Static stretching before shooting does not change the score
1 study · 30 archers measured
The summary today
The registry holds a single study comparing static stretching with no stretching before shooting: 30 intermediate Turkish archers, 15 women and 15 men of about 17, shoot 30 arrows at 18 metres on three different days in random order, after five minutes of easy running and their usual warm-up. After static stretching, three sets of 15 seconds on five shoulder exercises, the score is 245.5 against 246.2 without stretching: less than one point out of 300, with a spread between archers of 12 to 14 points. The test gives p = 0.055, though, just above the threshold, so the null result is borderline: with thirty people a difference this small can be neither confirmed nor ruled out. What can be said is that in this sample static stretching did no visible harm over a short test, not that it makes no difference in competition or for stronger archers. The authors cite a 2016 Turkish paper in which static stretching reportedly made no difference to performance, but it could not be verified and the registry does not count it. In the same study dynamic stretching lowered the score to 244.8, and that is a separate entry in the registry.
Also phrased as: "stretching before shooting"; "static stretching in the warm-up"; "shoulder stretching before competition"; "stretching saps strength"
In practice
You hear that static stretching before shooting loosens the shoulders and helps the aim, and also the opposite: that stretching the muscles before competing leaves them less ready to hold the load.
Evidence
-
2021
For Archers Published later
30 intermediate Turkish archers, 15 women and 15 men of about 17, in three conditions in random order 72 hours apart: after static shoulder stretching the score over 30 arrows at 18 m is 245.47 ± 13.58 against 246.20 ± 12.19 without stretching (Wilcoxon Z = -1.92, p = 0.055).
Acute Effect of Dynamic and Static Stretching Exercises on Targeting Performance in Archery · Bulent Turna, Burcu Bayazit, Mehmet Emre Eryucel, Mustafa Yildiz, Mehmet Bilgin Karademir
-
2021
Context Archers Published later
The protocol: five minutes of submaximal running and a sport-specific warm-up, then three sets of 15 seconds with 10 seconds' rest on five shoulder exercises. The p of 0.055 sits just above the threshold: the null result is not clear-cut, and with thirty people a difference of 0.7 points can be neither confirmed nor ruled out.
Acute Effect of Dynamic and Static Stretching Exercises on Targeting Performance in Archery · Bulent Turna, Burcu Bayazit, Mehmet Emre Eryucel, Mustafa Yildiz, Mehmet Bilgin Karademir
Status history
- 2021 Reported The only study of the question that the registry has been able to verify is a crossover on thirty intermediate archers: after static shoulder stretching the score over 30 arrows at 18 metres is 245.5 against 246.2 without stretching. The difference comes close to the threshold, though (p = 0.055), so the null result is borderline rather than clear, and there is only one study: evidence in favour, and limited.
Related
Related articles
- Thoracic mobility, diaphragmatic breathing and HRVThoracic mobility, diaphragmatic breathing and HRV for archers: the exercises, an eight-week protocol and what the studies on archers show.
- Warming up before shooting: what static stretching, dynamic stretching and foam rolling changeStatic stretching, dynamic stretching or foam rolling before you shoot: what studies on archers measured, how much it moves the score and where the data stop.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Static stretching before shooting does not change the score (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/static-stretching-before-shooting
@misc{campagna2026_stretchingstaticopretiro,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Static stretching before shooting does not change the score},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/static-stretching-before-shooting},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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