Fitness of Indonesian archers: Rizal 2026 study

The study describes the fitness of the 12 male archers in the Bengkalis Regency squad, in the Indonesian province of Riau, tested on a single day with six tests. Each result was compared with Indonesian reference tables and placed in a band, from poor to perfect.

In the pull with a hand dynamometer values ranged from 13 to 41 kg (mean 26.58): half the archers were in the poor band. In the push they ranged from 5 to 31 kg (mean 20.25), with 10 of the 12 in the poor band. Leg strength ranged from 42 to 115 kg (mean 81) and back strength from 45 to 119 kg (mean 88.5); for the legs all twelve were in the poor band, for the back 5 were in the good band. Pull-ups ranged from 2 to 20 (mean 7.08), with 11 of 12 in the poor band. The one-leg wall squat lasted on average 19.33 seconds on the right and 22.75 on the left. In the 15-minute Balke run values ranged from 28 to 46 (mean 39.58) and all were in the poor band.

Putting the six tests together, 7 archers came out in poor physical condition and 5 in fair condition, with an overall mean of 3.89 out of 10. There is no shooting measure.

All tests took place on the same morning, after a 15-minute warm-up, in this order: hand dynamometer push and pull, then the dynamometers for the legs and for the back, then pull-ups, the wall squat (back against the wall, knees at 90 degrees, one foot lifted 5 cm, right then left) and finally the 15-minute run on a track. The dynamometers and the wall squat allowed two attempts. Each result was classified with Indonesian tables, each band was then converted into points (from 2 for poor to 10 for perfect) and the mean of the six tests gave each archer's overall class. The tests were tried out first on two archers outside the sample.

This is a snapshot of twelve archers from one squad, with no shooting scores and no comparison with stronger archers, so it cannot say whether these values have anything to do with performance. The reference tables are designed for the general population, as the author admits, and the final class comes from averaging bands, a number that depends heavily on where the cut-offs fall: the mean of 3.89 sits just below the 4.0 line between poor and fair. The paper reports no ages, years of practice, bow type or draw weight. The wall squat is called a test of lower back endurance, but it is mainly leg work; the 15-minute run is said to be scored in metres and then reported with values from 28 to 46, with no unit.

The text has several inconsistencies. The data date from 2018 in the methods and 2019 in the results; the sample is described first as the whole population and then as selected by criteria; the three earlier studies discussed have different names in the introduction and the discussion and point to reference entries on canoeing and volleyball; and a word in Chinese appears in the methods. Bow arm tremor and rushed releases are the author's observations, not measurements, and linking them to physical weakness is his interpretation. The PDF is dated December 2024, while Crossref registered the DOI in June 2026, the year used in the registry.

The study shows that a regional Indonesian squad, tested in 2018 or 2019, fell below the general tables on almost every strength and endurance test, with the partial exception of the back. It says nothing about what this means for shooting, because no score was set alongside the tests.

For an archer or coach the paper mainly shows one way of running a physical assessment with simple equipment. The training priorities the author proposes, legs, arm endurance and running, come from comparison with tables not designed for archery rather than from any measured link with performance.