Training for 12 dozen!

[johnnyb]

Hi All,

Just did my second york yesterday and it dawned on me that I wasn't physically up to shooting 12 dozen arrows in competition! It made me question what people do to prepare for a days shooting. I'll admit it's no marathon, but it does seem to be an endurance event. Also the action of drawing the bow to shoot 100 yards seems to be more energy sapping than doing exactly the same for 60 yards - but I know it's not.

Can you all tell me how you do it? I have tried the power breakfast, the pre tournament warm ups and the banana and fruit pastille diet throughtout the day but by the time they blow that final whistle I am absolutely flattened!

TIA

Johnnyb

Originally Posted by johnnyb

Hi All,

Just did my second york yesterday and it dawned on me that I wasn't physically up to shooting 12 dozen arrows in competition! It made me question what people do to prepare for a days shooting. I'll admit it's no marathon, but it does seem to be an endurance event. Also the action of drawing the bow to shoot 100 yards seems to be more energy sapping than doing exactly the same for 60 yards - but I know it's not.

Can you all tell me how you do it? I have tried the power breakfast, the pre tournament warm ups and the banana and fruit pastille diet throughtout the day but by the time they blow that final whistle I am absolutely flattened!

TIA

Johnnyb

I find it's mentally draining too. Consentrating for a full 12 dozen is hard work. It's a bit like driving a long way at night in the rain on a busy motorway.

The bets way to build endurance is to practice more. Buy a line tent and a chair and sit down as much as you can. Drink little bits of water between ends.

I suspect at 100 yds you are consentrating more than you do at 60 yds, and may be holding a bit longer for each arrow.

[simon m]

I guess 144 draws plus sighters is enough to make most people arms feel like useless lengths of rope?.

I remember shooting a York as a junior and being done by lunchtime, only bloody mindedness keep me shooting till the end (badly as i remeber)

[geoffretired]

I am only speaking for myself here, no science or medical backup, just my experience.
I am built for lifting a pencil. I am not fit really;nor young. I can shoot a York or other similar rounds. At the end I am tired, but not in the sense that I could not shoot another arrow. The concentration on the shooting leaves me "tired of concentrating". No aches or pains or stiffness next day.
If you feel you are worn out, physically, before the last dozen, perhaps the bow is too heavy for you or the technique my need a little brushing up.
If you don't shoot 12 dozen regularly then that is likely to add to the difficulty.
I have never done exercises to help endurance;I just shoot many arrows when I get the chance. If I had to do something to help with endurance it would probably be drawing the bow lots of times, trying to get the proper alignment and holding at full draw for longer than a normal shot.( when I know I am not going to shoot an arrow,I sometimes get lazy on the draw and don't do it as well as I should. I think that is something to avoid in practice sessions)

[SLOWHAND]

Originally Posted by rgsphoto

I find it's mentally draining too. Consentrating for a full 12 dozen is hard work. It's a bit like driving a long way at night in the rain on a busy motorway.

The bets way to build endurance is to practice more. Buy a line tent and a chair and sit down as much as you can. Drink little bits of water between ends.

I suspect at 100 yds you are consentrating more than you do at 60 yds, and may be holding a bit longer for each arrow.

Dead right, practice is the key factor, if you can shoot two or three times a week then you will quite easily do a York physically after a two or three months, regular drinks and sensible eating is also very important (dont have a big meal at lunch time, little and often is better). The mental tiredness is a lot harder to overcome and I too am mentally drained after a York or FITA, all I want to do after one of these is go to sleep! Imagin doing a double FITA or a three day event like Norfolk, good job we enjoy it!!

[Max]

I don't really think there is any short cut to success here, other than training for endurance. Shoot as often as possible (look at the training regime of many champions and you will find they shoot hundreds of arrows a day). One suggestion I have heard is to shoot 8 arrow ends (or more) in practice, so that in competition, you are actually doing less work than you are used to.

Keep the body hydrated with frequent sips of water, and rest your legs (just standing up for 8 hours is exhausting on its own). I use a little folding three leg stool which does not catch my quiver and does not get in the way on the waiting line.

Finally, keep the arm and shoulder muscles gently working between ends - gentle shoulder rolls and stretches, to help wash out the fatigue toxins that build up in the muscles.

[Tony_zelah]

Friend and I used to improver our endurance by shooting more than six arrows an end and shooting more than 150 arrows (170 for a FITA) don't forget those sighter's after all

[Rik]

Shoot at least a few times each week. Exercise on the days you don't shoot. Keep well hydrated while shooting. Take a chair so that you can sit down between ends.

I've noticed that a lot of people shoot differently at longer distances. It's a bad thing, over all. You should shoot at all distances more or less exactly the same way you shoot at your best distance. Otherwise you'll be robbing yourself of points. The shooting doesn't (shouldn't) really change with distance.

[johnnyb]

Thanks for all the advice. I know it really boils down to practice (and lots of it), concentration and having consistent form. I am guilty of losing my technique, holding at full draw for too long and generally feeling the pressure of the event!

[morphymick]

One way I practice for a York is to shoot it in reverse order, 6doz @ 60, 4doz @ 80 and 2 doz @ 100; then 4doz @ each distance; building up to a complete reverse York, 2, 4, 6 doz @ 60, 80 & 100. This increases the stamina and allows you to keep the bow arm up throughout a regular York.

The main thing is to practice at 90m/100yd as much as possible, bow arm fatigue is a killer.

On the day of the competition, comfortable clothing, plenty of water, a seat and plenty of choccies, coffee, cigars & chewing gum keep me going.

Mick