Stickbow Target Archery Forums

I am going to issue on a weekly base training suggestions. The suggestions will be grouped into
- physical condition improovementn - mental exercisesn - shooting stylen - body ballancingn - equipment tuningn
The suggestions will be in such way that the one can choose to go the full programme (daily one hour) or select individual phases.
During the next weeks I am going to post a general overview about the intended programme.
In the course of the programme we will have some "intensive" phases on the individual groups. Once a month we will make a check - focused on the intesive worked-out component.
Background of the individual components:n
- physical condition improovementn The physical condition is a basic influence on shooting skill as well as on mental conzentration
We will improove both strength and durability - this will help to cope with some of the exercises of the other components.

- mental exercisesn we all know - archery is a mental game. But in order to be prepared for this we have work on our mental preparation. Some simple exercises for conzentration and for relexation will help to gain more control on this component.

- shooting stylen yes, I know this is a difficult one - first of all, everyone has his own developed style and second to change your style you need some guidance. I do have some Ideas, lets see how we can handle this issue.

- body balancingn the right balance of your body will help to avoid preset tensions in your body that will hit your arrow in the moment when your release-relaxation appears. So, the intension is here to avoid preset tensions in your body by making some quite interesting balance exercises.

- equipment tuningn finally we will talk a little about how to tune your equipment for specific competitions - discussing the influence of specific settings and finding (hopefully) answers to appearing questions. (Like shooting style, this is also a quite sensitive issue).

Hi Martin,n
I like your 5 categories.

It looks like most days can be done almost anywhere, and some require going to a shooting range. To make it easier to plan the week, I wonder if you could have a summary somewhere indicating how many (and which) days are shooting days (these days may require driving to a range and will require extra planning and time).

Re: conditioning -- I don't know about others, but, at the request of aching knees and back, I changed from jogging to low-impact conditioning many years ago. So, for myself, I will try to modify your jogging routine to a biking routine. Since archery is a sport that you can pursue to a quite advanced age, I bet others may have similar concerns.

I like how you start by having each of us identify our own style. This seems great, and will allow us to retain individuality while at the same time present a baseline for improvement.

I look forward to starting your program, and hope that there will be many of us participating.

No problem in changing from jogging to biking; the idea is to build up physical strength. This could be acchieved with any sport activities. Note pls. that there will be a slowly increasment in the activities - so pls select such sport that allows you to adjust your exercises in time and intensity.

With regards to the week plan - during the first quarter of the training programme approx. 3 days of shooting are foreseen. Ideal on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - but you may adjust your days if this causes difficulties.

martin

@ArcCastern have you ever tried "Nordic Walking"?

Not sure what it is. Is it a style or a piece of equipment?

It´s an alternative to jogging.
[url=http://www.
ordicwalking.com/portal/nordic_walking/english/background_of_nordic_walking/]http://www.
ordicwalking.com/portal/nordic_walking/english/background_of_nordic_walking/[/url]n That page gives you a quite good first impression. My orthopedic doctor claimed that this is from his point of view the best possible method to slowly increase the physical conditions without putting too much stress on knees and back.
You might consider this as an alternative to cycling as well - but pls. consult your doctor upfront if you are not sure whether it would be suitable for you.