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Archery routine for middle age guy starting at gym?

5K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  bark-eater 
#1 ·
I've got an opportunity to spend an 1 1/2 hours at a YMCA twice a week.. I was an animal in my 20's and managed to coast on that into my 40's, But... Its all over now..

So, Recommendations please. Should I buy a book? I have some shoulder issues and feel like I need to strengthen every thing around the shoulder as I continue to do the various stretches a PT recommended. Thanks, Woody
 
#4 · (Edited)
I had shoulder surgery almost 2 years ago, just after turning 45. Take my advice on this. Follow the PTs regimen and work hard. Other than that there are certain things you want to avoid until the PT releases you and then after that you go light and slow on these: free weight bench press, clean and jerk, lat pull downs, military press, push ups and incline bench.

Best options for getting into things use machines for a lot of that for now. Light weights and work upward slowly. Add no more than a 5 pound increase per visit. This will allow your body to compensate as you grow. If the gym has a licensed personal trainer seek him/her out. Let them know what you have going on. They should be able to guide you also.

Make sure you are also doing some sort of cardiovascular work 2 to 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time. Bike elliptical or running all work well. I have found that for certain knee problems bike is best. Your PT should also be able to give you advice although my PT would only recommend cardiovascular and I had to go the route of locating a trainer in my gym.
 
#5 ·
You could also research Active Release Therapy (ART) -- it ain't for the faint of heart...
...but it will enable you to realize your full range of motion with your joints along with other benefits.
This is something you can do on your own (safely) as a form of prehabilitation; don't push yourself to the point where you need rehabilitation; been there multiple times.
[caveat: this is coming from the world's biggest hypocrite as it relates to rehabilitation]
 
#6 ·
From my personal experience by far the easiest is to do group class workouts - now don't dismiss me right off. These classes are put together by professionals and designed to give you a full body workout with a warm-up and stretch/ cool down. I admit I don't and can't do the classes that are dance based. All you have to do is show up, do what you are told, push yourself beyond your comfort zone and you will get healthier than you've been in a long time. That said it must be combined with a good nutrition program.
 
#7 ·
I need to look more into ART and massage therapy. Funny thing though.. I think my shoulder concerns are partially caused by ART. I think I broke up a mass of old scar tissue last year and suddenly gained a couple inches of draw leangth. At the same time I was shooting a lot, so I had a major form change in mid stride. In hind sight I should have backed off immediately.
 
#8 ·
My take is that, other than any specific excises recommended by your PT, you should spend your gym time on general exercises with a focus on core strength.

Build your bow strength by shooting bows. Use your gym time for balanced strength so you are less likely to hurt yourself.
 
#10 ·
I've been going through PT from hip surgery and also using the weight room facilities of land based equipment at my physical therapist. I have been working with pulley weights that are across from each other, set to 45 pounds and use one as the bow riser, and the other the bow string. It works quite well, as using all the other upper body weight machines to gain the muscular strength again. He also has a resistance band that are quite useful as well, which adds something new to the mix. The whole thing is to improve my draw strength, and hold for release.

It also helps that my physical therapist shoots a bow, but not a traditional bow.
 
#11 ·
Perhaps you can also try ring rows, start from the easier, near vertical position & gradually work your way to the horizontal when you've build up your strength. I find that this exercise gave me greater pulling strength on the bow.
 
#12 ·
The gym has been difficult to fit in with everything else going on, so I'm trying to figure out what I can do at home.
I did find an exercise path with various body weight stations that felt like I'd done something afterwards.
TRX style straps or rings to hook onto a pull up bar are on the short list.
I picked up a copy of "Training For Archery" by Jake Kaminski and have been following his warm up routine before shooting.
It's making a difference for how I shoot and how I feel afterwards.
Next up is to figure out how to adapt his weight training into the time I have.
Right now I am seeing improvement shooting in my accuracy by focusing on shooting less and shooting better.
I didn't realy think I would be creating a training regime around shooting arrows in the back yard, but if you're going to do something you might as well intend to be good at it.
 
#14 ·
I went to two local gyms with this very question a few years ago.
Was pretty much met with blank steers.
So I turned to the internet and read a lot.
Today I use kettle bells and some very specific stretches, that work just fine.
Something I read about was correct sleeping positions so that the body was not under tension during sleep.
Also found out that sleeping on your side "as I've always done" is in fact the worst position to sleep in, particularly for your back and shoulders.
Since changing and getting used to my new sleeping positions I now sleep better and on longer wake with sore shoulders or any back pain.
If we can sort the wheat from the chaff, the net is a very good resource and I use it a lot.

John..
 
#15 ·
I subscribed to this thread so I got notification a email. I had torn up my shoulder over doing it with a bow, and while I was shooting a light bow pretty well and doing a lot of "approved" exercises and PT I just felt like I was keeping myself from fully healing up. So I pretty much stopped everything, and took up cycling, and bike restoration to keep out of trouble. The cardio has been good for me but I'm realizing that I'm losing some ground from when I was doing more weight training with kettlebells and such. So I have been pondering slowly getting back on that horse and seeing how my shoulders have recovered on their own.
 
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