While shooting, an archer's heart rate sits at around a hundred beats per minute

The summary today

Measurements taken while shooting do not agree, and the situation and the archer's level make the difference. Many fall between 95 and 108 beats a minute: 95 in eleven national-level university archers in a simulated competition, against 82 at rest; 97-99 in twenty state-squad compound archers over thirty-six arrows at 50 m; 104-107 in the two seconds before and at the release in eight experienced archers at 18 m; 105 in twenty-two children aged 11-14, also at 18 m; 102-108 in forty-five traditional Turkish archers. Others sit much higher: in kyudo the peak of each shot rises in competition to averages of 138-162, and ten Indonesian university archers in a simulated match with alternating shots sat between 128 and 142. In between, twenty-four Indian university archers across a 72-arrow competition at 70 m sat between 110 and 116, and at the other end seven elite Indian archers indoors stayed between 83 and 98. That is why the status is contested: a hundred beats describes shooting in training or in a competition with little at stake well, not every competition. How far above an archer's own resting rate it climbs, and at what point in a competition, has been reported in beats a minute, beside the same archers' resting rate, in a single study.

Also phrased as: "heart rate while shooting"; "heart rate on the shooting line"; "heart at a hundred when shooting"; "how fast the heart beats in competition"

Evidence

• 1981
  Context Archers Published later

  6 Japanese university archers aged 20-21, average bow of 36.5 lb, ends of three arrows at 30 m with the arrows retrieved at a run: heart rate goes from 71 beats a minute at rest to 99 immediately after the end and comes back down within two minutes. The end includes running there and back over the 30 m, so the figure does not separate shooting from running.

  Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (1) · Koji Tsuji, Hide Takeyama, Hideo Koishi, Yoshiho Katayama

• 1992
  Context Archers Published later

  Trials of a device for monitoring tension in an Olympic archer in 1988: as the target range the authors set the one taken from competition data, 600 to 800 milliseconds between beats, that is between 75 and 100 beats a minute, with respiratory sinus arrhythmia between 10 and 20 milliseconds. The competition data analysed are the last 20 seconds spent sitting on the bench while the opponent shoots, not the shot itself, and the range is called provisional: it stays as context.

  Development of an Apparatus for Monitoring Degree of Mental Tension · Mieko Ohsuga, Futomi Shimono, Chie Akashi

• 1994
  Against Kyudo archers Published later

  5 university kyudo archers followed with repeated measurements from free practice to competition: the average maximum heart rate per shot sits between 93 and 140 beats a minute in free practice and rises in competition in all five, to averages between 137.5 and 161.7, with around 150 already in the first rounds (individual analyses with p < 0.001). It is the peak for each shot rather than the average, and it concerns kyudo, but in competition the values are well above a hundred.

  Changes of Heart Rate, Somatic Anxiety, and Performance of Japanese Archers during Practices and Matches · Masakazu Miyamoto

• 2009
  Context Archers Published later

  36 Japanese archers aged 16-24 in a within-subject crossover: during shooting the interval between beats is shorter than when standing at rest (F(2,70) = 6.16, p < 0.005), and to set the metronome for their second experiment the authors use about 90 beats a minute at the release, taken from a preliminary trial of their own. The figure is not reported with its data, so it stays as context. A regional journal.

  Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto

• 2012
  Context Archers Published later

  24 Indian university archers, 16 men and 8 women with about four years of practice, in a 72-arrow competition at 70 m set up for the study, with a chest strap averaging every five seconds: mean heart rate between 110.0 and 116.1 beats a minute across the two groups and the two time points. It covers a whole competition, and a figure between 110 and 116 sits above the range around a hundred: on the more prudent reading it stays as context, neither for nor against. A regional journal.

  Effect of sensory motor rhythm neurofeedback on psycho-physiological, electro-encephalographic measures and performance of archery players · Maman Paul, Sathiyaseelan Ganesan, Jaspal Sandhu, Joel Simon

• 2015
  For Archers Published later

  8 experienced archers, 4 recurve and 4 compound, fifteen arrows each at 18 m indoors, with the heart rate monitor synchronised to video of the release: across the 120 arrows heart rate averages 104.3 two seconds before the release, 104.9 one second before, 107.3 at the release and 108.8 one second after, with a standard deviation of around 15. It runs higher in the compound archers, from 107.6 to 112.9, than in the recurve ones, from 100.8 to 104.7. It is a fifteen-arrow test with no competition, and the same archers' resting heart rate is not reported. A regional journal.

  Heart rate values and levels of attention and relaxation in expert archers during shooting · Andrea Vrbik, Raphael Bene, Ivan Vrbik

• 2017
  For Archers Published later

  6 Korean middle-school boys, repeated measurements at 30 m after a normal night's sleep, after a sleepless night with a placebo and after a sleepless night with caffeine: heart rate across the ends between 105.4 and 111.4 after normal sleep, between 102.3 and 103.3 with the placebo and between 93.9 and 101.8 with caffeine. A tiny sample in a regional journal.

