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 Archery
Fitness |
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Serving
the
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Sportsman.
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Archery Fitness: |
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Protein is essential for building and maintaining the body's tissues, such
as muscles, skin, hair and blood. Protein also helps in the formation of
antibodies. |
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Dundee
Sportsman's
Club |
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 The
following exercises are for stretching
and warming up the muscles before
shooting and for stretching and cooling
down the muscles after shooting. These
exercises will help prevent damage to
muscles, tendons and joints and also
increase flexibility.
When performing these exercises, do
not hold your breath at any stage,
as it may cause dizziness.
As you do each exercise the muscles will
require more oxygen, so your breathing
and heart rate will increase.
To loosen
upper arm and chest muscles.
Interlock
the fingers with palms out.
Extend arms above head, keeping
fingers locked. Stretch upwards
and hold for 10 seconds. |
To
loosen back muscles.
Cross
arms in front of chest and place
hands around shoulders. Slowly
stretch hands towards middle of
back as far as possible. Hold
for 10 seconds. |
To
loosen chest, top of shoulder and
lower arm muscles.
Bend one
arm over head and down back,
bend other arm around and up
back. Grasp finger tips and hold
for 10 seconds, then reverse arm
positions and hold for 10
seconds. Keep backbone vertical
during this exercise. |
To
loosen shoulders and back muscles.
Lock
fingers together, extend arms
and twist slowly as far as
possible to the right and hold
for 10 seconds. Then twist
slowly to the left and hold for
10 seconds.
Do not
twist suddenly as it may damage
backbone joints. |
To
loosen back and shoulder muscles.
Use a
length of spear gun rubber or
rubber tubing, grasp each end,
raise arms to shoulder height
and extend arms, keeping elbows
straight, outwards and backwards
by squeezing shoulder blades
together. Hold for 10 seconds
and repeat about 6 times.
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 To loosen shoulder muscles.
Use a
length of spear gun rubber or
rubber tubing, grasp each end,
raise one arm above head and the
other arm level with shoulder.
Pull down with arm and hold for
10 seconds. Repeat about 6
times. Swap arm positions and
repeat exercise.
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 To loosen chest and shoulder muscles.
Use a
length of spear gun rubber or
rubber tubing, grasp each end
behind back, hold arms at
shoulder level, then swing arms
forwards to stretch rubber. hold
for 10 seconds. Repeat about 6
times.
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 To
loosen shooting muscles.
Use a
length of spear gun rubber or
rubber tubing tied in a loop,
imitate the shooting draw. Hold
for 10 seconds. Repeat about 6
times.
Repeat exercise with opposite
hands to balance muscle
development.
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To loosen neck and upper shoulder
muscles.
From a
normal standing position with arms
at sides, raise up both shoulders
towards neck as high as possible,
then move shoulders forward, then
move shoulders back. Do this for
about 10 seconds. |
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Food
Pyramid
(Suggested Daily
Servings)
Strength
 Strength
in Archery is not only the
muscle power required to draw a
bow, but also to maintain
balance and stay steady as you
aim.
How strong you currently are
dictates what poundage of bow
you can use. A bow that is too
strong for you will only do
possible damage to your muscles
and joints.
A light draw weight bow will
generally be used for beginners
to learn basic skills without
the need for strength. As skills
are developed, then a stronger
draw weight bow may be used and
so strengthening of muscles will
be required.
Some of the above stretching
exercises can also be used to
strengthen muscles.
Strengthening Exercises
The best results for strength training
can be achieved by the following
principles;
-
Progressive
Loading
-
Specific
Movement
Progressive Loading
The training weight for a person to
start with is usually established by
finding the maximum load that can be
lifted 10 times in repetition.
(Usually about 75% of maximum strength).
With all exercises, it is best to start
with only a few repetitions of each
exercise for the first two weeks, then
progressively increase the number of
repetitions over a period of about 4
weeks, until 8 to 10 repetitions can be
achieved.
Allow a recovery period between each
exercise to avoid fatigue.
Most importantly, if a particular
exercise is causing pain in the muscles
or joints, then reduce the weight and/or
the number of repetitions. "No Pain, No
Gain" is wrong. When the body feels
pain, it is a message to ease off and
slow down before you do damage to muscle
fibres and tendons.
Specific Movement
The muscle groups used in archery where
strength is required are;
the upper back and shoulder muscles to
draw the bow,
the upper and lower shoulder muscles to
control the draw arm,
the arm muscles to extend the bow arm,
the finger muscles to hold the
bowstring.
