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For archers, free weights do more than machines

3 studies · 52 archers measured

ForContextAgainst2022202420262022, context, n = 322023, for, n = 202026, context
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.

A single study has compared free weights and machines in archers, and it finds a small advantage for free weights on one outcome. Twenty boys aged 12 to 15, split into two groups matched on the starting test, did eighteen circuit sessions over six weeks, one group with dumbbells and the other with cables and machines: on a bow-holding test the first group went from 15.3 to 17.7 seconds and the second from 15.1 to 16.4, a difference of 1.1 seconds between the gains (p = 0.019). With free weights all ten improved, with machines three out of ten did not change at all. The paper does not say whether loads and volumes were matched, does not measure the score, and with ten boys per group three out of ten may be chance. A 2022 factorial study of thirty-two regional archers, in which a dumbbell circuit raises the score by about 31 points against 10 and 13.5 for a bodyweight circuit, compares load with bodyweight, not with machines; the 2026 systematic review takes up the 2023 study without adding data.

Also phrased as: "dumbbells or machines for archers"; "free weights in archery"; "resistance machines and archery"; "gym work for archers: weights or machines"; "dumbbell training for archers"

In practice

Archers hear that dumbbells beat machines for them, because they force the shoulder to stabilise itself as it does with the bow in hand, while a machine guides the movement.

Evidence

  • 2022
    Context Archers Published later

    32 regional archers in a 2 by 2 factorial design (imagery or self-hypnosis training, dumbbell or bodyweight circuit), 16 sessions, no untrained control group: the total score rises on average by 31.13 and 31.12 points with the dumbbell circuit against 10.00 and 13.5 with the bodyweight circuit, with no interaction between mental training and circuit. It compares load with bodyweight, not free weights with machines.

    The Effect of Mental Exercise and Muscle Endurance on the Shots of Archery Athletes · Pijar Kuncoro Yudho, Mugiyo Hartono, Sri Surmatiningsih

  • 2023
    For Archers Published later

    20 male archers aged 12 to 15 from the Bantul regency, allocated by ordinal pairing on the starting test (A-B-B-A pattern), an eight-station circuit for 18 sessions over 6 weeks, dumbbells on one side and cables, pec deck and machines on the other: on the bow-holding test free weights go from 15.3 to 17.7 seconds (+2.4), machines from 15.1 to 16.4 (+1.3), a difference between the gains of 1.1 seconds (t = 2.569, p = 0.019). With free weights all ten improve, by 1 to 4 seconds; with machines three out of ten gain nothing. The paper does not say whether loads and volumes were matched, and the score is not measured.

    Free weight vs gym machine: which is better for muscle endurance athletes of archery? · Okka Bagus Subekti, Endang Rini Sukamti, Amri Hartanto

  • 2026
    Context Review Published later

    Systematic review without meta-analysis of 15 studies on exercise interventions in archery, from 2015 to 2025: it reports the 2023 free-weight study with the same numbers (free weights p < 0.001, machines p = 0.002, difference between groups p = 0.019) and concludes that free weights work better for arm endurance. It adds no data.

    Systematic Review of Exercise Interventions in Archery: Injury Management and Performance Outcomes · Ambusam Subramaniam, Fairus Fariza Zainudin, Mon Redee Sut Txi

Status history

  1. 2022 Not studied The first hint close to the question comes from a study designed for something else: in a factorial study of thirty-two regional archers, the dumbbell circuit raises the total score by about 31 points, the bodyweight circuit by 10 and 13.5. But the comparison is between load and bodyweight, not between free weights and machines, and there is no group that does not train: no study has yet compared the two.
  2. 2023 Reported The first comparison designed for this: twenty young archers aged 12 to 15, matched on the starting test, eighteen circuit sessions over six weeks. With dumbbells the bow hold goes from 15.3 to 17.7 seconds, with cables and machines from 15.1 to 16.4, and the 1.1-second difference between the gains is significant (p = 0.019); with free weights all ten improve, with machines three stay where they were. It is a single small study, with one outcome that is not the score: reported.
  3. 2026 Reported A systematic review of exercise interventions in archery takes up the 2023 study with the same numbers, including the difference between the two groups at p = 0.019. It is the same evidence read a second time, not a second study: the status stays reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.

See the programme
Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). For archers, free weights do more than machines (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/free-weights-or-machines

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_pesilibericontromacchine,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {For archers, free weights do more than machines},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/free-weights-or-machines},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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