A few weeks of core exercises change an archer's measured strength and stability

The summary today

Four studies have trained archers' core muscles for six to eight weeks and measured what changes in the body, and they do not point the same way. In favour: in thirty Iranian amateur archers, six weeks of bodyweight exercises raise the strength of the shoulder's internal rotators by about 2.4 kg compared with the control group, from equal starting values, and in twelve young Malaysian archers eight weeks reduce body sway on the force plate. Against: in fifteen sedentary adults on their first traditional archery course, adding seven weeks of stabilisation work changes no measure compared with the course alone, neither the plank nor the trunk flexors and extensors nor balance, and within the trained group only the side bridge and the combined strength of transversus abdominis and multifidus improve. In between sits the tidiest randomised trial, thirty national-level Indian archers: the group combining Pilates and balance work pulls away from the control group on only one of four lumbopelvic stability tests, while on another it is the balance-only group that does so. All the studies are small, two appear in regional journals and three have figures that do not add up, from a missing unit of measurement to a fall in sway of almost 90 per cent in a month. Something in the body changes, but what changes depends on who is training and which test is chosen.

Also phrased as: "core stability for archers"; "effects of core training"; "planks and trunk stability"; "pilates and lumbopelvic stability"; "trunk training in archery"

Evidence

• 2017
  For Archers Published later

  12 Malaysian archers aged between 13 and 19, randomised to eight weeks of core stability on top of their training or training alone, 6 per group: centre-of-pressure sway while shooting is smaller in the trained group on both axes, at four weeks (F(1,10) = 7.952, p = 0.018, d = 1.30, and F = 7.887, p = 0.019) and at eight (F = 10.899 and F = 11.105, p = 0.008). The authors also claim an effect on the plank and on push-ups, but the plank effect sizes are identical to those for lateral sway, probably a copying error. The fall in sway, from 193.52 to 24.21 in four weeks (87 per cent, 89 by eight weeks) against 16 per cent in the control group, is hard to take at face value, and the unit of measurement is not given.

  The Effectiveness of a Core Muscles Stability Program in Reducing the Postural Sway of Adolescent Archers: A Panacea for a better Archery Performance · Pathmanathan K. Suppiah, Tomny Wong Kee Kiet, Rabiu Muazu Musa, Mohamad Razali Abdullah, Jeffrey Low Fook Lee, Ahmad Bisyri Husin Musawi Maliki

• 2022
  For Archers Published later

  30 male Iranian amateur archers aged 18 to 24, who had trained three times a week for at least a year, split into 15 and 15 with a stated random allocation: six weeks of six bodyweight exercises (side and front plank, bird dog, diagonal crunch, bridge and hand-heel), three one-hour sessions a week with holds rising from 8 to 12 seconds to 14 to 20. Internal rotator strength at the shoulder, on a handheld dynamometer, rises by 2.56 kg in the trained group (p = 0.001) and falls by 0.25 in the control group (p = 0.483); the groups started level (difference -0.39 kg, p = 0.260) and at the end the advantage is 2.43 kg (t(28) = 6.535, p = 0.001). The sign of the differences changes between Tables 2 and 3 because the first subtracts the post-test from the pre-test and the second the control group from the trained group: the figures add up only when read that way. A regional journal, and in the participants' table the body mass index values (66 and 69) are plainly body weights under a mistaken label.

  The Role of Core Stability Exercises on Internal Rotator Cuff Muscles Strength and its Motor Function in Amateur Archers · Farhad Safari Zanjani, Ali Haghani, Seyyed Hossein Mousavi, Hooman Safari Zanjani, Surhat Muniroglu

• 2022
  For Archers Published later

  The same study, the upper-limb reach test (Y-Balance): it improves in the trained group (p = 0.001) and sits at the borderline in the control group (p = 0.054), with a difference between groups at the end (p = 0.022). The mean differences reported are 0.01 to 0.02, with no understandable unit, so the size of the change cannot be judged. The shooting score was not measured.

  The Role of Core Stability Exercises on Internal Rotator Cuff Muscles Strength and its Motor Function in Amateur Archers · Farhad Safari Zanjani, Ali Haghani, Seyyed Hossein Mousavi, Hooman Safari Zanjani, Surhat Muniroglu

• 2022
  Against Archers Published later

  15 sedentary adults aged 18 to 23 on their first traditional archery course, randomised to the course alone or the course plus two weekly sessions of core stabilisation, for seven weeks (9 and 6 people): at the end no measure separates the two groups (for instance, right side bridge 44.9 against 42.0 seconds, p = 1.000). The front plank does not change in either group (from 35.4 to 37.2 seconds with core work, p = 0.678; from 44.9 to 53.1 in the control group, p = 0.463), and the same holds for trunk flexor and extensor endurance and for sit-ups and push-ups in 30 seconds. A small pilot in a regional journal, on complete beginners.

