Yes, archery does build muscles, because that stresses your body and allows you to get stronger and help to develop muscles.
Builds Your Hand Muscles
Stability remains to be the prime consideration with your bow hands getting trained. To achieve your target it is must be keeping your arms firm holding bow in a set position. Muscles that help to stabilize your glenohumeral joint (bone located on the upper arm) and humerus are:
-
Infraspinate
-
Supraspinate
-
Subscapular
You might be aware that all these muscles form the rotator cuff. All the aforesaid muscles trap deltoid as well as rhomboids functions together. Additionally, the forearm muscles function together to hold a bow and become stable further. 3 layers, medium, deep, and surface organize these muscles.
While the muscles of front forearm bend wrists and fingers the muscles of back forearm stretch your fingers and wrists. To bring stability for perfect strength to hold your bow helps to build hand muscles. So what will you say to this question – does archery build muscle? The answer is yes. It also burns calories.
Builds Your Drawing Hand Muscles
Similar to your bow hand drawing hand utilizes the same firm muscles. However, the drawing act of your arch also emphasizes your forearm muscles. Muscles that flex elbow together even are engaged to draw your bow. They are Brachialis (biceps). Practicing drawing hand workouts strengthen your biceps enough to grip arc firmly along with muscles to draw the arc string. So will you still ask – does archery build muscle?
Builds Your Total Body Muscles
Similar to other sports Archery helps to develop the muscles of your total body. It is an overall body activity involving muscles of your:
-
Trunk
-
Legs &
-
Upper Body
Muscles of all these body parts function together to implement the shot of archery. Sit keeping your feet raised in the air and try to draw a bow. You can feel that along with shoulder muscles your back and stomach muscles function together to pull back your bow. However, they should kick hard enough to make your trunk steady.
Creates Back Tension
Archery coaches are of the view that one of the key movements in the sport is the “Back Tension”. Rhomboids (Minor & Major) are 2 back deep muscles principally create the tension in your back. They move to draw or retract shoulder blades towards the spine. Levator Scapulae (other deep muscle) aid rhomboids pulling shoulder blades inward as well as upward on the way to your neck’s base.
The trapezius is a large superficial group of muscles comprising of 3 parts including:
-
Lower
-
Upper &
-
Middle Sections respectively
Sections of all these muscle fibers function as ropes pulling shoulder blades downward, upward, or even inward depending upon your pull angle on fibers. Rhomboids, Trapezius and Levator Scapulae form prime muscle groups utilized to create the “Back Tension”. When these muscles are appropriately used they are responsible to hold your bow back in full draw.
Builds Your Deltoid
Deltoid, the deep superficial muscle that covers the top of your shoulder is categorized into 3 parts such as:
-
Anterior
-
Middle &
-
Posterior
Anterior Deltoid
This is utilized in the primary stage to lift your bow arm. Anterior Deltoid assists to lift your arm forward.
Middle Deltoid
The main muscle to hold your bow arm is steady and straight position while full draw. It helps to lift your arm outward to its side.
Posterior Deltoid
It is used to extend your arm backward and is an important muscle to pull the bow back in full draw.
Common exercises to build you Deltoid for Archery are:
-
Lifting Forward Shoulders for Anterior Deltoid
-
Lifting Lateral Shoulder /Abduction for Middle Deltoid
-
Pulling Backward Shoulder for Posterior Deltoid
Apart from aforesaid exercises, you can rely upon Sports Tubing, Exercises Machines, or Hand Weights.
Builds Your Latissimus Dorsi
You might know that Latissimus Dorsi (Lats) is the biggest muscle situated at your back. It expands from Pelvis to your middle back and connects to the arm. The primary role Latissimus Dorsi plays are:
Lats aid your Posterior Deltoid to rotate your arm inward and extend your draw arm backward while in drawing motion. Lats assist Middle Deltoid to keep your bow arm steady in shoulder joints so that you get better stability. One of the famous exercises to strengthen Latissimus Dorsi is “Lat Pull-Down”.
You can lose some weight with archery as it burns about 200 calories per hour.
More often people perceive wrongly that archery is not as physically demanding as other sporting activities. Archery of modern times, demands full concentration and focused attention which tax the body of every player. Interestingly, many people never recognize the fact that archery offers many health benefits and make to fit like any other workouts. Of course, one needs to look for a balanced diet and other exercises to win this unique sport.
