I've always been an active person. My old desk job kept me stuck inside more than I wanted to be and weekends back in the city were filled with errands, laundry, and maybe a bit of leisure time if we were all caught up. Country life is filled with opportunities to spend full days outside — whether you're hiking, gardening, shooting your bow, working on a project, or, in my case, even writing (though I need to find an anti-glare screen for my computer). Learning archery is about more than just practice, even though, like any new sport, practice makes perfect — and my accuracy and aim is improving every single day! Last week's post talked about how I'm trying to shoot my bow daily, but I also asked for some tips to help improve my stamina and strength and the response on LinkedIn of all places was phenomenal! Many of the tips focused on cultivating a balanced exercise regime, mixing other types of core strength conditioning with upper body conditioning. This isn't a surprise to me as I believe that any athletic endeavor — be it archery or running or yoga — requires a balanced effort that focuses on whole body strength. Regardless, I thought many of the answers would appeal to others starting off on a similar archery journey and wanted to share some of them with you:
- Practice outside. This way you have the ability to shoot in wind, cold, heat, etc. Easier for me now that the weather is warm(er), but for the upcoming winter months, I would like to move a few targets inside to my basement to keep it up even when the cold keeps us inside.
- Balance practice with other forms of activity whether it be cardio, yoga, light weights, or, in my case, hikes with this guy:
- Strengthen your core with specific exercises geared towards this area of your body. Pilates and power yoga are my exercises of choice, but sit-ups, chin-ups, and push-ups are great choices, too.
- Practice perfectly. It’s better to focus and shoot one arrow well than shoot a bunch of arrows badly. As a beginner, this is pretty good advice since aim is a necessary skill to cultivate for the next few months as I get prepared for my first deer season.