Training at the longer distances improves concentration more than ordinary training

The summary today

There is a single study, and its tables do not say what its conclusions say. Forty sub-elite archers from East Java, aged 14 to 20, split into four groups of ten, trained for twelve weeks at 20, 50 or 70 m under a fixed protocol, 108 arrows a session and no more than ten seconds per arrow, or carried on with their usual training, which also took place at 70 m. On the mirror-drawing test the authors find the 70 m group different from the usual-training group (p = 0.008) and from the 20 m group (p = 0.014), and read this as an advantage for the long distances. But the time shortens in every group, and the largest drop is in the usual-training group itself, from 74.5 to 47.0 seconds, against 74.0 and 54.8 in the 70 m group: much of the improvement is learning the test, and the reported comparison does not say which way it runs. On errors, moreover, the four groups cannot be told apart at all (p = 0.995). And nobody looked at the score on the target.

Also phrased as: "shooting long to build focus"; "70 metres trains the mind"; "training distance and attention"; "training at 70 metres"

Evidence

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  40 sub-elite archers aged 14-20 (20 men, 20 women), twelve weeks at 20, 50 or 70 m with 3 sets of 36 arrows a session, 3 sessions a week and at most 10 seconds per arrow, against a usual-training group: on mirror-drawing test time the ANOVA gives p = 0.032, and the post hoc comparisons separate 70 m from usual training (p = 0.008) and from 20 m (p = 0.014), while 50 m differs from no one (p = 0.199 against usual training). The authors read this as an advantage for the long distances.

  The Impact of Training Distances (20 m, 50 m, and 70 m) on Concentration and Anaerobic Endurance in Archery Sub-Elite Athletes · Lilies Handayani, Nurhasan, Hari Setijono, Oce Wiriawan, Dwi Cahyo Kartiko, Mochamad Purnomo, et al.

• 2024
  Against Archers Published later

  In the same study test time falls in every group, and most in the usual-training group, which also shot at 70 m but without a protocol: from 74.50 ± 19.11 to 47.00 ± 13.39 seconds, against 74.00 → 54.80 at 70 m, 73.20 → 60.10 at 50 m and 74.10 → 62.20 at 20 m (all p ≤ 0.001). With these numbers the comparison between 70 m and usual training cannot favour 70 m, and much of the improvement is learning the test.

  The Impact of Training Distances (20 m, 50 m, and 70 m) on Concentration and Anaerobic Endurance in Archery Sub-Elite Athletes · Lilies Handayani, Nurhasan, Hari Setijono, Oce Wiriawan, Dwi Cahyo Kartiko, Mochamad Purnomo, et al.

• 2024
  Against Archers Published later

  In the same study, errors on the test fall significantly only at 20 m (from 5.80 to 2.50, p = 0.037) and in the usual-training group (from 5.30 to 1.70, p = 0.023), not at 50 m (p = 0.062) or at 70 m (from 5.00 to 1.80, p = 0.091), and there is no difference at all between the four groups (ANOVA p = 0.995).

  The Impact of Training Distances (20 m, 50 m, and 70 m) on Concentration and Anaerobic Endurance in Archery Sub-Elite Athletes · Lilies Handayani, Nurhasan, Hari Setijono, Oce Wiriawan, Dwi Cahyo Kartiko, Mochamad Purnomo, et al.

Status history

1. 2024 Contested The first and only study arrives, and it points two ways. Forty sub-elite archers from East Java, ten per group, train for twelve weeks at 20, 50 or 70 m or carry on as before, also at 70 m but without a protocol. The authors find the 70 m group different from the usual-training group (p = 0.008) and from the 20 m group (p = 0.014) on the mirror-drawing test. The same study, however, shows that the time shortens in every group, and that the largest drop is in the usual-training group (from 74.5 to 47.0 seconds), a sign that much of the improvement is learning the test; and on errors the four groups cannot be told apart (p = 0.995). One case for and one against in the same study: contested.

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• Concentration in archery: how it is measured, how much it matters and whether it can be trainedWhat studies on archers say about concentration: how it is measured, whether it tracks score, whether it fades late in a round and whether it can be trained.
• What distance to train at: starting close, staying at competition distances or varying themStarting close, staying at competition distances, varying distance or shooting long: what studies on archers have measured, and how firmly.

Research lines

• 21 studiesDistance, group size and score
• 45 studiesTraining volume and load: from 1966 to today

Other claims in this domain

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• ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
• ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023

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