For archers, isometric endurance matters more than maximal strength

The summary today

Nobody has yet measured an isometric hold at full draw and a maximal lift in the same archers, and the two pieces of work that come closest both go against the claim, without being enough to settle it. In thirty-one Malaysian archers aged thirteen to eighteen, upper-body muscular endurance goes with score, and the association is strong; maximal drawing strength, however, goes with it even more closely, and in the same regression it weighs more than endurance. The comparison between programmes arrives in 2023, on sixty national-level Indian archers split into four groups: twelve weeks of general gym strength raise the score more than twelve weeks of specific work with holds at full draw, bands and a strap, and those who do both gain the most, but the groups were not randomised and arrow volume was not held constant. Only one small piece of work points the claim's way, on two groups of six elite Malaysian archers, where high-repetition, light-load work gains roughly twice as many points, but the two groups were never compared with each other and started eight points apart. What can be said is that both qualities count and that, in the little there is, holding capacity does not come out as more important than strength.

Also phrased as: "endurance or strength for archers"; "what kind of strength archery needs"; "isometric holding and score"; "maximal strength and archery"

Evidence

• 2022
  Against Archers Published later

  31 recurve archers aged 13 to 18 from a Malaysian state squad, from beginners to experienced: upper-body muscular endurance, measured with press-ups (34.4 ± 8.8 repetitions), correlates with score at r = 0.896, but maximal drawing strength, measured with a full-effort pull on a bow scale, correlates even more closely, at r = 0.945. In the multiple regression both count (p = 0.001 for strength, p = 0.002 for endurance), and the authors put the contribution of strength at 36.3 per cent and that of endurance at 31.2. For a claim that puts holding ahead of strength this is a contrary finding: it says endurance counts, not that it counts more. A cross-sectional association, a regional journal and a generic endurance test.

  The relationship between arm muscle strength, muscle endurance, balance and draw force length on archery performance · Maisarah Mohd Saleh, Adam Linoby, Fatin Aqilah Abdul Razak, Nurul Ain Abu Kasim, Nur Atikah Mohamed Kassim

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  12 male high-school archers, a single group: a circuit of eight push-up variants improves the bow hold, from 12.33 ± 0.88 to 14.08 ± 1.16, and the score at 50 m. Maximal strength was not measured. The two published t values, 34.019 and 41.894, exceed the maximum those means and standard deviations can produce, which is 21.7 and 24.8 with a perfect before-and-after correlation, and the sample had been off training for months because of the pandemic.

  Circuit bodyweight training: does it affect increasing arm muscle endurance and archery accuracy in pandemic conditions? · Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie, Suharjana, Ridho Gata Wijaya, Ahmad Nasrulloh

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  13 archers from Surakarta, Indonesia: plank holding time correlates with score almost as closely as the push-ups used as the measure of arm strength (r = 0.881 and 0.890), and the same goes for abdominal strength and balance, but the four tests correlate with one another at between 0.872 and 0.938, so the study cannot separate one quality from another. Neither measure is a hold at full draw or a maximal test, the descriptive table contains impossible values and the journal has questionable editorial standards.

  Relationship of Arm Muscle Strength, Arm Muscle Endurance, Abdominal Strength and Balance with Arrow Achievement Questionable venue · Gagah Nurya Putra, M. Furqon Hidayatullah, Sapta Kunta Purnama

• 2023
  Against Archers Published later

  60 national-level Indian archers, recurve and compound, with at least three years of practice, split into four groups for twelve weeks: general gym strength, specific strength with holds at full draw, bands and a strap, both together, and a control group. On the score over 72 arrows, general strength beats specific (adjusted means 569.1 against 557.4, a difference of 11.7, p = 0.0034), and the combined group gains the most (from 536.1 to 591.6, that is 55.5 points, against 34.9 for general and 22.6 for specific; the control group moves by 6.1, not significant). The groups were not randomised and the arrow volume was not held constant.

  Isolated and Combined Effect of Strength Training and Specific Strength Training on Performance Levels Among Archers · Arun Kumar Chatla, K Venkata Narasimha Rao, Deepak Pandey, Laishram Shila Devi, Vaddepalley Satyanarayana

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  12 elite Malaysian archers aged 18 to 23, split into two groups of six for six weeks, 36 arrows at 70 m before and after: the high-repetition, light-load group goes from 287.2 to 299.2 points (+12.0), the low-repetition group from 279.2 to 285.3 (+6.2). It stays as context for two reasons: the two groups were never compared with a statistical test, and they started eight points apart. The two programmes, moreover, differ in repetitions rather than load, since both use five-kilogram dumbbells twice a week.

