Exercise & Fitness

[Gold Flinger]

I'm particularly bored with work this week, so, seeing as it's Friday, I thought I'd start a new thread to see what measures people take to keep in shape for archery. I've always been very active - I raced road bikes until my early twenties and still enjoy road and mountain biking on a fairly regular basis.
I also go to the gym. For the past 2-3 years I trained 4 times a week, though a recent house move and increased work commitments (plus archery! ) have meant a reduction to 2 or 3 times.
4 nights a week was easy enough; I divided the workouts into different muscle groups so each one had a week to recover.

Monday: Chest/Triceps
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Shoulders/Abs
Friday: Back/Biceps
(Every night: 20mins swim - high intensity)

Now I divide up the various routines depending whether I have 2 or 3 sessions in a week but keep certain workouts separate (ie back and bi's separate to chest and tri's, shoulders separate to chest).

I think that weight training has allowed me to handle a fairly high draw weight quite quickly and given me a level of "muscle awareness" that certainly helps when fine tuning form (or trying at least!! )

So, what do other people do? Weights, cardio, or just turn up and shoot? Do people notice any particular drawbacks or benefits of their chosen routine?

[avalon]

Erm, I'm guilty of not doing much at the moment, just shooting and some reversals! But I wouldn't mind some suggestions on what to try.
I used to do some weights for chest/arms, some ab crunches and I always found Pilates exceptionally helpful for posture in shooting.
At the moment, I need to work on strength, stamina.... and everything else

[Dave]

Not sure if most of this counts as 'exercise' </p>

5-6 times a night I run up and downstairs carrying around 14lbs (always slightly lighter coming down the stairs...). This originally started in February as 8lbs.</p>

Around 11pm I have my two hour 'dance' exercise carrying the aformentioned 14lb weight. (This also acts as an endurance test for my ears).</p>

Since I sorted my Arrow/Boss/Garage Door interface problem I've started shooting 6 doz.#every other night#(8 doz. on Sunday) with my bow cranked up to its maximum just to improve my style and endurance (neither of which have improved yet!).</p>

As soon as the 14lb weight is a bit older I'll be starting hill walking and regular swimming again#</p>

[avalon]

and I bet earlier in the year you had some middle of the night training too.... that's commitment

[Dave]

avalon - 10/6/2005 3:28 PM and I bet earlier in the year you had some middle of the night training too.... that's commitment

</p>

Yes, it was a 24 hour endurance session#</p>

[Gold Flinger]

Dave, I have to say, you're looking particularly "buff" from your new routine. The ever-increasing-weight system sounds amazing: Perhaps you should sell the idea to Weider or York. Only problem I can see, if you need to drop in weight you'll have to starve her!

Avalon, I worry about neglecting my other exercise regime in favour of archery/reversals, because I'm afraid that shooting alone promotes asymetric musclature which in turn can lead to posture, spine and neck problems.

Most gym-based exercises can be replicated with a minumum of weights and aparatus, though obviously, you're more likely to injure yourself with free weights so extra care needs to be taken.
My first piece of advice is to work opposing muscle groups equally. I see countless muscle-bound, round-shouldered, skinny-legged blokes at the gym, all because they're only interested in pumping their chest and biceps!
So, if you do 3 sets of 10 reps on your bi's, do the same on your tri's.
Abs don't need anything like the amount of exercise people think, 3 sets of 10 sit-ups or crunches, leg raises is plenty. Just vary what you do and balance them with a lower back exercise such as dead-lifts or squats.

Here's a selection of the freeweight work I do:

Concentration curls - using 1 dumb bell, seated so thighs are parallel to ground, feet apart, elbow on inner thigh. Curl dumbell across body to chin. 3 sets of 10 on each arm. If possible, increase weight each set but reduce reps. EG: 10x12kg, 8x14kg, 6x16kg.

Opposing exercise, Tricep kick-backs - Start with LOW WEIGHT! (triceps are very small muscles). Start with left knee and left hand on the bench, back horizontal and right foot on floor level with left knee. Hold 4 or 6 kilo dumbell in right hand. Raise right elbow so upper arm is parallel with floor. This is your starting position. Now raise the dumbell backwards until arm is straight and horizontal. Return to starting position and repeat. Keep neck and shoulders straight throughout, mirror everything for left arm.

