Coffee Moment July 26th: Train With a Purpose
If you thought that weekends are for taking it easy, not getting up until late, lazy breakfasts on the terrace and watching some sport in the afternoon…
Well mine couldn’t be further from that ‘ideal’.
Most of my weekends involve getting up earlier and heading out to an archery tournament.
Much like last weekend my choice of coffee this morning is poor… Some boiled crap with a splash of white stuff that has never seen a cow.
The shoot this weekend is our national championships, which basically means a straight out contest between myself and my team mate Gilles Seywert for honors.
This is the field championships which rewards good shooting AND being fit enough to get around the course being able to perform the whole weekend. If i have any motivation for being fit for my sport, this is it. two days of climbing up and down hills shooting 72 arrows over the course of 6 or more hours.
If you’re not fit there is no way you can perform the same shot at the start and at the end of the weekend.
All those hill sprints I do at Forestfit pay off on courses like this. You kinda feel invincible and certainly way ahead of your competitors when you are not gasping for air at the top of each incline.
The other side benefit of all this training is your balance and flexibility. Many of the shooting pegs are on uneven ground and the angle of your shooting posture is not even close to the perfectly flat ground of your practice shooting facility. This makes it essential for you to have a strong stance and flexibility to contort yourself into the right position for the shot.
Outside observers of archery would think it is sport for the non athletic type of person. I know you can compete if you are some fat bloke, but you’d be far more competitive if you did some type of physical training, and I really know how much more enjoyable it can be when you are fit.
Train with a purpose, don’t just say you want to be fitter, or to lose ‘some’ weight. Train to be better at your sport it really gives meaning to your workout.
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about 1 year ago
I am really digging your blog. You are also talking me into getting into better shape. Here’s the deal. I have been sitting behind a desk for 15 years and have been a total sloth. How does a guy like me slowly start and get into real physical condition (with archery performance in mind) without killing myself on the first day?
about 1 year ago
Hi GRIV
Thanks for the feedback buddy, really appreciate it.
The best way to get started is to start with zero bodyweight exercises, 99% of my clients start on a four week program of movement re-education, this is where we train them to move their body the way it is designed to move, reactivate inhibited muscles and quieten down muscles that are overly tight and over active.
Some simple stuff like body weight squats and lunges, exercises like the YTWL are excellent for archery mobility/flexibility. Then there is some core strengthening exercises like planks, and push ups… (notice I didn’t say crunches!)
I’ll post a few videos I did some time ago to show you a few of these exercises.
about 1 year ago
ok that sounds good, I think I can totally do that. However I don’t know what a lot of that is. Can you maybe write up a piece about getting started with explanations for workout newbies like me?
what is YTWL?
about 1 year ago
you’ll see some videos appear over the next few days/weeks buddy plus I already posted the YTWL exercise video demo the other day