In archers a larger lung capacity goes with higher scores
4 studies · 124 archers measured
The summary today
The link is there, but it is thin and rests on two young samples. In 2018, in 32 Malaysian archers aged 13 to 24, those with larger lung volumes also sat higher on score, but only in a profile chart, with no test and with six arrows at 50 metres as the measure of shooting. The cleanest data arrive in 2021 from 42 archers aged nine to twelve: forced vital capacity correlates with the score over 30 arrows at 18 metres at 0.378 and forced expiratory volume in one second at 0.367, and in the eleven girls the correlation rises to 0.631. What does not go with score is the rest of respiratory function: peak flow, maximum ventilation and inspiratory muscle strength sit between 0.06 and 0.13, and expiratory pressure only counts in the second half of the boys' round. The weak point is that lung volumes grow with height, age and maturation, and neither study held them constant: a bigger child has more air and, often, more years of shooting. It therefore remains a cross-sectional association, reported, and it does not say that training the breath raises scores.
Also phrased as: "lung capacity and archery"; "breath and score"; "spirometry in archers"; "lung function and accuracy"; "vital capacity and score"
In practice
It is often said that archers with more breath hold the aim and the fatigue of competition better, and that working on lung capacity helps keep the body still while breathing out during the aim.
Evidence
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2018
For Archers Published later
32 young Malaysian archers aged 13 to 24, twelve resting heart and breathing measures: cluster analysis separates 27 archers with higher forced vital capacity, maximum ventilation and peak flow from 5 with lower values, and the larger group also sits higher on score. The score difference appears only in the profile chart, with no test and no figures, and shooting is a single end of 6 arrows at 50 metres. Height, sex and age, which account for much of lung volume, are not controlled.
A Multivariate Analysis of Cardiopulmonary Parameters in Archery Performance · Vijayamurugan Eswaramoorthi, Mohamad Razali Abdullah, Rabiu Muazu Musa, Ahmad Bisyri Husin Musawi Maliki, Norlaila Azura Kosni, Naresh Bhaskar Raj, et al.
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2018
Context Archers Published later
50 young Malaysian archers aged 13 to 20, 37 boys and 13 girls, grouped by hierarchical analysis and then by a k-nearest neighbour classifier: the high-potential group has a higher resting breathing rate, calorie intake and score than the rest. The values appear only in the profile chart, with no means and no test; breathing rate is counted by hand over one minute and the score is a single end of 6 arrows at 50 metres after 4 practice shots. It measures the rhythm of breathing, not lung volume, and comes from the same research group as the study of 32 archers the same year.
Classification of High Performance Archers by Means of Bio-physiological Performance Variables via k-Nearest Neighbour Classification Model · Zahari Taha, Rabiu Muazu Musa, Anwar P. P. Abdul Majeed, Mohamad Razali Abdullah, Ahmad Fakhri Ab. Nasir, Mohd Hasnun Arif Hassan
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2021
For Archers Published later
42 Olympic recurve archers aged 9 to 12 with at least one year of licence, score over 30 arrows at 18 metres: forced vital capacity correlates with the total at 0.378 and forced expiratory volume in one second at 0.367 (p below 0.05). In the 11 girls vital capacity reaches 0.631, in the 31 boys it stays at 0.378; over the first 15 arrows 0.668 in the girls and 0.347, not significant, in the boys. Age and height are not controlled.
The relationship between shooting performance and respiratory muscle strength in archers aged 9-12 · Ozgur Bostanci, Menderes Kabadayi, Muhammet Hakan Mayda, Ali Kerim Yilmaz, Coskun Yilmaz
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2021
Context Archers Published later
In the same sample the rest of respiratory function does not go with score: peak expiratory flow r=0.105, maximum voluntary ventilation r=0.133, maximum inspiratory pressure r=0.058, ratio of expiratory volume to vital capacity r=-0.041, all not significant. The authors themselves write in the abstract that they found no strong correlations.
