While aiming, elite archers activate their muscles less than intermediate archers

The summary today

When elite archers are compared with weaker ones while aiming, the muscles of the fingers, arms and trunk almost always work less in the elite archers, while part of the trapezius that holds the shoulder blade works harder. The pattern recurs in three samples from different laboratories: in 2014, across 27 Turkish archers, the elite archers use their forearm flexors and extensors less but the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm more; in 2018, across 30 Japanese archers, less biceps and triceps and more lower trapezius (54% of maximum contraction against 39% and 34%); in 2026, in 8 French elite and 7 intermediate archers at 70 m, less activity in 11 of the 12 muscles that differ between groups and more only in the middle trapezius. Not everything fits, because the posterior deltoid is more active in the elite archers in 2014 and less in 2026, and the first comparison, from 1990, does not answer the question: its muscle economy index measures how alike the two best shots are, not how hard the muscles work. These are small cross-sectional studies, with different muscles and time windows, and none says whether lower activation comes from stronger muscles or from a technique that loads them less. Put this way, for every muscle, the claim is contested; the reading that holds up best is that elite archers move the work from the fingers and arms to the shoulder blades.

Also phrased as: "expert archers are more relaxed"; "economy of movement"; "shooting with less effort"; "muscle activation and skill level"; "elite archers use fewer muscles"

Evidence

• 1990
  Context Archers Published later

  3 Olympic archers, 6 Belgian national-level archers and 6 beginners, 18 arrows at 18 m indoors, electromyography of 10 muscles: the muscle economy index is between 2.58 and 2.85 cm² in the Olympic archers and between 4.44 and 9.76 in the national ones (p < 0.01 between the Olympic archers and the other two groups, p > 0.05 between national archers and beginners). The index is the difference in activity between each archer's two best shots, so it measures how well the movement repeats and not how hard the muscles work: the Olympic archers have 92% identical traces from shot to shot, the national ones 41%.

  Muscular Activity of Different Shooting Distances, Different Release Techniques, and Different Performance Levels, with and without Stabilizers, in Target Archery · J.P. Clarys, J. Cabri, E. Bollens, R. Sleeckx, J. Taeymans, M. Vermeiren, et al.

• 1990
  Context Archers Published later

  Same experiment: across the archers as a whole there is no relation between muscle activity, arrow speed (55.96 ± 0.4 m/s in the Olympic archers, 53.13 ± 0.6 in the national ones, not a significant difference) and precision. In the Olympic archers the number of arrows with the same speed is linked to the economy index (r = -0.71) and to group precision (r = -0.98); in the national archers only the link between speed and precision remains (r = -0.89).

  Muscular Activity of Different Shooting Distances, Different Release Techniques, and Different Performance Levels, with and without Stabilizers, in Target Archery · J.P. Clarys, J. Cabri, E. Bollens, R. Sleeckx, J. Taeymans, M. Vermeiren, et al.

• 2014
  For Archers Published later

  9 elite, 9 intermediate and 9 novice recurve archers, 6 arrows, electromyography of 9 muscles over the 400 ms before and the 800 ms after the clicker: the finger flexor and extensor are less active in the elite archers than in the other two groups (p < 0.05), and in the beginners they exceed their own maximum isometric voluntary contraction before the clicker. Conference proceedings, mean values not reported.

  Kinetic and Kinematic Analysis of Recurve Archery Shooting Technique · Deniz Simsek, Ali Onur Cerrah, Hayri Ertan, A. Ruhi Soylu

• 2014
  Against Archers Published later

  Same study: approaching the release, the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm work at a higher share of maximum voluntary contraction in the elite archers, while the lower trapezius is more active in the intermediate archers and beginners; the anterior deltoid and pectoralis major do not differ between groups. The authors conclude that elite archers use the distal muscles less and the proximal and axial ones more.

  Kinetic and Kinematic Analysis of Recurve Archery Shooting Technique · Deniz Simsek, Ali Onur Cerrah, Hayri Ertan, A. Ruhi Soylu

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  Two right-handed compound archers, one trained and one who rarely shoots, with the electromyography of twelve muscles converted into estimated force (activity normalised to maximum contraction, multiplied by 25 N/cm² and by the muscle's physiological cross-section): in the draw phase, on the drawing arm, the trained archer produces less force in the biceps (280 N against 371.1) and in the middle trapezius (123.4 against 163.8), but more in the middle deltoid (213.9 against 164.9). It is the draw rather than the aim, one archer per level and no statistical test, and the authors themselves ask for at least ten subjects per group: context.

  Comparison of upper limb muscles behaviour for skilled and recreational archers using compound bow · Muhammad Shahimi Ariffin, Azmin Sham Rambely

• 2018
  For Archers Published later

  30 male high school and university archers in three groups by score over 72 arrows at 70 m (elite 633.0 ± 16.7, pre-elite 593.0 ± 8.3, beginners 557.5 ± 19.3), electromyography over the second before the clicker fell on 5 arrows at a target 2 m away: the biceps is less active in the elite archers than in the other two groups and the triceps less than in the beginners (p < 0.05).