Dumbell Flies - Starting with 4-6 kilos, one in each hand. Keep back straight but bend forward slightly at the hips, feet togther, knees relaxed. Raise dumbells to a cruciform position, no higher than shoulder height. Remember to lower weights slowly, otherwise you're only doing half the exercise!

Lat Raises - Use similar weight to flies, back straight, feet shoulder width, knees relaxed. Whilst trying to keep spine verticle, shoulders horizontal, raise right dumbell straight in front to shoulder height, then return to starting position before raising the right dumbell. If you start to contort your spine/shoulders, reduce weight but try for 3x10.

Rear Delt Flies - START LOW! 2-4 kilos is plenty to start with. Sit on the edge of the bench, feet together and lean forward until your chest touches your knees. Try to look forward. Start with the dumbells in front of you, elbows in a relaxed position. Raise the dumbells simultaniously using the rear deltoids by squeezing the shoulder blades together (easy for archers!). Try and keep hands in line with shoulders. Again, 3x10 is what you're aiming for.

Shoulder Press - Nice and heavy dumbell in each hand, sitting upright, start with weights at shoulder level and push straight up. Try not to twist the dumbells - handles should stay parallel to shoulders. 3x10 or 10-8-6 and increase weight.

Military Press - same as previous but using barbell and start with bar behind head. Good for triceps as well, different muscles used to regular dumbell press.

Bench Press - A largely under-used exersise. Use barbell or dumbell but if possible, incline and decline the bench as well as using it horizontally. These can all be done on chest day for a complete workout: Declined bench presses use completely different muscles to inclined bench presses so don't worry about overtraining.

Don't forget legs - they're the biggest muscle groups in the body and working them stimulates the production of hormones which encourage muscle development throughout the entire body.
Quite difficult to exercise thoroughly without specialist kit but squats and calf raises are a good addition to jogging and cycling.

Don't forget to stretch before and after any weight training, and it's been proven that stretching between sets promotes development and minimises injury. Anything that gets you more results with less time in the gym can only be good!

Hope you find this useful - and not too long-winded. If anything's unclear, just give me a shout and I'll try and re-cap. It is Friday!

[Dave]

I'm quite exhausted after reading all that </p>

Time for a nice lie down and a slice of cake me thinks.... </p>

[Gold Flinger]

Mmmmm... Ca-a-a-a-ke...
Don't worry Dave, your body's an engine and it needs fuel
Ironically, since this forum started, my cake addiction's been rekindled. So it's your fault I have to spend more time at the gym!

I've been reading about glycemic indexes and apparently, cake does less harm if eaten after a large, low GI meal. It doesn't put your pancreas under as much strain and you're less likely to suffer from the sugar trough that normally follows the initial high after a cake binge.
So, in theory, you're less likely to crave more cake. Where's the fun in that?

[Armchair Archer]

Gold Flinger - 10/6/2005 4:24 PM Mmmmm... Ca-a-a-a-ke... Don't worry Dave, your body's an engine and it needs fuel Ironically, since this forum started, my cake addiction's been rekindled. So it's your fault I have to spend more time at the gym! I've been reading about glycemic indexes and apparently, cake does less harm if eaten after a large, low GI meal. It doesn't put your pancreas under as much strain and you're less likely to suffer from the sugar trough that normally follows the initial high after a cake binge. So, in theory, you're less likely to crave more cake. Where's the fun in that?

</p>



You seriously need a Keeeeebab, Goldie !!!!!</p>

Speaking of eating, I'm going on a weeks all-inclusive holiday on the 19th, anybody got any suggestions as to what I should eat and drink. My aim is for 'ALL OF IT !!!!!' LOL.</p>



Seriously though, I've tended to be a 'turn-up-and-shoot merchant'. The only exercise I do is getting the targets out. Usually#do a few stretches before shooting and have done some half hearted reversals during the last couple of weeks.</p>



Is it really that necessary to do some gym work ????</p>

[clickerati]

I'll admit I would rather eat cake than go to the gym, which is why I now have a personal trainer/nutritionalist. She knows that I've recently started archery, so she has me doing a good balance of cardio, resistance training,#balance#(swiss ball and tai chi) and stretching#(yoga and#pilates). I also swim regularly. </p>

Obviously general fitness is benefical, but my trainer assures me that you don't need to go crazy. Going for a brisk walk on your lunch break three times a week is better than nothing.</p>

And Goldie, I've been eating GI for awhile because I have blood sugar problems. The good thing about GI is that you can always balance what you're eating.</p>