  Geleneksel Okçuluk Eğitimi Alan Bireylerde Stabilizasyon Egzersizlerinin Core Kas Fonksiyonu ve Denge Üzerine Etkisinin Karşılaştırılması: Pilot Çalışma · Bahar Kulunkoglu, Sevilay Seda Baş, Büşra Kalkan Balak, Melahat Sayan

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  The same study, what changes within the core group: the side bridge goes from 27.2 to 44.9 seconds on the right (p = 0.008) and from 28.7 to 43.3 on the left (p = 0.028), and the combined strength of transversus abdominis and multifidus from 3.55 to 6.44 mmHg (p = 0.048), while transversus measured alone does not move (from 6.67 to 7.88 mmHg, p = 0.553). Those who were only shooting also improve the left side bridge and balance on the left leg, so the changes within groups are not enough to separate the effect of core work from that of the course.

  Geleneksel Okçuluk Eğitimi Alan Bireylerde Stabilizasyon Egzersizlerinin Core Kas Fonksiyonu ve Denge Üzerine Etkisinin Karşılaştırılması: Pilot Çalışma · Bahar Kulunkoglu, Sevilay Seda Baş, Büşra Kalkan Balak, Melahat Sayan

• 2022
  Context Review Published later

  A review of 21 studies on postural and core stability in athletes from various sports: core and balance programmes of 4 to 8 weeks improve balance, trunk strength and trunk endurance, but the carry-over to performance remains uncertain, and in several studies throwing velocity or running economy does not change. There is no intervention study on archery; the authors flag small samples and few high-level athletes as a limitation.

  The Role of Neuromuscular Control of Postural and Core Stability in Functional Movement and Athlete Performance · Erika Zemková, Ludmila Zapletalová

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  30 male national-level Indian archers randomised into three groups of ten for six weeks, three sessions a week: Pilates plus balance work, balance work alone, nothing added. Lumbopelvic stability is measured with a pressure biofeedback unit: on the left bent knee fall-out test only the Pilates plus balance group improves compared with the control group (from 46.90 to 43.30 mmHg against 46.30 to 49.50; F = 6.31, partial eta squared 0.195, p = 0.018; comparison with control p = 0.02), while against balance work alone the difference does not hold (p = 0.07).

  Effect of Pilates Exercise Combined with Balance Training on Lumbopelvic Stability and Shooting Accuracy in National Level Archers · Sadra Khan, Deepak Malhotra, Meenu Dhingra, Mohammad Ahsan, Shibili Nuhmani, Mohd Arshad Bari

• 2024
  Against Archers Published later

  The same study, the other three tests: on the right knee lift abdominal test the groups differ (F = 8.51, p = 0.007), but it is the balance-only group that pulls away from the control group (p = 0.03), while the Pilates group does not (p = 1); on the left, balance work alone improves compared with control (p = 0.02) and Pilates plus balance sits at the borderline (p = 0.05); on the right bent knee fall-out test no group stands out (F = 0.99, p = 0.328). Core work is trained together with balance work, so the study does not isolate what Pilates contributes.

  Effect of Pilates Exercise Combined with Balance Training on Lumbopelvic Stability and Shooting Accuracy in National Level Archers · Sadra Khan, Deepak Malhotra, Meenu Dhingra, Mohammad Ahsan, Shibili Nuhmani, Mohd Arshad Bari

• 2026
  Context Review Published later

  A systematic review of 15 exercise studies in archery: among them is a randomised trial on 20 university students with no archery experience, where four weeks of side planks, five days a week, change tremor and the median frequency of the middle deltoid but not the activity of serratus anterior, upper trapezius or lower trapezius. It is on people who do not shoot, so it does not enter the count for archers.

  Systematic Review of Exercise Interventions in Archery: Injury Management and Performance Outcomes · Ambusam Subramaniam, Fairus Fariza Zainudin, Mon Redee Sut Txi

Status history

1. 1990 Not studied No one in the registry's bibliography had yet trained archers' core muscles and measured what changes in their bodies.
2. 2017 Reported The first core stability programme on archers to measure the body before and after: twelve young Malaysian archers, six per group, eight weeks on top of their training. In the trained group centre-of-pressure sway while shooting falls on both axes compared with the control group, already at four weeks, and the authors claim an effect on the plank as well. The fall, almost 90 per cent in a month, is hard to take at face value and the unit is not stated: a single small study in favour, so reported.
3. 2022 Contested Two studies arrive in the same year and do not agree. In thirty Iranian amateur archers, six weeks of bodyweight core work three times a week raise internal rotator strength at the shoulder by 2.56 kg, while in the control group it falls by 0.25, with a final advantage of 2.4 kg from level starting points. In the Turkish randomised pilot on fifteen sedentary adults on their first traditional archery course, by contrast, no trunk or balance measure separates those who add core work from those who only shoot. A review of twenty-one studies from other sports says core programmes improve the trunk and balance, with no data on archers. The contrary result is weak, nine and six complete beginners in a pilot, but the two studies in favour are also small and have reporting problems: the studies on archers point in opposite directions, contested.
4. 2024 Contested The tidiest randomised trial so far, thirty national-level Indian archers in three groups of ten, reproduces the disagreement within a single study. The group combining Pilates and balance work improves compared with the control group on one lumbopelvic stability test, the left bent knee fall-out, while on the right knee lift it is the balance-only group that pulls away and the Pilates group does not, and the right bent knee fall-out separates no one. The contrary result no longer comes only from a pilot on beginners but also from national-level archers, in the best design this question has had: the studies point in opposite directions and the status stays contested.

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