Archers who start lower gain more points from training

The summary today

No study on archers was designed to answer this, and the answers we have are read off the tables of small programmes without a control group, nearly always through the spread of scores before and after. The only one that publishes each archer's score points in the claim's direction: twelve club youngsters after eighteen sessions of a Bosu circuit, with gains of 41 to 80 points and the largest in those who started lowest (the archer who started on 204 gains 77 points, the one who started on 226 gains 41). Pointing the same way are a bodyweight circuit in twelve high-school archers, where the gap between the weakest and the strongest shrinks from 144 to 107 points, and an aerobic circuit in eleven youngsters, in a journal with questionable editorial standards. Pointing the other way are two programmes from 2019: in one the standard deviation of the score at 70 metres goes from 5 to 16, in the other all twelve archers improve but the gaps between them stay as they were. The method matters too, because in a single experiment the fixed distance narrows the group and the varied one widens it. And nobody has removed regression to the mean: an archer who shoots very badly on the day of the first test tends to shoot better the next time even without training.

Also phrased as: "those behind improve most"; "diminishing returns from training"; "the better you are the less you improve"; "gains and starting level"; "low scorers improve the most"; "beginners improve faster"; "the further behind you are the more you gain"; "regression to the mean in archery scores"; "conditioning evens out the group"; "weaker archers gain the most"; "those behind catch up"; "training levels out the squad"

Evidence

• 2018
  Context Archers Published later

  8 young recurve archers, four weeks of exercises for the bow-arm deltoid with kinesio tape applied before training, no control: over 30 arrows at 18 metres the mean goes from 224.6 to 248.4 points and the standard deviation from 37.8 to 26.0, with the weakest gaining 52 points and the best 5. It is taping during ordinary training, in a journal with questionable editorial standards.

  The Effect of 4-Week Training with Shoulder Kinesio-Taping on Shooting Accuracy of Young Archers Questionable venue · Olcay Mülazımoğlu, Yakup Akif Afyon, Selçuk Sayılır, Ayşe Salgın

• 2018
  Context Archers Published later

  24 children in the last two years of primary school on an archery course, sixteen sessions over two months of a six-station circuit of technical drills: those above the group mean drop from 12 to 8, those below from 10 to 6, and the mean technique score rises from 22.3 to 26.0. The scores bunch together, but this is technical work with beginners, not conditioning.

  Pengaruh Metode Latihan Sirkuit terhadap Keterampilan Memanah · Arisman

• 2019
  Against Archers Published later

  6 archers aged 18 to 22, a cycle of strength-endurance exercises for the arms with no control group: the mean score at 70 metres rises from 127.3 to 191.3, but the standard deviation goes from 5.0 to 15.9. The archers improve, but not together: the gap between the best and the worst widens.

  Special exercises and their effect on endurance, arm strength and aiming accuracy for bow and arrow players · Saif Harith Ibrahim, Mohammed Abdul Shaheed Hassan, Mohammed Abdel Moneim Taher

• 2019
  Against Archers Published later

  12 club archers in Indonesia, a programme with dumbbells and bands and no control, score at 30 metres: all twelve improve, but the standard deviation of the score barely moves, from 43.1 to 41.4. Everyone goes up a step and the gaps between them stay as they were.

  Pengaruh latihan dumbell-thera band terhadap daya tahan otot lengan dan akurasi memanah pada atlet panahan · Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie

• 2019
  Context Archers Published later

  30 archers from a club in Palembang, 15 of whom spend six weeks doing three sessions a week of walking and running around a 50 m square: in the 12-minute run the best goes from 2.45 to 2.80 km and the worst from 1.44 to 1.74, an average gain of 0.44 km. The one in front gains slightly more, but the measure is endurance, not the score.

  Pengaruh Latihan Square terhadap Daya Tahan Aerobic Atlet Sriwijaya Archery Club · Arisman

• 2021
  Context Archers Published later

  10 novice women archers from a club in Jambi, six weeks of renegade rows with no control: on the dynamometer the mean rises from 38.5 to 43.9, the standard deviation drops from 7.8 to 6.8 and the range goes from 28-50 to 32-53. The group closes up slightly, on strength rather than on the score, in a journal with doubtful editorial standards.

  Pengaruh Latihan Renegade Row Terhadap Kekuatan Otot Lengan Pada Atlet Panahan Klub Archery Kobar Kota Jambi Questionable venue · Rosa Windasari

• 2022
  For Archers Published later

  12 male high-school archers, training at home during the pandemic with a bodyweight circuit, eighteen sessions counting the two tests, score at 50 metres: before, a minimum of 123 and a maximum of 267 points (standard deviation 37.98), after, a minimum of 200 and a maximum of 307 (29.01). The group's range falls from 144 to 107 points. Individual gains are not reported, and the minimum and maximum may not belong to the same people before and after.

  Circuit bodyweight training: does it affect increasing arm muscle endurance and archery accuracy in pandemic conditions? · Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie, Suharjana, Ridho Gata Wijaya, Ahmad Nasrulloh

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  11 adult beginners, three sessions of 100 arrows at 8 metres: those with the highest scores on the first day tend to improve less between the first and third days, but the comparison between the best 5 and the rest is not significant (p = 0.22).

  Archery under the (electroencephalography-)hood: Theta-lateralization as a marker for motor learning · Stefan Rampp, Kai Spindler, Gesa Hartwigsen, Christian Scheller, Sebastian Simmermacher, Maximilian Scheer, et al.

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  20 club archers in two groups of 10: with the fixed distance the standard deviation of the score falls from 8.84 to 7.44 points, with varying distances it rises from 9.27 to 10.46. Similar starting groups narrow or widen depending on the method, in a journal with questionable editorial standards.