The relationship between shooting performance and respiratory muscle strength in archers aged 9-12 · Ozgur Bostanci, Menderes Kabadayi, Muhammet Hakan Mayda, Ali Kerim Yilmaz, Coskun Yilmaz
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2021
Context Archers Published later
The only exception on breathing strength: in the 31 boys maximum expiratory pressure correlates with the second 15 arrows at 0.370 (p below 0.05), not with the first 15 (0.277) or the total (0.333). In the girls the same value over the second half is 0.011.
The relationship between shooting performance and respiratory muscle strength in archers aged 9-12 · Ozgur Bostanci, Menderes Kabadayi, Muhammet Hakan Mayda, Ali Kerim Yilmaz, Coskun Yilmaz
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2021
Context Archers Published later
At nine to twelve no lung or breathing-strength measure separates boys and girls: for example forced vital capacity 2.22 litres in the boys and 2.13 in the girls (p=0.537), maximum expiratory pressure 96.97 against 85.00 cmH2O (p=0.156). The stronger link in the girls therefore does not come from larger lungs: if anything the girls have a slightly higher mean score, 242.00 against 221.71, with no significant difference.
The relationship between shooting performance and respiratory muscle strength in archers aged 9-12 · Ozgur Bostanci, Menderes Kabadayi, Muhammet Hakan Mayda, Ali Kerim Yilmaz, Coskun Yilmaz
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2022
Context Review Published later
Systematic review of 41 studies on performance assessment in archery: it reports the 2018 study as showing that good lung capacity, an adequate breathing rate and optimal resting blood pressure go with better scores. It adds no data and does not point out that the study has no test on score.
Performance assessment in archery: a systematic review · Eleonora Vendrame, Valeria Belluscio, Luigi Truppa, Lorenzo Rum, Aldo Lazich, Elena Bergamini, Andrea Mannini
Status history
- 2018 Reported The first study to put a spirometer and a score together measures 32 young Malaysian archers aged 13 to 24 and splits them into two groups on their breathing measures: the 27 with larger volumes and flows also sit higher on score, while the 5 with lower values sit below. The difference in score, however, appears only in a chart, with no test and no figures, and shooting is measured with six arrows at 50 metres. It is a weak association in a single sample: reported. The same year the same research group classifies 50 young archers with another algorithm and finds the most promising ones with a higher resting breathing rate, along with more calories and more points, but again only in a chart and with the same six arrows at 50 metres. Breathing rate is not lung volume, so that figure stays in the background and does not move the status.
- 2021 Reported Forty-two archers aged nine to twelve provide the first figure: forced vital capacity correlates with the score over 30 arrows at 18 metres at 0.378 and forced expiratory volume in one second at 0.367, with a stronger link in the girls (0.631) than in the boys. Peak flow, maximum ventilation and inspiratory strength play no part, and expiratory pressure goes with the second half of the round only in the boys. What goes with score is the volume of the lungs, not the strength of the breath, and in children of that age volume follows height: two studies in favour, both cross-sectional, and the status does not rise.
- 2022 Reported A systematic review of performance assessment in archery repeats the 2018 conclusion, that lung capacity, breathing and resting blood pressure go with better scores, without noting that the study contains no test on score. It adds no new sample, so the status holds.
Related
Related articles
- Thoracic mobility, diaphragmatic breathing and HRVThoracic mobility, diaphragmatic breathing and HRV for archers: the exercises, an eight-week protocol and what the studies on archers show.
- Running and aerobic fitness: what the studies on archers sayShould archers run to shoot better? How much fitness shooting asks for, whether fitter archers score more and what circuits change, from studies on archers.
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). In archers a larger lung capacity goes with higher scores (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/lung-capacity-archery-score
@misc{campagna2026_funzionerespiratoriapunteggio,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {In archers a larger lung capacity goes with higher scores},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/lung-capacity-archery-score},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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