exercise tool question?
Equipment
What is the easiest exercise tool to use for keeping your strength up during off season Lewis
Got that but isn't there a certain product that simulates pulling a bow Lewis
lewis: https://www.accubow.com/
Not sure how well it works, but I suppose it's exactly what you're asking for
Resistance bands with handles work for me. And of course shooting my bow
A kettlebell if you're looking for only one tool that can be used 100 different ways and taken anywhere.
I use resistance bands and a Bowfit, which is what I think you mean. But a kettlebell doing lawnmower pulls works too.
Check out Bowfit. It's surgical tubing with handles and comes in different resistance.
I've used the rubber band exercise loops commonly available. Used two at a time and doubled, you can get the resistance up to a respectable level.
Hard to duplicate the draw of a compound with any accuracy, though. I think the best compound-specific exercise device would be another compound. I keep a couple of my older ones around as backups and just to pull for exercise during the late winter when outdoor practice isn't practical. Good to keep the old muscles toned up. A couple months without shooting and those bows stiffen up in the closet.
I take advantage of nicer winter days to do some shooting out at the conservation club I belong to. No formal targets or anything, just a wadded up plastic shopping bag lying against a hillside where I know the rocks and roots are scarce, and the hillside is steep enough to prevent arrow loss.
I use theraband strips and also have a number of the tubular exercise bands. If you have a pole or something to clip them to you can do all sorts of exercises for minimum $.
Be more specific on what strength you're trying to keep up? Shooting or hiking (mountain hunts? And perhaps heavy bows or a whitetail set-up? I doubt hiking will help you pull an eighty pound bow and bowflex won't condition you for a Goat hunt?
I shoot in my basement. 11 yard shot.
Pull up bar and adjustable height gymnastics rings. Not a muscle in upper body you can't hit with those two and some creativity/know how. Rowing is another great one, real or simulated.
Thanks all good info here I'll be 71 in Nov.and I shoot around 55 lbs.but I had rotator cuff surgery 3 yrs.ago a pacemaker installed last yr.and a detached retina this yr.getting old is not for sissies.Through all that I only missed bowhunting the yr. of the rotator cuff ordeal that hurt.I'm just looking for a few ideas to keep tuned up. Lewis
lewis, you're 71 and doing all that, perhaps we should be asking you!!!!
I don't where all the time went but the old "use it or lose it" has always stuck in my head.Thanks Lewis
Pushups are great. Stirrups with surgi tubing. A lower poundage bow.
Lewis, awesome, keep the fires burning & those muscles loose 7 days a week!
ElkNut1
Thanks all but I'm going snook and tarpon fishing tonight wish me luck Thanks all Lewis
70 this year. If I'd known I would live this long i would have taken a lot better care of myself.
Atta boy Lewis....keep at it!
I have a Total Gym and mountain bike. When my athletes work out in the weight room, I use the kettle bells. I love mountain biking but at 71, don't ride as crazy anymore. Falling hurts and I heal slower. The kids I coach make fun of my Total Gym. Old man's workout.
One of the best exercise tools made. You pull your own bow, simulate aiming and gently let string down with no threat of dry firing. Great for daily use when not hunting, warming up before hunting and keeping loose during a hunt as movement permits.
I also use resistance bands to keep shoulders and back muscles loose on a daily basis. About 20 reps per day on all post rotator cuff exercises. This also help to keep muscles loose and tone for golf swing.
Hope these tested/proven suggestions help.
One way to keep in bow shooting shape is to use a Stan release (thumb, hinge, & tension activated). They have a trainer pin that allows you to draw a bow, aim and fire. Of course the bow does not fire but it really simulates shooting a bow. I'm 74, and still very active in 3-D shooting and bowhunting deer and turkeys.