  The Effect of Fixed and Changing Distance Drilling Exercise Methods on Archery Accuracy Questionable venue · Muhammad Wahyu D. Saing, Suharjana, Ahmad Nasrulloh, Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie, Afeb Chesa Arianto

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  15 university archers, eight weeks of weights using the compound set method: grip strength rises on average from 82.72 to 111.67 (up 35 per cent), but the standard deviation grows from 23.07 to 27.79, so the differences between archers widen. This is strength, not score.

  The effect of weight training with compound set method on strength and endurance among archery athletes · Ahmad Nasrulloh, Yudik Prasetyo, Sigit Nugroho, Rina Yuniana, Kukuh Wahyudin Pratama

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  12 archers aged 14 to 17 from a club in Bantul, eighteen sessions of a Bosu circuit without a control group, test at 30 metres: starting scores range from 204 to 227 and gains from 41 to 80 points, with the largest gains in those who started lowest: the archer who started on 204 gained 77 points, the one who started on 226 gained 41. Without a control the effect of the programme cannot be separated from regression to the mean.

  Circuit training bosu ball: effect on balance and accuracy of archery athletes · Heru Prasetyo, Siswantoyo, Yudik Prasetyo, Amri Hartanto

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  11 archers aged 10 to 13, about eight weeks of aerobic circuit training, a single group: the standard deviation of the score over 36 arrows falls from 22.57 to 14.50 and the range moves from 250-315 to 289-329, so those who were behind catch up. Individual data are not published, and the journal has questionable editorial standards.

  The Effect of Aerobic Circuit Training on Muscle Resistance, Cardiorespiratory Endurance, and Accuracy Among Archery Athletes Questionable venue · Muh Batistuta Fitoni N, Yudik Prasetyo, Heru Prasetyo

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  10 archers from a shooting school in Palembang, twelve sessions at increasing distances, a single group: gains of 40 to 65 points and a standard deviation rising from 7.37 to 9.00. From the individual data, those who started lower gain slightly more (the archer who started on 90 gains 57 points, the one who started on 115 gains 48), but the link is weak, and the spread grows because the gains vary.

  Effect of training phased distance training method the archer's shooting ability · Betaria Dwijawanti, M. Haris Satria

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  16 archers from the Jakarta regional squad, a wall-squat and plank programme with no control: the mean plank result rises from 3.94 to 8.81 but the minimum stays at 1 before and after, and the final values are strongly skewed (Shapiro-Wilk W=0.738, p below 0.001, against W=0.921 before), even though the authors declare them normally distributed. In the wall squat the minimum rises from 35 to 65 and the maximum from 144 to 214. The rise in the mean looks driven by a few athletes.

  Kondisi Fisik: Wall Squat Dan Core and Plank Pada Atlet Pelatda PON Panahan DKI Jakarta 2024 · Ferry Yohanes Wattimena, Octavian Serka Yudha Pratama, Aridhotul Haqiyah

Status history

1. 2018 Not studied The first data that can be read this way do not concern a training programme proper. In eight young archers training with kinesio tape on the shoulder the weakest gains 52 points and the best 5, and the standard deviation falls from 37.8 to 26.0, but it is taping during normal training, with no control and in a journal with questionable editorial standards; in twenty-four children on an archery course a circuit of technical drills pulls the scores towards the group mean, but it is technical work with beginners. Both stay as context, and the question is still unanswered.
2. 2019 Contradicted Two conditioning programmes without a control group go against the claim. After a strength-endurance cycle in six archers the mean score at 70 metres rises from 127 to 191, but the standard deviation goes from 5 to 16: everyone improves, but not together. With dumbbells and bands all twelve archers in a club improve, and the standard deviation barely moves, from 43.1 to 41.4. A third programme, of walking and running, measures endurance rather than points. These are small groups read through the spread, not through individual gains: contradicted, not refuted.
3. 2022 Contested The first data in favour on a proper conditioning programme arrive: after a bodyweight circuit in twelve high-school archers the weakest goes from 123 to 200 points and the strongest from 267 to 307, and the gap between them shrinks from 144 to 107. The same year, among eleven beginners those who start better improve a little less, without significance, and in a comparison between methods the fixed distance narrows the group while the varied one widens it. One study in favour and two against: contested.
4. 2023 Contested The first study to publish each archer's score arrives: twelve club youngsters, eighteen sessions of a Bosu circuit, gains of 41 to 80 points, the largest in those who started lowest (the archer who started on 204 gains 77 points, the one who started on 226 gains 41). The same year an aerobic circuit in eleven youngsters narrows the spread of the score by more than a third, but in a journal with questionable editorial standards. The most readable data point in favour, the two against can be read only through the spread, and none has a control group: the status stays contested.
5. 2024 Contested Ten archers from an archery school, twelve sessions at increasing distances: the spread rises from 7.4 to 9.0, yet in the individual data those who started lower gain slightly more (the archer who started on 90 gains 57 points, the one who started on 115 gains 48). It shows how misleading standard deviations alone can be, and the two studies against rest on exactly that; a programme of wall squats and planks in sixteen archers measures strength, not points. Neither moves the status: contested.

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Research lines

• 39 studiesPhysical training interventions: what has been tested
• 102 studiesFrom the total on the scorecard to the arrow's coordinates

Other claims in this domain

• ReportedA battery of physical tests identifies the most promising young archers7 studies · 373 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA few weeks of archery improves children's balance1 study · 32 archers measuredStatus since 2009
• ReportedA mobility and stretching programme improves an archer's flexibility1 study · 30 archers measuredStatus since 2025
• ReportedA spell of reduced training makes the score drop1 study · 9 archers measuredStatus since 2021
• ReportedA strength programme away from the range increases an archer's measured strength15 studies · 316 archers measuredStatus since 2018

See all claims on physical training