  Effect of Blood Glucose and Growth Hormone on Performance of Middle School Archery Players with Sleep Loss and Caffeine Intake · Jeong Uk Park, Tae Dong Kwon

• 2019
  Context Archers Published later

  2 archers, a man and a woman, six arrows in five minutes at 70 m per session, measured with an instrumented shirt: in the first the heart rate while aiming goes from 94.9-101.8 beats a minute on the practice arrows to 104.7-120.5 on the ones that count; in the second it stays between 82.1 and 97.3. A study designed to test the instrument.

  Cardio-Respiratory Monitoring in Archery Using a Smart Textile Based on Flexible Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors · Daniela Lo Presti, Chiara Romano, Carlo Massaroni, Jessica D'Abbraccio, Luca Massari, Michele Arturo Caponero, et al.

• 2020
  Context Archers Published later

  7 elite Indian archers, 210 indoor arrows at 18 m, heart rate read at eleven instants from five seconds before to five after the release: the averages by score sit between 83 and 98 a minute, with tens and nines between 83 and 92 and eights between 86 and 98. At a high level and with nothing at stake heart rate stays below a hundred. A regional journal.

  Heart Rate Values During Shooting is a Field-Side Performance Analysis Tool in Archery-A study of Elite Indian Archers · Chandra Sekara Guru, Anup Krishnan, Uma Mahajan, Deep Sharma

• 2021
  For Archers Published later

  11 national-level university recurve archers in a randomised placebo-controlled crossover: in the placebo arm heart rate is 82.2 ± 6.5 a minute at rest and 95.4 ± 5.3 during the simulated competition, and right after the test it returns to its starting values. It is the only study here to give both the resting rate and the rate while shooting of the same archers in beats a minute.

  Nicotine supplementation enhances simulated game performance of archery athletes · Bao-Lien Hung, Li-Jung Chen, Yi-Ying Chen, Jhih-Bang Ou, Shih-Hua Fang

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  22 registered archers aged 11-14, ten arrows at 18 m on the 60 cm face, before and after a stressful mental arithmetic task: mean heart rate while shooting 104.6 ± 12.9 beats a minute before and 105.6 ± 14.4 after, with mean peaks of 117.6 and 119.4 and individual values from 62 to 142.

  Anxiety sensitivity, stress, and postural control: their implications on archery performance in 11-14-year-olds · Hayrettin Hayri Tokmakci, Serkan Özgür, Tuncay Varol

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  20 Malaysian state-squad compound archers aged 13-21, two groups of 10 formed on score at 50 m, 36 arrows: mean heart rate during the test 98.5 ± 17.0 beats a minute in the intermediate group and 96.5 ± 16.0 in the elite group, with no difference between the two (t = -0.54).

  Comparative Characteristics of Psychophysiological and Shooting Performance Between Intermediate and Elite Compound Archers · Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh, Mon Redee Sut Txi, Wan Nurlisa Wan Ahmad

• 2023
  Against Archers Published later

  10 university recurve archers in Jakarta in a simulated match with alternating shots, 15 arrows: heart rate while aiming of 128.1 a minute in the men and 142.4 in the women, that is 64% and 71% of the maximum estimated for age. This is well above a hundred, in a format that alternates shots and so keeps tension high. A regional journal.

  Analysis of heart rate and scores in student archery athletes · Nadya Dwi Oktafiranda, Sri Indah Ihsani, Kuswahyudi Kuswahyudi

• 2023
  Context Archers Published later

  32 Malaysian junior recurve archers during COVID-19 isolation, heart rate measured at home with a pulse oximeter before and after a 30-arrow session: from 91.5 to 104.6 a minute in the higher-level group and from 75.1 to 95.2 in the lower one. The measure is taken outside the shot itself and the journal has questionable editorial standards: it does not enter the count.

  Anxiety status of junior archers in COVID-19 during training isolation period towards the shooting performance Questionable venue · Wan Nurlisa Wan Ahmad, Mohd Azrul Hisham Mohd Adib, Irdayanti Mat Nashir, Mon Redee Sut Txi, Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh, Jing Rui Tang

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  45 traditional Turkish archers aged 20-35, 25 men and 20 women, Polar H10 chest strap during a series of five arrows in 100 seconds at 18 m: mean heart rate 101.6 ± 11.1 beats a minute in the men and 108.1 ± 13.0 in the women (t = 1.82, p = 0.076). A regional journal.

  The Effects of Physical Fitness and Physiological Variables on Archery Performance in Traditional Turkish Archers · Muhammed Raşit Eyibil, Oğuz Gürkan

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  50 video clips from international competitions, with heart rate estimated from the colour of the face: tens arrive with the heart clustered between 70 and 80 beats a minute, the other arrows between 90 and 110 (Mann-Whitney U = 120.5, p < 0.001). The estimate is not checked against any instrument and the number of athletes is not reported, so it stays as context.