  Analysis of Muscular Activity in Archery: A Comparison of Skill Level · Hiroshi Shinohara, Yukio Urabe

• 2018
  Against Archers Published later

  Same study: the lower trapezius of the drawing arm is more active in the elite archers, 54.0 ± 15.7% of maximum contraction against 39.4 ± 10.6% in the pre-elite group (p < 0.05) and 34.0 ± 11.1% in the beginners (p < 0.01), while the upper trapezius, middle deltoid and posterior deltoid do not differ between groups.

  Analysis of Muscular Activity in Archery: A Comparison of Skill Level · Hiroshi Shinohara, Yukio Urabe

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  8 high-level French recurve archers at 70 m, arrows compared by score: while aiming, the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm are more active on arrows scoring 8 or less than on 10s (p < 0.05), with no difference between arrows of 8 or less and 9s. The middle deltoid of the bow arm matters in three archers out of eight, always with less activity on the better arrows (for instance 65.5 against 58.8% of maximum contraction, p = 0.008). It compares arrows from the same archer, not different levels.

  A multi-parameter investigation of elite archery: distinguishing individual and shared performance strategies during the aiming and follow-through phases · Raphaël Jacquot, Khaireddine Ben Mansour, Kévin Bouillet, Jean-Philippe Jehl, Gérôme Gauchard

• 2026
  For Archers Published later

  A doctoral thesis, 8 French elite archers (best average score 654.6 out of 720) and 7 intermediate ones (523.3 out of 720), 36 arrows at 70 m: while aiming the elite archers activate less, on the drawing arm, the superficial finger flexor (p < 0.01), middle deltoid, posterior deltoid and upper trapezius (p < 0.001); on the bow arm the finger extensor (p < 0.001) and middle deltoid (p < 0.01); in the trunk the multifidus, the external obliques on both sides and the transversus abdominis (all p < 0.001).

  Analyse multidimensionnelle de la performance en tir à l'arc · Raphaël Jacquot

• 2026
  Against Archers Published later

  Same thesis, while aiming: the middle trapezius of the drawing arm is more active in the elite archers than in the intermediate ones (p < 0.001), the only exception among the 12 muscles that differ between groups; the finger extensor of the drawing arm does not differ (p = 0.082).

  Analyse multidimensionnelle de la performance en tir à l'arc · Raphaël Jacquot

• 2026
  Context Archers Published later

  Same thesis, outside the aim: in the half second after the release the intermediate archers have all the measured muscles of the bow arm and trunk more active, while the elite archers use the finger extensor, middle trapezius and upper trapezius of the drawing arm more. Within the 8 elite archers, over 549 arrows, the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm are more active while aiming on arrows scoring 8 or less than on 10s.

  Analyse multidimensionnelle de la performance en tir à l'arc · Raphaël Jacquot

Status history

1. 1990 Not studied The first electromyographic comparison between levels, on 3 Olympic archers, 6 Belgian national-level archers and 6 beginners, finds a muscle economy index between 2.58 and 2.85 cm² in the Olympic archers and between 4.44 and 9.76 in the national ones (p < 0.01 between the Olympic archers and the other two groups, no difference between national archers and beginners). The index, however, is the difference in activity between each archer's two best shots: it measures how well the movement repeats, not how hard the muscles work. There are still no data on how much elite archers activate their muscles while aiming compared with intermediate ones.
2. 2014 Contested Across 27 recurve archers in three levels, in the 400 ms before the clicker the elite archers activate their forearm flexors and extensors less than the intermediate archers and the beginners, who go beyond their own maximum voluntary contraction. In the same study, though, the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm work harder in the elite archers, and the authors conclude that as level rises the load moves from the distal muscles to the proximal and axial ones. A single study with results in both directions: contested.
3. 2017 Contested Two compound archers, one trained and one occasional, give a mixed picture during the draw: the trained archer uses less biceps and middle trapezius and more middle deltoid. It is one archer per level, outside the aim and without statistics, so it does not enter the count, and the status remains contested.
4. 2018 Contested Across 30 Japanese archers grouped by their score at 70 m, in the second before the clicker the elite archers have less active biceps and triceps and a more active lower trapezius, 54% of maximum contraction against 39% and 34%; the upper trapezius and the deltoids do not change. The 2014 pattern repeats, with less work in the arm and more at the shoulder blade, and this study too points both ways: the status remains contested.
5. 2025 Contested A French group moves the comparison within a single level: in 8 elite recurve archers, while aiming, the posterior deltoid and middle trapezius of the drawing arm are more active on arrows scoring 8 or less than on 10s. It compares arrows, not archers of different levels, so it does not enter the count, and the status remains contested.
6. 2026 Contested The same laboratory adds 7 intermediate archers: while aiming, the elite archers activate 11 of the 12 muscles that differ between groups less, from the fingers to the deltoids and from the upper trapezius to the trunk muscles, and only the middle trapezius of the drawing arm more. It is the broadest result in favour, but the posterior deltoid, less active in the elite archers here, was more active in 2014, and part of the trapezius that fixes the shoulder blade works harder in the elite archers in all three studies. The status remains contested.

Related

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• Muscle synergies in archery: the motor patterns of elite archersMuscle synergies in archery: what changes between elite and novice archers, and what happens on the best arrows, at the clicker and at the release.

Research lines

• 46 studiesShooting EMG from 1971 to today
• 54 studiesMovement variability and individual technique since 1971

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics