I just read this first line again. At full draw I have no push. In the same way a wall has no push when I lean against it. There is bone-on-bone alignment which has an equal and opposite force of the draw. I can hold this for 30 seconds recurve, almost indefinitely compound. If I try to actively push the bow into a longer draw with the bow arm, or back muscles, I will get tired after 6-7 seconds (recurve)I often read the expression " push and pull" in relation to the bow being held at full draw.
When I learnt to shoot compound I was taught to keep the bow arm bent. This meant two things... a lot more effort, muscles pushing, to stay at full draw and a physical push at release to keep the bow moving in the direction of the target. Around 12 years ago I changed to bone-on-bone and this meant I could hold the aim almost indefinitely and allow a 'reach', as Rik put it, during follow through. This was really an expansion of the joints, nothing more.
So this is the crux of the issue. Do you want muscles to push the bow when at full draw or do you want the bone structure to take the weight and use less muscle power just to keep the bones simply aligned?
I think if an archer has trouble reaching full draw they are over bowed. Getting to full draw should be a relatively easy process for both recurve and compound. This is slightly different for recurves and compounds but is really a combination of timing and strength (fitness). Holding at full draw is no big deal for compound, but recurves have to decide if they want to use the bow arm unit to contribute to the expansion of the clicker or use the chest and drawing unit to do the expansion.
Follow through again is either a physical push or a reach, natural expansion of the bow arm unit.
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