary for lives, but as I said if you cannot do it without special training, which you have to sustain, its not worth it.


Jaro