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Higher-level archers carry more muscle mass

2 studies · 27 archers measured

ForContextAgainst20202022202420262024, for, n = 152024, context, n = 152020, context, n = 12
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

Two small studies look at the muscle mass of archers of different levels, and only one finds a difference that survives the statistical test. In 2020, in twelve young Malaysian recurve archers split into two groups by score, the better group had 34.9 per cent muscle mass against 29.9, but the difference sits just above the significance threshold (p = 0.055), and the mass is read from an electronic scale without the paper saying how it is estimated. In 2024, in fifteen Japanese university kyudo archers, those with national placings had a higher skeletal muscle index, 6.7 against 6.0 kg/m², without being taller, heavier or more experienced; but they also shot twenty more arrows a day, and the stronger group was all male against half of the other, so the difference is mixed up with sex and with how much they shoot. It is a single supporting study, on kyudo, and nobody says whether the muscle comes before the level or whether hours of shooting bring both. Grip strength, which in the same studies is higher in the better archers, has its own entry.

Also phrased as: "strong archers have more muscle"; "muscle mass and archer level"; "body composition and level"; "muscle mass and archery performance"

In practice

Archers hear that strong archers have a more muscular build, and that putting on muscle raises your level.

Evidence

  • 2020
    Context Archers Published later

    12 young state-level Malaysian recurve archers (9 boys and 3 girls, aged 16.0 ± 1.6), split into two groups of six on 36 arrows at 70 m: skeletal muscle mass, read directly from an electronic scale (Omron HBF-375) without the paper saying how it is estimated, is a median 34.9 per cent in the better group against 29.9 (Z = -1.92, p = 0.055) and correlates with score at 0.47 (p = 0.124). The expected direction, but with twelve archers the difference is not shown, and the paper does not say how the three girls were split between the groups.

    Anthropometric And Physical Fitness Components Comparison between High- And Low-Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli

  • 2024
    For Kyudo archers Published later

    15 Japanese university kyudo archers, 7 with national placings and 8 without, body composition measured with an InBody 770: those with national placings have a skeletal muscle mass index of 6.7 ± 0.3 kg/m² against 6.0 ± 0.7 (p = 0.04), but are not taller (169.1 against 162.0 cm, p = 0.09), heavier (61.5 against 54.5 kg, p = 0.11) or more experienced (77.3 against 62.0 months of practice, p = 0.27).

    Relationship between mood and sleep status with performance accuracy in university kyudo athletes · Masaki Yoshioka, Misato Takada, Makinori Matsuo, Seiji Maeda, Keisei Kosaki

  • 2024
    Context Kyudo archers Published later

    Same study, what confounds the comparison: those with national placings shoot 62.9 ± 21.4 arrows a day against 42.5 ± 11.6 (p = 0.04), also have more grip (41.6 ± 3.7 kg against 31.4 ± 7.0, p = 0.004), and the group was all male against 50 per cent of the other (p = 0.03), which the authors themselves flag as a limit.

    Relationship between mood and sleep status with performance accuracy in university kyudo athletes · Masaki Yoshioka, Misato Takada, Makinori Matsuo, Seiji Maeda, Keisei Kosaki

Status history

  1. 2020 Not studied The first comparison of archers of different levels to measure muscle mass: twelve young Malaysian recurve archers, nine boys and three girls, split into two groups of six on 36 arrows at 70 metres. The better group had 34.9 per cent muscle mass against 29.9, in the expected direction, but the difference sits just above the significance threshold (p = 0.055). An unconfirmed trend in twelve archers is not enough to count as supporting evidence: it stays as context, and the question stays unanswered.
  2. 2024 Reported In fifteen Japanese university kyudo archers, those who already had national placings had a skeletal muscle index of 6.7 against 6.0 kg/m² (p = 0.04), without being taller, heavier or more experienced. But they shot 63 arrows a day against 43, and the stronger group was all male against half of the other. A single supporting study, on kyudo and with sex confounding the comparison: reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.

See the full assessment
Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Higher-level archers carry more muscle mass (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/muscle-mass-archer-level

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_presamassalivello,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Higher-level archers carry more muscle mass},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/muscle-mass-archer-level},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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