An archer's specific strength is measured properly only with a device that reproduces the bow's draw

1 study · 33 archers measured

Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

This is the premise behind the only archery-specific device in the registry, and nobody has ever put it to the test. In 2022 an Indonesian group started from a survey of twelve national federation and training-centre coaches: arm strength and holding are assessed with a push-pull dynamometer, push-ups, a handgrip dynamometer and a hanging scale, and the classic holding test with a bow is done with bows of different draw weights from one centre to the next. The authors then built an instrumented riser weighing 2.9 kg, within the 2.5-3.5 kg range they give as a realistic bow weight, and in 33 adult archers found it highly repeatable (Cronbach's alpha 0.978 for strength and 0.944 for holding) and in agreement with the manual version of the test (r = 0.939 and 0.974). That validation shows the device measures consistently, not that it measures better than general tests: no comparison with the dynamometer or with push-ups was made, and nobody has looked at which measurement is more closely linked to the score or to holding during a session. That is why the claim remains unstudied, while the validation of the device has its own entry in the registry.

Also phrased as: "archery-specific strength tests"; "strength is measured with the bow in hand"; "general tests are no use to archers"; "assessing draw strength"

In practice

It is said that an archer's strength cannot be measured with weights or push-ups but only by holding the bow, because the draw uses the muscles in a way that no other exercise reproduces.

Evidence

2022
Context Archers Published later

Preliminary survey of 12 Indonesian coaches certified at national level, some also internationally: arm strength and endurance are assessed with a push-pull dynamometer, push-ups, a handgrip dynamometer and a hanging scale, and the holding test with a bow is done with bows of different draw weights from one centre to the next. These are coaches, not archers being measured.

Development of measuring tools for muscle strength and endurance arm for archery sport holding bow digitec test · Heru Prasetyo, Siswantoyo, Yudik Prasetyo, Carles Nyoman Wali
2022
Context Archers Published later

In 33 adult archers the instrumented riser gives very stable measurements, Cronbach's alpha 0.978 for strength and 0.944 for holding, and agrees with the manual test (r = 0.939 and 0.974; concurrent validity 0.961 and 0.895). It is a validation of the device: it compares it neither with general tests nor with the score.

Validity and Reliability of Holding Bow Digitec Test · Heru Prasetyo, Siswantoyo, Yudik Prasetyo
2022
Context Archers Published later

The device weighs 2.9 kg, within the 2.5-3.5 kg range the authors give as a realistic bow weight; the range is their choice, not a measurement. The authors criticise earlier instruments because the movement does not match the draw and the draw weight was not standardised between centres.

Validity and Reliability of Holding Bow Digitec Test · Heru Prasetyo, Siswantoyo, Yudik Prasetyo

Status history

2022 Not studied An Indonesian group starts from a survey of twelve coaches, who assess strength and holding with general tests and with holding tests using bows of different draw weights, and builds a 2.9 kg instrumented riser that gives highly repeatable measurements in 33 archers, in agreement with the manual test. That such a device is actually needed, however, remains a premise: nobody has compared the specific measurement with a general one, or with the score, and the claim is unstudied.

Research lines

63 studiesThe archer's physical profile: strength, endurance and size

Cite

APA

Campagna, M. (2026). An archer's specific strength is measured properly only with a device that reproduces the bow's draw (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/draw-specific-strength-testing

BibTeX

@misc{campagna2026_strumentoforzatrazionearcieri,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {An archer's specific strength is measured properly only with a device that reproduces the bow's draw},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/draw-specific-strength-testing},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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