Week 4: Shoot Close

Now that we have been training our archery muscles, inspecting our archery gear and setting up a range at home, it’s time to get out and let the shooting season begin. But let’s ease into it.

Take the first week of the shooting season simply to work on your form and build strength in those muscles. A great shooting exercise to do is what we call the 3-yard March. Simply put your target 3 yards away from you and only focus on utilizing your back muscles and “squeezing” your release. Shoot 10-15 arrows a day for 7 days. Don’t worry about where the arrow hits, simply work on form and execution of the shot. Picture each release of the arrow as if you are about the release an arrow at the biggest buck of your life. Creating a mental game will sharpen your skills and make you a much better archer.

Take your time. Don’t worry about sighting in yet. We want our muscles and mental game to be in peak shape before we sight in our bows in a few weeks. Next week, we will take a step further and work on “floating the pin.”