# For those of you with Shoulder Injuries....



## JoeBear1958 (Feb 21, 2018)

I’ve over did a couple times trying to get ready for a 3D shoot coming up. Took awhile to get over it. There for awhile it’d flare up. Have you really over did it recently. If so may take a little while to get over it. I got a rubber tube exerciser and slowly worked on it for a couple months three or four times a week. Now I pay attention to my body No matter how much I want to get really tuned in for the weekend shoot when my shoulder says it’s time to quit I quit.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

My shoulder problems came on very gradually. I think it's called repetitive stress syndrome. Unfortunately, it was masked by a severe elbow injury. The elbow was so bad, that it sort of blocked out the shoulder. Even worse, I tried to shoot through the elbow problem, but it got bad enough that I had to quit shooting for almost a year. I still have to wear the elbow brace.
My shoulder started bothering me when I began shooting a non-parallel bow. In my case the Pro-Elite. It has more recoil than my shoulder could handle with the volume of arrows I was shooting. Fortunately, a more parallel limbed bow, PSE Supra. The shoulder quit hurting so much that I've kept shooting Supras and other bows with parallel limbs. The shoulder still gets sore now & then, but I can still shoot a pretty good volume of arrows.

Allen


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## Maff2 (Jan 6, 2019)

Years ago I made a Yew self bow which was about 70#. After several months of shooting it, my left elbow (I'm a right handed shooter) began to twinge then ache after a shooting session. My right shoulder also started to give me a little pain and I stopped using the Yew bow and moved onto a Samick recurve @ 40#. No trouble there but this is what I've learned since I've had my compound:- If you pick a bow up while your body is cold (muscle state) and that bow is an heavy DW, you will damage parts of the muscle including the tendons and joints gradually, in fact if you are not careful you might pull a muscle or tear a tendon outright on the first draw. My warming up sessions now include, shoulders, biceps, triceps, lats, pectoral region and back. I've started warming up longer than before, now it's 15 minutes on my rubber dumb bells every time. I've also started a gym program to build up the muscles better for what I need in this hobby and I'll tell you what guys - it makes a hell of a difference. Half of the time we are stressing out bodies without warming up properly and that is where most damage occurs in my opinion. I'm currently pulling 53# at a breeze where as a month ago I couldn't pull the skin from a rice pudding.


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## Maff2 (Jan 6, 2019)

Get some 4LB dumb bells, 4LB in each hand and get the blood pumping in those joints, muscles and tendons. I now train 7 days a week in the gym (I converted my spare room to a gym) and I still do the 15 minute warm up every single day even though I might not shoot that day. Makes one hell of a difference to those aches and pains I used to get.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

As others have pointed out warm ups are really important especially as you age. Archery is really prone to repetitive use injuries and most of what you hear are from overuse from one part of the shot cycle or another. Shoulders, back and elbows wrist all get the brunt of the force. I shoot a 38# recurve and recently developed a back problem that caused me to quit shooting. I quit for a week and it improved slightly, shot only 24 arrows no problem but it is only progressing slowly so I 've gone from shooting 40 arrows + 6 days a week to 2 days of 24 or a few more per week. It kills me not to shoot even in below zero weather but that is the new now. I now use a rubber band to do warms ups and stretches before and some after I shoot and long for the good ol days. I now use the ol runners rule, if the pain doesn't go away in the first mile time to turn around and go home- it is what the body says.


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## danreid27 (Dec 30, 2018)




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## kwood (Oct 4, 2011)

Thanks all for your kind replies.
While shoulder was bugging me last night, it was good to go today. 
I shot again tonight, this time turning the bow down a turn, and then one more maybe. Sure enough, it flared up again. Nothing severe. 

I just don't really understand what is happening to my body. It doesn't feel too heavy.
I should add, this is definitely a speed bow I am shooting. Hard cam. Made the bow that way on purpose and dang it is fast, but it has me wondering (and maybe this is better for a separate post) but let's say you have two separate draw-force curves of two bows: 

One is a smooth cam, the other is a hard cam. Let's say the bows are setup such that, the total amount of area under both curves is equal; the hard "speed" cam ramps up quick, and stays at peak right before dripping off into an almost nonexistent valley ( let's say it's a 80% letoff) and the smooth cam has a significantly higher peak weight, but ramps up more slowly from brace, and descends into the valley more gradually.

Let's just say they are setup to achieve the same arrow speed. Well, which way of achieving arrow speed of X is worse for your shoulders? The smoother, higher poundage or the lower poundage with the more aggressive cam? Personally I suspect it's the beginning and ends of draw cycle (rather than sheer poundage) that is the culprit but I am not sure! 

Just curious what you guys think as I am very interested in this and enjoy tinkering and building bows. To me, this is a topic I probably spend more time thinking about than most people, but then again I have a 25" draw and primarily hunt so I am not working with excessive amounts of KE.


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## Elk247 (May 20, 2018)

Might be a shoulder impingement issue. I’d go see a sports medicine Doctor.


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## OLD ROPER (Oct 4, 2012)

I would go see sports medicine Doctor. I developed some shoulder problem late last year after archery season and my Doc send me to sports medicine Doctor. MRI showed arthritis in shoulder joint, got shot in the shoulder and at some point I'll need shoulder replaced. Never know.


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## Lefty Danno (Feb 12, 2019)

Getting old ain't for whimps!


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## mikeallanclark (Feb 20, 2019)

i had a shoulder injury lat year(actually the year before, how time flies) was the dreaded rotator cuff... and I was 45

I had a cortisone injection and dropped down to 24lb limbs. 14 months later, I am back at 36 and about to step back up to 40 ( I should mention I am talking recurve here)

these injuries can get you really down, but take your time and rebuild slowly and you can get back to where you were before


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## pullbang (Nov 17, 2016)

Here’s a different twist on the excellent post here, pull your target arrows using your back never your arms and shoulders. Recurve at 30 pounds causes more problem than compound at 47. Good shooting.


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## kwood (Oct 4, 2011)

pullbang said:


> Here’s a different twist on the excellent post here, pull your target arrows using your back never your arms and shoulders. Recurve at 30 pounds causes more problem than compound at 47. Good shooting.


Good point! Lots of great responses! 
I like the idea about pulling arrows, as I suspect, yes, this is as bad/maybe worse, than pulling the bow? I have a BLOCK BH target in the basement and shoot skinny arrows. So.... The bow pulls that were the heaviest, were also the WORST target pulls EVER esp bc I just got that new block. I do recall, it was kind of sketchy pulling them and that's when I started to REALLY notice it. Hmmm.

Will be investing in ARROW PULLERS, and taking the advice suggested above. 

Well update on my shoulder I backed off the pounds a tad (no reason to be shooting heavy right now anyway) and just took a week off shooting and I am all good now. No more high poundage bows that are new to me. Whenever it's a new bow I will try to shoot it at 5# less. That being said I have been able to draw my 60# bows no problem again, no pain. Shoulders feelin good now. I probably won't go running to doc yet but will be careful to listen to my body and if it's not my bow, proceed cautiously. 

And the warmup ideas are great ideas. I do notice what one of you above said about the tendons and stuff when it's cold - I know exactly what you mean. One thing I like to do is draw my bow right away when I get into the stand, when muscles still warm. I do this maybe every 2 hours or if I start getting cold. 

Realizing that as much as DW is important to me at my very short 25" DL, (for hunting) it ain't gonna be much fun if I have to cut it in half due to an injury. Maybe better off shooting 57 lbs now and most of my life maybe 50 eventually than 65# now and 20-30# when an injury gets best of me. Because at my DL I don't know how great it would go hunting shooting only 30#.

Thanks you guys, so happy to have the perspectives of those who have been there before me, so that I can make better choices and enjoy this sport for my whole life. Cheers!


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## Hogwort (Aug 1, 2005)

Turning 68 in a few months and was doing OK till a week ago I went to
get the mail and fell on the ice and jammed my right shoulder pretty bad so I went to the urgent care and got X rays and was told no breaks or dislocation. So I was told to see my regular doctor (that I'm still waiting to do?) to see if theres any torn tendons or whatever. My question is this, if I did tear a tendon does any body know how long it might take before a person might be able to shoot again? I really enjoy shooting and 3-D season is just starting up, hope I don't have to end up missing the whole year.


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## rlawless (Feb 15, 2015)

I am 58yrs old, I had a torn rotator cuff, torn bisep tendon and a ton of arthritis.. 12 weeks of physical therapy after surgery. I was very vigilant in getting back to archery so I did a lot of aggressive therapy at home. 

Sent via Galaxy S8


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## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

Hogwort said:


> Turning 68 in a few months and was doing OK till a week ago I went to
> get the mail and fell on the ice and jammed my right shoulder pretty bad so I went to the urgent care and got X rays and was told no breaks or dislocation. So I was told to see my regular doctor (that I'm still waiting to do?) to see if theres any torn tendons or whatever. My question is this, if I did tear a tendon does any body know how long it might take before a person might be able to shoot again? I really enjoy shooting and 3-D season is just starting up, hope I don't have to end up missing the whole year.


I fell the other day and cracked a collar bone...not a break, just splintered. Doctor gave me the green light to start shooting again in another 7 to 10 days. So I will have been away from shooting for about 4 weeks.

I know that doesn't answer your question, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

I had "band aid" surgery on my bow shoulder to remove an impingment and clean up some arthritis. He also severed a bicep tendon. I didn't heal like he thought I would and it took me almost a year to get back to shooting 3D. I'm still not shooting the same weight I was before the surgery. I'd say I'm about 75% of where I once was.


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## jb4249 (Feb 23, 2019)

I was 60 when a small car axle fell off the shelf and put my shoulder out and messed up.my rotator cuff. So my right shoulder is held together with a rope I have pictures of that. Recovery was easier that my knee replacement but took a couple of months. I shoot find now at 71. But shoot 50# and I don't hunt anymore but that's not the reason
Ted


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

I am in physical therapy for my draw shoulder. A couple of years ago I was in therapy for the bow arm shoulder.

The bow arm shoulder is the most interesting since it was an old injury exacerbated by the repetitive motion of archery.

20 years prior I had injured my shoulder learning how to golf. Over the years it had gotten much better and I had recovered a large amount of my flexibility.

I was having trouble, however, shooting. It turns out that I had over developed one muscle controlling my shoulder (rhomboid) from constantly working it while shooting.

The other two muscles that are involved in articulating my arm would strain to keep up until they would finally fatigue. That explained why my form was breaking down during a tournament.

When I did certain exercises my shoulder would sound and feel like popcorn popping as the weaker muscles would strain to match the stronger muscle.

I really thought that I had a rotator cuff issue and would be a surgery candidate. It turns out that two months of therapy and twenty years of problems was fixed.

The therapy involved massage to release knotted muscles (particularly my upper trapezius), stretching, and overall, as well as targeted, strengthening.

Currently, I am suffering from a frozen shoulder from climbing (not something most folks on the Senior forum are doing). It came from doing fully extended hangs on my left arm and pulling.

This is taking much longer to recover from. It started with soreness that did not go away. After a couple of climbs it would loosen up and I would be able to increase my climbing difficulty.

It finally became apparent that there was more going on. I thought that it was a strained deltoid since that is where the pain was. I was in therapy for 5 weeks going backward until it was rediagnosed as a frozen shoulder.

You cannot treat a frozen shoulder until the freezing completes. Otherwise, the shoulder tightens up more to protect itself. I took 2 1/2 months off from therapy before I restarted in mid January. 

I just completed six weeks and am making progress, though I have a ways to go (they measure flexibility and strength). My therapy was just extended six weeks.

Frozen shoulders will eventually heal on their own, but with loss of strength and flexibility. With therapy, they expect a faster recovery and restoration of full flexibility.

When I started archery back in 2006 I knew I was dealing with shoulder issues from years of climbing. I took the approach of using the lightest bow that would get the job done.

That has worked out well to reduce stress. I am currently shooting a 74 inch World Archer legal barebow recurve with 27 pound limbs pulling 32.5 at my 32 inch draw length. 

The bow is perfect for a WA field shoot where the maximum length shot in my class is 50 meters. I am working on my aiming system to take it out to 80 yards for NFAA field.

Due to the injury I have not shot since September. It is the longest I have taken off since I started in 2006. I have also not climbed. This would seem to be a bad thing but for everything you lose, there is something you get back.

I used to be an avid hiker when I was young. I started an intensive conditioning program and reconnected with my hold hiking group from when I was a teenager.

Saturday is the culmination of my conditioning program. We will be doing one of the most intense hikes in Southern California up Villager and Rabbit Peaks.

The hike (if you want to call it that) is 23 miles with 8,300 feet of elevation gain. It is the gain that makes this unique since there are few places you can achieve that much gain in a single day (this is normally done in two hard days).

We will be leaving by headlamp at 4 AM and probably return sometime before midnight, hopefully closer to 9 PM. We will be laying water stashes along the way to reduce our load for the outer stretches of the hike.

Last weekend we did our final prep hike which was 21 miles and about 5,500 feet of gain. We started at 5:30 and came out of 9. This hike, however, had much more scrambling so the going was slower.

I had planned to get back into hiking when I retired and my time opened up. This just gave me a chance to start a couple of years earlier. Now I am rethinking how much shooting I want to do when I finally recover since I am really having a good time on the hikes.


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## 3drcher (Jan 8, 2016)

i have dealt with this issue also. as stated above warming up helps be faithful with this.i used to try and shoot everyday.now i try and shoot 5 times a week due to this.i turned my draw weight down and also every other day shoot less arrows and this sure seems to help my shoulders a bunch.


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## dcz (Feb 13, 2019)

Folks,
I am starting archery at 60+ yr old. What type of warm up exercises do you recommend?


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## 1canvas (Mar 29, 2009)

What I always done was limiting the amount of shots per session. Also, in my mid 50s started reducing down from 70lbs..


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## chinewalk (Apr 15, 2009)

I tore up my right shoulder while breaking the right elbow in high school football years ago. It started becoming fairly noticeable in my 40s. I have been in archery since I was 12, so I have had my ups and downs with shoulder pain. Bought a new bow in December after laying off shooting for over a year, started archery related exercises (in earnest!), and have been shooting as much as the shoulder would allow. I now shoot around 60 arrows a session at 50# with no troubles (so far!). It took some work and dedication, but things seem to be working out. I will be 64 this year.


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## kootenaycarver (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm 69 yrs and had a total shoulder replacement 3 yrs ago. Basically had to take 2 years away from archery. Now back shooting regularly at 54 lbs.. Stretching and warm ups a must and then don't shoot more than a dozen or two arrows at a session.


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## EPLC (May 21, 2002)

I don’t think anyone has mentioned form. It could be s simple matter of not drawing the bow properly.


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## laur (Sep 6, 2017)

I know this thread is 6 weeks old or something, but just for info... When I had painful deep muscle problems under the shoulder blade like you are describing, I went for Deep Tissue Massage and that fixed me right up.


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## Mitox (Apr 21, 2019)

Every time mine separates it takes a year and I’m good to go


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## Pyme (May 6, 2015)

kwood said:


> That being said, for those of you who have had shoulder injuries, and feel comfortable sharing, when did you first start having issues? (Like how old?) Where on your shoulder did it start hurting? Did it come on gradually or did you hear a sudden "pop"?


While I'm not "quite" eligible for the senior citizen discount, I'm getting dangerously close.

As for shoulder injuries, I've done both sides, with different stories. 

I did my right one five years ago in Afghanistan. I can tell you *exactly* when that one happened. An MRI confirmed two of the four rotator cuff ligaments were torn, and a third one damaged to a lesser degree. A very talented and dedicated physical therapy crew got me through, and I was shooting my normal 70-ish pounds about a year later.

Recently (I was at the doctor again just last week), I have damaged the left rotator cuff. I have no idea how I did this one, it just started to come on gradually, and got to the point that it finally got my attention enough to go see my doctor. Interestingly, this one is much more painful just to hold my arm out with a bow in it. I recently tried a 50 pound draw weight bow, with a smooth draw cycle, and it hurt too bad to try a second draw. So now I'm in the market for an even lighter bow, and looking at something in the 40 pound range. Even then, I don't have high hopes, as the act of holding the five or so pounds out at the end of my extended left arm hurts before I even attempt to draw the string. 

I'm hoping that I get through this side as well as the other side, but something in the back of my head isn't so sure. Could it be the fact that I'm five years older than the other shoulder event?

As somebody else said above.... Getting old isn't for wimps.


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## bowproPat (Jul 11, 2002)

kwood said:


> So, let me first introduce myself by saying that I am not a senior archer, yet, but I hope to be here among you guys when that time comes and not over on crossbowtalk....
> 
> That being said, for those of you who have had
> shoulder injuries, and feel comfortable sharing, when did you first start having issues? (Like how old?) Where on your shoulder did it start hurting? Did it come on gradually or did you hear a sudden "pop"?
> ...


I'm 78 years young...I have had 3 rotator cuff operations all caused by work and a fall. In 1991 I had a broken left elbow, in 1992 to solve problems from the elbow the year before they cut my arm in to and shortened it by about 3/8 inch to reroute some nerves

Sometimes what you are doing outside of archery actually causes the problem but archery makes it worst. I used to shoot heavy bows but now I am down to about 40-43 for target and hoping to use 50 for hunting this year. STRETCH before you shoot! Go to the gym and have a trainer work with you with light weights working specifically were the pain comes and goes.

Lower your bow weight and get new arrows you do not have to have blistering speed you have to have accuracy.
The rubber band stretching exercises before shooting or even lifting heavy objects IMO are very important.

Good luck and keep on aging to join us.


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## Alaska at heart (Aug 25, 2009)

dcz said:


> Folks,
> I am starting archery at 60+ yr old. What type of warm up exercises do you recommend?


I agree that many of us develop shoulder issues from things we have done over the course of our lives....and it just shows up as we shoot archery. In my case, I did gymnastics in HS, shifted to weight training, then 10 years of martial arts from 25-35, coupled with 3 decades of shooting hunting weight (upper 50's to 60) recurves. In September of 2010, I was in the backyard to practice for our upcoming archery season and my right (draw) shoulder went "POP!" on the first shot. I had been warming up to a small degree for years, so this caught me totally by surprise......and man did it HURT!

My wife made an appt with my regular doctor who immediately referred me to a arthropaedic specialist. After my consultation visit, he sent me for an MRI with Arthrogram.....which means they use a REALLY long needle to inject dye right into the shoulder joint....NOT FUN! However the results came back with two partial tears of the rotator cuff and extensive fraying of the biceps tendon. I was fearing the worst just before bow season started, but he suggested we try PT and hope for the best. Well thank the Lord, PT worked well for me and I was shooting again in about 3-4 weeks....with turned down poundage on a compound (54#) and very limited sessions.

Now for my warm-up....which incorporates some of the PT motions. I start with forward and backward arm circles to get the blood flowing and things loosened up....including wrist and elbow circles. Then I do some shoulder flexibility movements and standing PT stuff like standing in a doorway with elbows at shoulder height against the door frame....then slowly lean in to stretch shoulders, chest and back. On to standing with my back against a wall and bending my knees a bit, then using my upper arms against the wall as resistance as far as my upper body will go forward...somewhat like a reverse push-up....and hold for 10 seconds each. From there I lie face down on the carpet and lift both extended arms upward towards the ceiling 10x like a crucifix. Next I do the same with my arms along my side but palm up....10x towards ceiling.....followed by 15-20 push-ups. 

Finally, I use a purple exercise band from the PT, using a basement support pillar as my foundation. I hold an end of the band in each hand facing the pole and draw both arms back to my upper hips....10x. Last I hold both ends of the band in my left hand and support against the pillar with my right....drawing like a bow 8-10x.....then reverse to drawing with my right hand and supporting with my left. When I come in from shooting, I redo the entire routine as a cool-down....this has significantly helped my shoulders and kept me shooting 62# year around in my early 60's.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

PT before surgery every time, surgery is the last resort. Dropping draw wt, increasing AMO if you shoot recurve all reduce stress on shoulders, shoot fewer arrows per day, warm up before and ice afterward. Fact is tho if you are dealing with tears in the rotator cuff muscle (especially if you are older) then it will probably affect you and what you do from now till forever. Listen to your body and shoot wisely and hope for the best.


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## 1canvas (Mar 29, 2009)

Alaska at heart said:


> I agree that many of us develop shoulder issues from things we have done over the course of our lives....and it just shows up as we shoot archery. In my case, I did gymnastics in HS, shifted to weight training, then 10 years of martial arts from 25-35, coupled with 3 decades of shooting hunting weight (upper 50's to 60) recurves. In September of 2010, I was in the backyard to practice for our upcoming archery season and my right (draw) shoulder went "POP!" on the first shot. I had been warming up to a small degree for years, so this caught me totally by surprise......and man did it HURT!
> 
> My wife made an appt with my regular doctor who immediately referred me to a arthropaedic specialist. After my consultation visit, he sent me for an MRI with Arthrogram.....which means they use a REALLY long needle to inject dye right into the shoulder joint....NOT FUN! However the results came back with two partial tears of the rotator cuff and extensive fraying of the biceps tendon. I was fearing the worst just before bow season started, but he suggested we try PT and hope for the best. Well thank the Lord, PT worked well for me and I was shooting again in about 3-4 weeks....with turned down poundage on a compound (54#) and very limited sessions.
> 
> ...