  The effect of 6-week different resistance training on shooting performance among elite archers · Mohd Faridz Ahmad, Muhammad Azfar Khairul Adnan, Siti Jameelah Md Japilus, Mohd Aizzat Adnan, Nurul Nadiah Shahudin, Mohd Hafzal Abdul Halim

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  18 young Indonesian recurve archers aged 13 to 14: among the physical capacities measured, the time spent holding the bow in the shooting position tends to rise with score without reaching significance (rho = 0.445, p = 0.064). It touches on holding capacity without comparing it with a maximal lift.

  Physical capacity and performance correlation in sub-elite Indonesian archery athletes · Afif Rusdiawan, Donny Ardy Kusuma, Muhammad Labib Siena Ar Rasyid, José Vicente García Jiménez, Mochammad Purnomo, Himawan Wismanadi, et al.

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  20 trained traditional archers: after 100 arrows some shoulder stabilisers showed electromyographic signs of fatigue. Neither strength nor score was measured.

  Analyzing the Impact of Accumulated Training Shots on Electromyography Parameters in Trained Archery Athletes: Exploring Fatigue and Its Association with Training Practices · Weronika Naderza, Bartłomiej Niespodziński, Rafał Studnicki

• 2026
  Context Archers Published later

  20 club archers: arm strength measured with an expansion dynamometer correlated strongly with accuracy at 30 m (r = 0.927). Endurance was not measured, so the study says nothing about the comparison between the two qualities. And that coefficient should be read for what it is: the sample mixes very different levels, with strength from 5 to 30 and the score from 180 to 340, and not a word is written about age, sex, years of practice or division.

  Relationship Between Arm Muscle Strength and Concentration on Archery Accuracy in VIJAS Archery Club Athletes Questionable venue · Oktavia Suci Sulistiyowati, Muhammad, Dewangga Yudhistira, Muhammad Labib Siena Ar Rasyid, Kunjung Ashadi

Status history

1. 1990 Not studied No study in the registry's bibliography compares isometric endurance and maximal strength as factors in archers' scores.
2. 2022 Contradicted The first study to measure both endurance and maximal strength in the same group of archers: in thirty-one Malaysian archers aged 13 to 18, upper-body muscular endurance is linked to score, and the association is strong, but maximal drawing strength is linked even more closely and in the same regression weighs more than endurance. For a claim that puts holding ahead of strength this is a contrary finding, but it comes from a single cross-sectional study with endurance measured by press-ups, so contradicted and no further. The same year, in thirteen Indonesian archers, plank holding and push-ups go with score in almost the same way, but the fitness tests are so closely tied to one another that the study cannot separate holding from strength.
3. 2023 Contradicted The first comparison between programmes arrives, and it points the same way: in sixty national-level Indian archers, twelve weeks of general gym strength raise the score more than twelve weeks of specific work with holds at full draw, bands and a strap (569.1 against 557.4 points over 72 arrows, a difference of 11.7, p = 0.0034). There are now two contrary studies, but neither is strong enough for refuted: one is an association taken at a single point in time, the other has non-randomised groups and arrow volume not held constant. It stays contradicted.
4. 2024 Contradicted Two groups of six elite Malaysian archers point the claim's way, with the high-repetition, light-load work gaining roughly twice as many points, but the two groups were never compared with each other and started eight points apart, so the finding stays context. In the same year, in eighteen young recurve archers, the time spent holding the bow in the shooting position falls just short of significance without being set beside a maximal test. Neither shifts the picture: it stays contradicted.

Related

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Research lines

• 63 studiesThe archer's physical profile: strength, endurance and size
• 102 studiesFrom the total on the scorecard to the arrow's coordinates

Other claims in this domain

• ReportedA battery of physical tests identifies the most promising young archers7 studies · 373 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA few weeks of archery improves children's balance1 study · 32 archers measuredStatus since 2009
• ReportedA mobility and stretching programme improves an archer's flexibility1 study · 30 archers measuredStatus since 2025
• ReportedA spell of reduced training makes the score drop1 study · 9 archers measuredStatus since 2021
• ReportedA strength programme away from the range increases an archer's measured strength15 studies · 316 archers measuredStatus since 2018

See all claims on physical training