Bowhunting Fitness and How to Maintain It
Bowhunting is the ultimate sport, in my opinion. You get to combine patience, persistence, strength, and strategy. Bowhunting can take the ultimate toll on you, not just mentally but physically. Having a well-rounded workout routine and healthy diet can help prepare you for the upcoming bowhunting season. Conditioning your body from the inside out will play a vital role in you becoming a more successful archer.
I have had a lot of experience with the highs and lows of shooting archery. Like any sport, it requires dedication and preparation. After many years of shooting archery, I ended up with an elbow injury. This was one hundred percent my fault. I pushed myself to pull more weight instead of doing the proper training before increasing the pulling weight on my bow. If I could take it back, I would have. However, the damage was done. After trying to deal with the pain, I finally decided that it was time to get my tendon repaired. Surgery was a great success, and now I had to retrain my arm the right way. With help from some great physical therapists and a new weight training routine, I was back to shooting in no time.
Fitness plays a key role in being a successful archer. Regardless of whether you are bowhunting or shooting competitively, having a practical training routine will help define your success. These are some of the exercises that focus on several core areas. Each of these helped get me on the road to recovery and back to shooting my bow again.
1. Upper Body Strength for Archery
Training your back, shoulders, and arms will help you pull your bow back but also help you hold steady. If you have ever been in a hunting scenario, you know that having to hold your bow at full draw for an extended period of time is likely to happen.
Recommended exercises:
- Resistance band rows
- Pull-ups or assisted pull-ups
- Dumbbell rows
- Face pulls
2. Core Stability
Having a strong core is essential for any archer — not only for better stability but for balance. It helps maintain proper form in awkward shooting positions. I think most bowhunters will agree that at some point they have had to take a shot in a less-than-ideal position.
Recommended exercises:
- Planks (front and side)
- Russian twists
- Hanging leg raises
3. Cardiovascular Endurance for Bowhunters
If you have ever been in a hunting scenario, you will appreciate some cardio training. It can help you with breathing during your shot process. It will also help fight fatigue on physically challenging hunts.
Recommended exercises:
- Treadmill or hiking
- Cycling
- Stair climbing
4. Lower Body Strength
Your legs are your foundation. They allow you to navigate difficult terrain, carry your harvest out, and keep you stable when shooting.
Recommended exercises:
- Squats (start with your bodyweight and move up to using weights)
- Lunges
- Step-ups
- Deadlifts
- Leg press
5. Mobility and Flexibility
Shooting any type of archery may require you to move in ways that are unconventional. Flexibility is often overlooked, but it can make a huge difference when you need to shoot from an awkward position and must adapt quickly.
Recommended exercises:
- Dynamic stretching before and after workouts
- Yoga or mobility routines
6. Mental Toughness
Mental fitness is probably the hardest to train. Bowhunting will test your patience, focus, and resilience. Training your body also helps train your mind. With a little bit of dedication, you will be a well-rounded archer — not just mentally but physically.
Putting It All Together: My Bowhunting Fitness Routine
Now I had to find a way to put all this together. I had to develop a fitness routine that I could stick with. After all, you do not need to spend hours in the gym every day to prepare for bowhunting. A consistent, well-structured routine can deliver excellent results. Six days a week, I would take a combination of these exercises and do three sets of ten to twelve reps of each. On the seventh day, I would rest. Your body needs time to relax and repair. I shot my bow as much as I could. I felt that combining exercise with practice was highly effective.
Diet and Recovery
Trying to stay healthy meant I should eat better. I changed my eating habits and started eating a more protein-rich diet to help recovery be more effective. Healthy fats and carbohydrates are needed as well. Don’t get me wrong — I love a good cheat day — but eating healthy makes your body feel so much better. My inflammation decreased significantly, which made workouts much more enjoyable. I increased my water intake as well. With all these things combined, I slept so much better. I honestly believe combining all these things played a vital role in my recovery.
Final Thoughts
Bowhunting is physically demanding but has the most amazing reward system in the end. Making the commitment to becoming the best version of yourself will help you and your overall hunting experience.