The strength gained from shooting is partly lost when you stop
1 study · 34 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single experiment, and it concerns not experienced archers but young sedentary men who learned to shoot for the occasion. Twelve weeks of barebow, three sessions a week of 42 arrows with 35-40 lb bows at 10 metres, then twelve weeks of complete rest, compared with a group that stayed sedentary. After the break strength falls but stays above the starting point: at the elbow flexors it was 33.6 pounds-force at the start, 49.1 at the end of the shooting period and 41.7 after three months off. From the authors' table, between the end of shooting and the end of the break almost every muscle measured loses between 15 and 20 per cent, while the knee extensors do not fall at all, though shooting had not produced a clear gain there. How much a trained archer loses, with years of shooting behind them and an end-of-season break, and how long it takes to recover, is still to be measured.
Also phrased as: "after a break you start from scratch"; "you lose strength when you stop shooting"; "detraining in archery"; "coming back after the winter break"
In practice
It is said that after the winter or an injury you start almost from scratch: a few weeks away from the bow are enough for a draw weight that felt comfortable to feel heavy again.
Evidence
-
2020
For Archers Published later
34 young sedentary men randomised into two groups: 17 do twelve weeks of barebow (three sessions a week, 42 arrows, 35-40 lb bows at 10 m) and then twelve weeks off, 17 stay sedentary. At the elbow flexors the strength of the shooting group goes from 33.6 pounds-force at the start to 49.1 at twelve weeks and 41.7 at twenty-four: it falls, but stays above the starting point, with a similar pattern in the other muscles and in grip.
Influence of Isometric Contraction during Archery Training and Detraining on the Muscles and Hand Grip Strength in Sedentary Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana, Sahar Azmani, Abd Rahman Hayati, Noor Aien Monsarip, Nur Islami Mohd Fahmi Teng
-
2020
For Archers Published later
In the same study, between the end of shooting and the end of the break the shooting group's strength falls in almost every muscle: from the table, elbow flexors from 49.1 to 41.7 pounds-force, elbow extensors from 41.2 to 34.7, shoulder abductors from 36.6 to 30.7, knee flexors from 40.3 to 32.4, hip abductors from 45.9 to 39.2, that is between 15 and 20 per cent. In the text the authors write that the largest drops are at the hip and shoulder, 24 and 19 per cent, but those figures do not match their table.
Influence of Isometric Contraction during Archery Training and Detraining on the Muscles and Hand Grip Strength in Sedentary Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana, Sahar Azmani, Abd Rahman Hayati, Noor Aien Monsarip, Nur Islami Mohd Fahmi Teng
-
2020
Context Archers Published later
The knee extensors of the shooting group do not fall after the break: 39.4 pounds-force at the start, 46.0 after shooting and 48.3 after the break (time effect p=0.018, intervention effect not significant, p=0.085). Here shooting had not produced a clear gain over the control, so there was little to lose.
Influence of Isometric Contraction during Archery Training and Detraining on the Muscles and Hand Grip Strength in Sedentary Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana, Sahar Azmani, Abd Rahman Hayati, Noor Aien Monsarip, Nur Islami Mohd Fahmi Teng
Status history
- 1990 Not studied In the registry's bibliography no study had yet measured what remains of the strength gained from shooting after a period off.
- 2020 Reported An experiment on young sedentary men adds twelve weeks off after twelve weeks of shooting: strength falls but stays above the starting point, for example at the elbow flexors from 49.1 to 41.7 pounds-force against an initial 33.6. Almost every muscle measured loses between 15 and 20 per cent of what it had reached, while the knee extensors do not fall at all. A single study, on seventeen beginners who learned to shoot for the occasion and on a single three-month break: the evidence in favour exists and it is limited.
Related
Related articles
- 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.
- Are archers athletes? What the measurements say about the physical condition of people who shootWhat shooting costs the body, whether the bow makes you stronger and how fit measured archers are: what the studies say about the condition of people who shoot.
- Specific strength for archers: 8 exercises and why they matterEight specific strength exercises for archers, with the numbers behind them: which muscles work in the shot, which equipment to use, how to plan the week.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the programmeCite
Campagna, M. (2026). The strength gained from shooting is partly lost when you stop (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/strength-lost-after-a-break
@misc{campagna2026_forzapersadopopausa,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The strength gained from shooting is partly lost when you stop},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/strength-lost-after-a-break},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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