At the same maximal strength, archers hold a steadier force than non-archers

The summary today

There is a single study, and it points the way the claim does. Sixty-five Turkish traditional archers and sixty-five sports science students held half of their maximal elbow flexion strength for thirty seconds while watching their own force curve on a screen. Maximal strength was the same in the two groups (71.2 against 71.5 kg, relative to body weight as well), but the archers fluctuated less, with a coefficient of variation of 6.17 per cent against 7.20, and stayed within 2 per cent of the target for 80 per cent of the time against 74. The difference is clear in men (4.26 against 5.97 per cent) and does not reach significance in women (9.04 against 10.47, p=0.44), who had on average four years of practice rather than six. In the first moments everyone homes in on the target in the same way: the difference lies in staying there, and the extra time the archers spend near the target is spent just below it, not above. It is a cross-sectional comparison, so it cannot say whether steadiness comes from shooting or leads people to it, and it was measured on the biceps of traditional archers, not at full draw or with an Olympic recurve.

Also phrased as: "archers hold force more steadily"; "force steadiness in archers"; "fine force control in archery"; "isometric hold in archers"; "it is not about strength but about steadiness"

Evidence

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  65 Turkish competitive traditional archers (33 men with 6±4 years of practice, 32 women with 4±2), measured before a university competition, and 65 sports science students with no experience of precision sports: elbow flexion at 90° on a preacher bench, first maximal strength, then 30 seconds at 50 per cent with the force curve shown live on a screen. Maximal strength was equal (71.2±23.4 against 71.5±17.2 kg, p=0.981; 1.03 against 1.07 kg per kg of body weight, p=0.274). Coefficient of variation of force 6.17 against 7.20 per cent (p=0.035), time within ±2 per cent of the target 80 against 74 per cent (p=0.026). In men 4.26 against 5.97 per cent (p=0.001) and 85 against 76 per cent of the time (p=0.008), with a faster first overshoot (0.050 against 0.061 s, p=0.046) and a deeper dip after it; in women 9.04 against 10.47 per cent (p=0.440), a difference that is not significant. Number of peaks and first oscillation identical in the two groups; the archers spend more time just below the target (49-50 per cent band: 37 against 30 per cent of the time, p=0.043), while above it they are no different. The authors did not compare men and women with each other.

  Geleneksel okçular ve okçu olmayan bireylerin kuvvette kararlılık özelliklerinin karşılaştırılması · Murat Çilli, Merve Nur Yaşar, Murat Can Çeken

Status history

1. 2025 Reported The first comparison in the bibliography between archers and non-archers on the ability to hold a force steady: 65 competitive traditional archers against 65 sports science students, thirty seconds at 50 per cent of maximal elbow flexion. Maximal strength is the same in the two groups, but the archers fluctuate less (coefficient of variation 6.17 against 7.20 per cent) and stay within the window 80 per cent of the time against 74. The effect is clear in men and does not reach significance in women, who had fewer years of practice. A single cross-sectional study, in a regional journal: reported.

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