The energy cost of shooting is low, and what there is grows with the archer's body size
3 studies · 36 archers measured
The summary today
What little is known comes almost entirely from two Japanese studies of university archers. In 1981, in six archers, an end of three arrows at 30 metres with the arrows retrieved at a run cost 11 kcal on average in just over three minutes, 3.6 kcal a minute, and the cost rose with body weight (r = 0.73) and body surface area (r = 0.76), while it fell with years of experience (r = -0.68). In 1984, in ten archers, a single arrow shot without moving cost between 0.47 and 0.73 kcal in men and between 0.27 and 0.40 in women, more with a heavier draw weight, and the authors describe the intensity of shooting as relatively low: much of the cost comes from walking or running to collect the arrows. The body-size part is the weakest. It rests on a correlation in six people, and in 1984 the gap between men and women persists even relative to body weight, 0.08-0.12 against 0.05-0.07 kcal per arrow per 10 kg, a sign that draw weight and sex matter too. A single study supports the link with body size: reported.
Also phrased as: "calories burned in archery"; "energy cost of archery"; "how much energy shooting uses"; "archer's energy expenditure"
In practice
People say archery burns hardly anything, and that the walk back and forth to the target is more tiring than the bow itself.
Evidence
-
1981
For Archers Published later
6 Japanese university archers aged 20 to 21, average bow 36.5 lb, ends of three arrows at 30 m with the arrows retrieved at a run: an end cost 11.07 kcal on average (from 9.53 to 12.63) over 186 seconds, that is 3.58 kcal a minute and 2.34 kcal a minute net of rest. Total consumption rose with body weight (r = +0.73) and body surface area (r = +0.76) and fell with years of experience (r = -0.68). The average relative metabolic rate, 2.2 (from 1.9 to 2.7), counts as somewhat heavy work on the Japanese scale of the time, but the authors cite work on kyudo according to which the cost comes more from collecting the arrows than from drawing the bow.
Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (1) · Koji Tsuji, Hide Takeyama, Hideo Koishi, Yoshiho Katayama
-
1984
Context Archers Published later
10 Japanese university archers aged 19 to 22, 5 men and 5 women, three draw weights each. A single arrow shot without moving cost 0.47, 0.59 and 0.73 kcal in men at 32, 42 and 51 lb and 0.27, 0.33 and 0.40 kcal in women at 25, 35 and 45 lb; per 10 kg of body weight, 0.08-0.12 kcal in men and 0.05-0.07 in women, so the gap between the sexes does not disappear when scaled to body weight. With the arrows retrieved at a run the metabolic index lies between 2.3 and 2.9, an intensity the authors call relatively low. Multiplying the cost of one arrow by the number of arrows gives 98-99% of the measured value in men and 116-123% in women.
Physical Fitness and Energy Metabolism of the Archers (Part 2) · Koji Tsuji, Takatsune Tsumiyama, Yoshiho Katayama
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2016
Context Archers Published later
10 archers and 10 Indian university middle-distance runners aged 17 to 25, seven-day food and activity diaries: the archers spend 3,390.6 ± 119.0 kcal a day against 5,462.6 ± 97.0 and take in 3,732.8 ± 100.1 against 5,118.1 ± 94.6 (t = 84.16, computed on each group's 70 person-days rather than on the athletes). It is the expenditure of the whole day, not of shooting, and the journal has questionable editorial standards.
Analytical study of energy intake and expenditure of archery players and long distance runners Questionable venue · Kulbeer Singh
Status history
- 1981 Reported The first data come from six Japanese university archers shooting an end of three arrows at 30 metres and retrieving them at a run: it cost 11 kcal on average over 186 seconds, 3.6 kcal a minute, and for the same end the bigger archer spent more, with consumption rising with body weight (r = 0.73) and body surface area (r = 0.76). On the Japanese scale of the time the average index of 2.2 counts as somewhat heavy work, but the figure includes running for the arrows, which the authors think weighs more than the bow. Six subjects and a correlation: reported.
- 1984 Reported The same group measures ten archers with three draw weights each. A single arrow shot without moving costs between 0.27 and 0.73 kcal, more with a heavier draw weight, and with the arrows retrieved at a run the intensity stays at what the authors call relatively low: the first half of the claim grows stronger. The second half gets more complicated, because the gap between men and women persists even relative to body weight, and estimating the cost by counting arrows works in men but overestimates it by 16-23% in women: body size is not all that counts. The status stays reported.
- 2016 Reported A seven-day diary of ten archers and ten Indian middle-distance runners looks at the whole day instead of the end: the archers spend about 3,400 kcal a day against almost 5,500 for the runners, and take in about 3,700 against 5,100. It only says that archers spend less than endurance athletes, and it is the expenditure of the whole day, not of shooting, and it appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards, so it does not move the status.
Related
Related articles
- How competitive archers eat: what shooting costs, how much protein they report, what they weigh and who advises themWhat competitive archers eat, how much protein they report, who advises them and what they weigh: what the studies have measured and where they stop.
- Is archery good for you? What changes in the body of people who shoot, and what does notStrength, heart rate variability, arteries, resting heart rate and blood pressure: what changes in the bodies of archers, according to the measurements.
- How many calories does archery burn, from one arrow to a competition dayWhat one arrow costs at different draw weights, what a tournament day costs, and what the studies say about the intensity of shooting and body weight.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). The energy cost of shooting is low, and what there is grows with the archer's body size (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/energy-cost-of-archery
@misc{campagna2026_dispendioenergeticoarciere,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The energy cost of shooting is low, and what there is grows with the archer's body size},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/energy-cost-of-archery},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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