  Contactless Estimation of Heart Rate and Arm Tremor from Real Competition Footage of Elite Archers · Byeong Seon An, Song Hee Park, Ji Yeon Moon, Eui Chul Lee

Status history

1. 1981 Not studied The first figure comes from six Japanese university archers: heart rate goes from 71 a minute at rest to 99 immediately after an end of three arrows at 30 m, and comes back down within two minutes. But the end includes running to collect the arrows, so shooting and running cannot be separated: nobody has yet measured heart rate while shooting.
2. 1992 Not studied A device for tracking the tension of an Olympic archer takes as its target an interval between beats of 600-800 milliseconds, that is 75-100 beats a minute, drawn from competition data. Those data, however, come from the last twenty seconds spent sitting on the bench while the opponent shoots, not from the shot itself: heart rate while shooting has still to be measured.
3. 1994 Contradicted The first measurement taken during the shot comes from kyudo and points the other way: in five university archers, followed from practice to competition, the peak heart rate of each shot sits between 93 and 140 in free practice and rises in competition to averages between 138 and 162, with around 150 already in the first rounds. It is the peak of each shot rather than the average, and it is a single study, so the evidence against is there but it is thin.
4. 2012 Contradicted Twenty-four Indian university archers with four years of practice, in a 72-arrow competition at 70 m set up for the study, shoot with an average heart rate between 110 and 116 beats a minute, measured every five seconds with a chest strap. It is the first measurement on a whole group across an entire competition, but it sits above the range around a hundred: on the more prudent reading it stays as context. There is still nothing in favour, the kyudo study is the only one against, and the status stays at contradicted.
5. 2015 Contested The first figure in favour taken during the shot itself arrives: eight experienced archers, four recurve and four compound, fifteen arrows each at 18 m, with the heart rate monitor synchronised to video of the release. Across the 120 arrows heart rate averages 104 two seconds before the release, 107 at the release and 109 one second after, higher in the compound archers than in the recurve ones. It is a test with no competition and no resting value for the same archers, but with the 1994 kyudo study against, it is enough for studies of archers to point in opposite directions: contested.
6. 2017 Contested Six Korean middle-school boys at 30 m shoot with their hearts between 94 and 111 beats across the ends measured, higher after a normal night's sleep (105-111) than after a sleepless night with caffeine (94-102). It joins the 2015 figure in favour, and with the kyudo study against, the studies on archers still point in opposite directions: contested.
7. 2020 Contested Two finer measurements arrive. In 2019 an instrumented shirt on two archers at 70 m gives 95-102 beats on the practice arrows and 105-121 on the ones that count in the first, and 82-97 with no difference in the second; in 2020 seven elite Indian archers, indoors at 18 m, shoot between 83 and 98, with tens and nines between 83 and 92. Level and what is at stake move the figure by around twenty beats. Both are context, and the status stays at contested.
8. 2021 Contested Eleven national-level university archers, in a placebo-controlled crossover, give the first figure in beats a minute for heart rate while shooting with the same archers' resting rate beside it: 82 beats at rest, 95 during the simulated competition, and straight back to the starting values afterwards. Shooting raises heart rate by a dozen beats, not by fifty. The studies in favour now number three against one, but the one against still stands, and on the more prudent reading the status stays at contested.
9. 2023 Contested Three samples arrive in the same year, and one goes the other way. Twenty-two children aged 11-14 at 18 m average 105, twenty state-squad compound archers 97-99 over thirty-six arrows at 50 m; ten Indonesian university archers in a simulated match with alternating shots sit instead between 128 and 142, about two thirds of the maximum estimated for age. A fourth paper measures juniors at home during COVID-19 isolation, in a questionable venue, and stays out of the count. The studies in favour outnumber those against, but in competition heart rate can sit well above a hundred, and the status stays at contested.
10. 2025 Contested Forty-five traditional Turkish archers, wearing a chest strap over five arrows at 18 m, sit at 102 in the men and 108 in the women. From video of international competitions an estimate based on the colour of the face puts tens between 70 and 80 beats and the other arrows between 90 and 110, but the measure has not been checked against any instrument and stays as context. A hundred describes shooting with little at stake well, while in competition two studies find much higher values: the status stays at contested.

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• HRV in archery: what it says about recovery and training loadHRV in archery: which index to use, why the weekly average matters and what research says about recovery, training load and heart rate in competition.

Research lines

• 48 studiesThe heartbeat and the shot: heart rate and HRV since 1981
• 27 studiesHow much the body switches on in competition

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedAbout 150 points on a FITA round separate a club archer from a national-team archer13 studies · 492 archers measuredStatus since 2003
• CorroboratedAn archer's arousal rises with what is at stake, and keeps rising as the competition goes on3 studies · 23 archers measuredStatus since 2011
• CorroboratedArchers are more aroused in competition than in training5 studies · 50 archers measuredStatus since 2025
• CorroboratedAt 70 metres a top archer averages about nine points per arrow7 studies · 72 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• CorroboratedEven in competition at the highest level, most arrows are not tens4 studies · 3,212 archers measuredStatus since 2024

See all claims on competition and scoring