Stickbow Target Archery Forums

Anybody ever hear of stretching your fingers back toward your forearm to improve your release? It seems no matter how loosely you hold your fingers, there is always some natural tension.

When you hang your hand at your side, even gravity does not straighten your fingers completely. It seems that with diligent stretching, the muscles and tendons in your forearm could be lengthened to allow for less resistance to a clean release.

I stretch mine as part of my regular warm up stretch.

Interlock the fingers of both hands, then extend arms straight over head with palms up. Reach for the sky and try to relax the shoulders at the same time. I hold for a count of 12, let down, then do it again.

Dave

I don't know that stretching your forearm muscles
would improve your release, but it seems sensible.

I lift weights and do a fair amount of grip training. I find that if I don't stretch, my fingers begin to curl more when simply hanging and eventually I start losing strength.

While I'm giving the perspective of a weight trainer and the grip intensity may be higher that drawing a bow, shooting several hundred arrows per week (I think DA shoots daily) can put a lot of stress on the back of your hand and on the forearm muscles.

This is a very long winded way of saying "It can't hurt".

Todd, just wondering -- have you experimented with a deep hook? There is more finger to get out of the way, but, surprisingly, it is cleaner.

Arc
I have played with it, and don't care for it. (If by deep you mean closer to the second joint). If by deep you mean in the outermost joint, then that is how I currently like to shoot.

Even so, stretching would also (in theory) benefit a deep hook. It is not the holding effort that stretching alleviates, it is the tension that is always present in your forearm even with your muscles completely relaxed.

As Steve mentioned, lifting weights tightens the relaxed curl of the fingers, so more limber muscles and tendons would mean the fingers would fly out of the way easier.

I have been lifting quite a bit over the last 6 months and think it may be affecting my release.

Todd
Another tool to help would be some strong rubber bands, especially if you have been doing some heavy dumbell work or deadlifts. Just wrap the rubber band(s) around your fingers and thumb then open your hand. This works the opposing muscles to those that grip. Kind of like doing back and chest to balance each other
Check out: n
These guys have some insane grip tools and tips, but they are a great source of information on hand strength. I showed their site to my orthopedist and he now uses some of their products to help his patients.

Excellent suggestion. I hadn't even thought of that.

Off and on I've been working out with a Dynaflex Powerball for the last 2 years, and I find it does help add release hand/wrist strength and control. Gotta be careful with these gyros as you need to take it easy and gradually work into higher speeds, lots more G forces, and longer spin times ... else I think one could get injured.