To
strengthen these muscles, the exercise
used should closely imitate the movement
of shooting a bow.
Remember, when strengthening specific
muscles, include both right and left
hand sides to maintain a balance of
muscle strength.
Other muscle groups often over-looked in
archery are;
the upper and lower leg muscles to
control balance,
the lower back and waist muscles to
control a steady stance.
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Nutrition for Sport
The sport diet must have two basic
components;
Nutrients
Carbohydrate - for energy
Fat - for energy
Protein - for growth and repair of
tissue
Vitamins - for growth and repair of
tissue
Minerals - for regulation of body
processes
Dietary Fibre -for regulation of body
processes
Water - for regulation of body processes
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Carbohydrates
There are two main types of
carbohydrates,
Complex
Breads, rice, cereals,
pasta, biscuits,
potatoes, peas, sweet
corn, parsnip, carrots,
dried beans, lentils,
fruit, milk and yoghurt.
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Simple
Sugar, honey, jams,
marmalades,
confectionary, cakes,
soft drinks, cordials,
sweet biscuits,
toppings, flavoured
mineral water.
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Check out the
nutritional analysis for each
food group by clicking on the
images.
Complex
carbohydrates also contain
vitamins, minerals and dietary
fiber and are therefore better
for you.
Simple carbohydrates
are high in sugar content and
can also be high in fat content.
The Plan:
When you know you’re going to
eat out, think about what foods
you'll choose over the whole
day. For example, plan on a
light lunch if you'll eat out at
dinnertime. Try not to skip
meals, which may make you
overindulge later. And most
importantly, try not to show up
at the restaurant famished! If
you'd like to splurge on a
higher calorie entrée, plan to
skip dessert, and commit to
sticking to your plan once in
the restaurant.
Fat
A small
amount of dietary fat is
necessary for good health.
It
is recommended that amount of
fat in the diet be kept to 25%
to 30% of total kilojoules
consumed.
Sources of dietary
fat are;
cream, sour cream,
butter, margarines, full cream
milk, cheese, ice-cream,
yoghurt, nuts, chocolate and
snack foods.
Protein
Protein is
essential for building and
maintaining the body's tissues,
such as muscles, skin, hair and
blood. Protein also helps in the
formation of antibodies.
The
basic units of protein are
called amino acids. There are 20
amino acids, 9 of these cannot
be produced by the body and so
must be consumed in the diet.
The recommended daily amount of
protein consumed is 1.0 to 1.2
grams per kilogram of body
weight.
Sources of protein
are;
lean meat, eggs, dairy
produce, fish and poultry
vegetables, nuts, bread, rice,
etc.
(Note: as vegetables
lack one or more essential amino
acids, a vegetarian athlete must
pay careful attention to the
selection of foods.)
Vitamins
and Minerals
Vitamins
C, B, folate, pantothenic acid
and biotin are easily passed by
the body and so need to be
included in the daily diet.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are
stored in the fatty tissues of
the body and therefore can
accumulate over time if an
excess is consumed.
Minerals
are required for nerve
transmission and muscle
contraction.
The two most
important minerals for an
athlete are iron and calcium.
Sources of iron are; lean red
meat, liver and green leafy
vegetables.
Sources of
calcium are; low fat dairy
foods.
(To increase calcium
retention, minimise caffeine and
salt intake.)
Vitamin and
Mineral tablets should
only be used if your diet
does not contain enough.
Dietary
Fibre
Dietary
fibre consists of plant material
such as cellulose, hemicellulose,
pectin, polysaccharides, gums,
mucilage and lignin.
These
are found in wholegrain cereals,
fruit, vegetables, nuts and
legumes.
Dietary fibre slows
down the release of sugars from
food and gives the athlete a
more sustained release of
energy.
It is recommended
that an athlete on a high fibre
diet ensures that their diet
contains adequate amounts of
minerals. A high fibre diet can
reduce the uptake of minerals.
Water
Water is
essential for the body to
function properly.
Water is
passed regularly by the body and
through the lungs and skin, so
it needs to be replaced.
Thirst is not a good indicator
to replace water lost through
training or sport.
The
correct way to estimate water
losses is to weight yourself
before and after training or
sporting activities. This weight
lost should be replaced with
water.
During training or
prolonged sport, it is best to
consume a small glass of cold
water at frequent intervals.
In summer, the volume of water
consumed will increase due to
losses from increased
perspiration. |
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