All of that warm up to shoot I would think that you would be at risk drawing 62lbs in a hunting situation on a cold day. Dealing with shoulder issues myself now I bought a new 60lb bow (PSE EVOKE 35) this year for an easier draw, if needed I will drop to the low 50s on poundage.


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## Alaska at heart (Aug 25, 2009)

1canvas said:


> All of that warm up to shoot I would think that you would be at risk drawing 62lbs in a hunting situation on a cold day. Dealing with shoulder issues myself now I bought a new 60lb bow (PSE EVOKE 35) this year for an easier draw, if needed I will drop to the low 50s on poundage.


I do a few arm circles before heading to the woods and have no issues drawing "cold" once or twice while in the woods. That extensive warmup is to keep my shoulders fit so I CAN pull 62# cold without an issue. So many do PT to get back to square one and then abandon it like exercises are some kind of plague. I told my PT that I was going to incorporate some of those movements into my daily routine to advance beyond square one....which they heartily approved.

I was deeply involved in the martial arts for many years and continue to do a regular flexibility routine to maintain body tone. An older friend noted not long ago that I still "walk like a young man"......that is worth it too. Like the old Fram oil filter commercial slogan, "You can pay me now or pay me later"......I prefer the "now" plan.


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## 1canvas (Mar 29, 2009)

Alaska at heart said:


> I do a few arm circles before heading to the woods and have no issues drawing "cold" once or twice while in the woods. That extensive warmup is to keep my shoulders fit so I CAN pull 62# cold without an issue. So many do PT to get back to square one and then abandon it like exercises are some kind of plague. I told my PT that I was going to incorporate some of those movements into my daily routine to advance beyond square one....which they heartily approved.
> 
> I was deeply involved in the martial arts for many years and continue to do a regular flexibility routine to maintain body tone. An older friend noted not long ago that I still "walk like a young man"......that is worth it too. Like the old Fram oil filter commercial slogan, "You can pay me now or pay me later"......I prefer the "now" plan.


I too had about 25 years in the arts and now dealing with some of the hard training injuries from years past. The older Hoyt I had had really hard cams so I’m glad to get away from that. 
All of these years of archery I never really thought of warming up before I shoot, good idea. I use to teach nunchukas, now being older I use them for therapy. I think I will now warm up with them no before I shoot.


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## Alaska at heart (Aug 25, 2009)

1canvas said:


> I too had about 25 years in the arts and now dealing with some of the hard training injuries from years past. The older Hoyt I had had really hard cams so I’m glad to get away from that.
> All of these years of archery I never really thought of warming up before I shoot, good idea. I use to teach nunchukas, now being older I use them for therapy. I think I will now warm up with them no before I shoot.


I was involved in Okinawan Shorin-ryu karate and also did weapons for a while. Without a doubt my shoulders took a beating from some of the hand-to-hand kumite techniques.....but that is the nature of an active life. Those who sat around watching TV and eating Doritos are dealing with heart and blood pressure issues instead....:dontknow:

I learned the value of good warm-up techniques from the martial arts and simply modified and continued it to every facet of my exercise/activity routine. Weight training has also been a part of my lifestyle and I use the same warm-up/flexibility process before lifting. I believe it has kept me from a lot of the issues that others I know have dealt with by just walking in cold and starting to lift.


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## Bavarian Hart (Jul 23, 2017)

One reason I took up archery was because of shoulder injuries (HS sports, tornado, automobile). Some pain at first but the strengthening of the muscles/tendons/ligaments has helped me alot. No more aching! It has been my very effective physical therapy.


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## toddm1987 (Oct 15, 2018)

Just like any sport, proper warm-up and conditioning is crucial to long term health. I was told by my PT that many men try to prove they are men by over doing poundage for the sake of showing how tought they are rather than focusing on accurance and skill/form. I think most of us have been quillty of that.


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