Upping draw weight

Sleepy82

New member
The new bow's ordered! But, it's not likely to arrive before the new year (6-12 weeks iirc) so, I have a little time to train

I'm going from 50lb (compound, unsure of let-off but it's pretty high) to 70lb 85%.

Obviously, Shooting the bow I have as much as possible will help significantly but I don't get to go all that much. So, I'm looking for alternatives. My best ideas so far are pressups and to cobble something together from a resistance band to imitate drawing a bow - a grip to hold in my bow hand and a powerful elastic with some sort of handle instead of a release

Do any of you have any other ideas or wisdom on the matter please? I've done well getting my draw/form reasonable (as far as I can tell) but I'm very short of people to ask - the "club" I'm in is simply a handful of guys at the gun club who dabble. So, effectively, I'm self-taught other than a year or so in an archery club ~ 28 years ago

I'll also be looking at a few coaching sessions, covid permitting, probably after Christmas now though. I'm not really interested in shooting competitively - but its always good to see an improvement
 

inthemiddle

Active member
Just out of interest are you in the UK? is this for field or target archery? I'm not sure on the rules for Field ( arrow speed limit?) but Target bows are limited to 60lb's. Unless you're trying to kill bears 70lb is a bit OTT.
However if you insist on 70lb seated rows or anything that engages your back muscles and things that emulate pulling a bow like bent over rows etc.
Compound archery is not really something you can teach your self IMHO. Sure you will do OK but to get the best out of it you will need help from an experience coach. This is very club dependant and dedicated compound coaches are hard to find. There are some decent resources on YouTube though.
 
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Sleepy82

New member
Yeah, I'm in the uk - it's for a bit of everything really but no competition so I'm not really worried about pundage/speed rules except it may prevent me from using other ranges if I ever needed to.

I got a bow that only needs different modules for different draw weights so it's not a huge concern.

I'm afraid gyms/exercise have never really been my "thing" I'll Google your suggestions though, thankyou
 

inthemiddle

Active member
Yeah, I'm in the uk - it's for a bit of everything really but no competition so I'm not really worried about pundage/speed rules except it may prevent me from using other ranges if I ever needed to.

I got a bow that only needs different modules for different draw weights so it's not a huge concern.

I'm afraid gyms/exercise have never really been my "thing" I'll Google your suggestions though, thankyou
OK that's cool have fun with your new bow :)
 

page

New member
I’d be a bit careful about this if you shoot at a club as the range is setup for overshoot areas based on a compound bow of up to 60”. Specified in the AGB rules of shooting. Also shooting a higher poundage bow may invalidate the AGB public liability insurance. Which also means it invalidates all other members of your club…..
 

Sleepy82

New member
Its not an archery club, no agb or other affiliation as far as I know - its a gun club with ranges approved up to .700" and 3500fps iirc so not really a safety issue to worry about with regards to speed etc - it's in a disused quarry with big sand banks to stop bullets and big angled steel plates in front of the firing points to prevent anything going upwards and escaping the quarry.

I think I'll be ordering the 60lb modules though, to avoid issues if I want to go anywhere else.

Anyway, that's all slightly beside the point - it was advise regarding exercises etc that I could do while I'm waiting for the bow to arrive. I think "drawing" a resistance band is a good place to start, I bet there's plenty of other ideas out there though, hence the question
 
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KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
The issue with practicing for compound is the draw curve. It's just not like a recurve or rubber band. And it's not so much brute force but timing of the draw. In 30 years of shooting compound I never really found an alternative to actually drawing the bow. Not sure I would want to go from 50# to 70# though :)
 

Sleepy82

New member
Obviously it's not the same, but there's only so much you can do - I guess

I'll carry on with the 50lb as much as I can for now, along with any other suggestions but I'm fairly strong (gradually accepting i cant say young anymore at 39) and, as far as I can tell, my draw's all good, I'll manage. And, as said I'll likely be getting the 60lb modules too so, if needs be, it'll be a lesser step up.

I'm sure it seems pretty bizarre to you guys; I hunt with rifles (archery hunting isn't allowed in the uk) and enjoy watching the YouTube videos of other countries hunting with bows so, as there's no real reason not to at my current club, I decided to go for the closest I could get to an authentic "hunt" but on targets/foam. Its all just for the fun of it at the end of the day and, lowering the draw weight will "only" cost around £60 (iirc, I may be able to drop to near 60lb with the limb bolts if I wanted to)
 

ThomVis

Active member
Obviously, Shooting the bow I have as much as possible will help significantly but I don't get to go all that much. So, I'm looking for alternatives
I think "drawing" a resistance band is a good place to start, I bet there's plenty of other ideas out there though, hence the question
This question comes up every beginners course I give, and my answer is always the same: "Power is nothing without control"
Like others mentioned above, drawing a bow is a very specific exercise. Will it help if you're stronger? Perhaps. Will you score better? No. Because the control you have over the bow is more important than the power you put into it. Both have to grow equally.
 

Alun

Member
Bent-over lateral raises exercises rear delts, rhomboideus major, mid and lower traps, and spinal erectors. It is a pretty good match to drawing a bow.
 
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