Archery does not build the trunk muscles the way other sports do

The summary today

Only one study has measured archers' trunk muscles alongside those of other athletes, but it did so with magnetic resonance imaging on 352 Japanese athletes of national and international level, 88 of them archers. Adjusted for height, adult male archers have a smaller psoas, erector spinae and lateral abdominal wall than wrestlers, and the gap is already complete at 16 to 18: in that age band the archers have 50.4 cm² of lateral abdominals against the wrestlers' 62.9, and 53.4 of erectors against 58.7. Female archers have smaller lateral abdominals than table tennis players and gymnasts, and as adults smaller erectors too, along with a smaller rectus abdominis than the gymnasts. Between the age of 12 and adulthood the cross-section of archers' trunk muscles hardly changes, except for the rectus abdominis in the men, which goes from 11.9 to 15.6 cm². Archers come off worse against wrestlers, gymnasts and table tennis players, however, not across the board: against peers who do no sport, the young athletes in the same study, archers included, have on average cross-sections 50 to 66 per cent larger in the lateral abdominals, the psoas and the erectors, although that comparison is made with values published elsewhere. A single cross-sectional study, with small subgroups, such as the 7 wrestlers aged 16 to 18 or the 11 adult male archers: the evidence in favour is there and it is limited.

Also phrased as: "archery does not train the core"; "archers have weak trunks"; "archers' abdominal muscles"; "trunk muscles in archers and other athletes"; "archery does not work the back"

Evidence

• 2015
  Context Archers Published later

  Five Chinese archers of Xibo ethnicity compared with 18 footballers and 7 judoka, in a conference paper from a venue with questionable editorial standards: over 100 metres the archers are slower (14.62 seconds against 13.65 and 13.53), over 1,500 metres and in the long jump there are no differences, and in the backward shot throw they beat the footballers (9.30 against 8.47 metres) but stay below the judoka (10.98). It does not measure the trunk muscles, so it does not enter the comparison the claim makes.

  Physique Characteristics of Ethnic Archers Based on R-cluster Matrix Questionable venue · Yunfeng Wang, Yinan Ma

• 2017
  For Archers Published later

  352 Japanese athletes of national and international level, magnetic resonance imaging at the level of the lower lumbar vertebrae, cross-sections divided by height squared. Among adult men the archers have the smallest psoas of the five sports compared, significantly below the wrestlers, and also smaller erector spinae and lateral abdominals than the wrestlers (p < 0.05).

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

• 2017
  For Archers Published later

  Among boys aged 16 to 18, 26 archers and 7 wrestlers, the wrestlers have larger cross-sections in all four muscles (p < 0.05): rectus abdominis 13.6 against 16.5 cm², lateral abdominals 50.4 against 62.9, psoas 31.5 against 36.8, erector spinae 53.4 against 58.7. The gap with wrestling is already complete before adulthood.

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

• 2017
  For Archers Published later

  In girls aged 16 to 18 and in adult women the lateral abdominals, divided by height squared, are smaller in the archers than in the table tennis players and gymnasts (p < 0.05). Among the adults, 15 archers, 13 table tennis players and 10 gymnasts, the table tennis players and gymnasts also have larger erector spinae and the gymnasts a larger rectus abdominis; the adult female archers' values are 11.3 cm² of rectus, 36.3 of lateral abdominals, 21.3 of psoas and 39.6 of erectors.

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  In the 88 archers (45 male and 43 female) the cross-section of the trunk muscles does not change between 12 to 15, 16 to 18 and adulthood, with one exception: the men's rectus abdominis, 11.9 cm² at 12 to 15 (8 archers), 13.6 at 16 to 18 (26) and 15.6 as adults (11; p < 0.05). In the women there is no difference between age bands. It is a comparison between different groups, not the same archers followed over the years.

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  In adult male archers the rectus abdominis makes up a larger share of the total trunk than in any other sport compared, significantly more than in table tennis, and the obliques a smaller share than in wrestling; in female archers aged 16 to 18 the obliques are the lowest share and the psoas the highest among the sports compared. Archers' trunks are built differently, not just smaller.

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  Compared with published values for non-athlete students, the study's 124 athletes aged 16 to 18, from six disciplines including archery, have on average cross-sections 16 ± 22 per cent larger in the rectus abdominis, 53 ± 20 in the lateral abdominals, 66 ± 18 in the psoas and 50 ± 12 in the erectors, the only exception being the basketball players' rectus. Archers too have more developed trunks than peers who do no sport; the comparison, though, is with data collected in another study.

  Age- and athletic event-related differences in trunk muscularity in junior athletes: A comparison with the results for the senior athletes · Kayo Shitara, Yoichi Katsumata, Daisuke Kumagawa, Tatsuaki Ikeda, Yuichi Hirano

Status history

1. 2015 Not studied The first comparison between archers and athletes from other sports concerns physical fitness, not the trunk: five Chinese archers, in a conference paper from a venue with questionable editorial standards, are slower than footballers and judoka over 100 metres and fall between the two in the backward shot throw. Nobody has yet measured archers' trunk muscles alongside those of other athletes, so there is no evidence on the question.
2. 2017 Reported The first and so far only comparison arrives with magnetic resonance imaging on 352 Japanese athletes, 88 of them archers. Adjusted for height, adult male archers have a smaller psoas, erectors and lateral abdominals than wrestlers, and the gap is already complete at 16 to 18; female archers have smaller lateral abdominals than table tennis players and gymnasts, and between 12 and adulthood archers' trunks hardly change. Against peers who do no sport, however, the young athletes in the study, archers included, have much more developed trunks. A single cross-sectional study, with small subgroups: reported.

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Research lines

• 63 studiesThe archer's physical profile: strength, endurance and size
• 22 studiesThe archer's body: metabolism, energy cost and body weight since 1981

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