I am newb to archery (6 months) and recently bought my first bow. It is 4-5 lbs heavier than the club bows I used but could still draw it comfortably (without excessive shaking at the pro shop). However, I feel my accuracy is going down due to collapsing in my form. I do not have the option to get a lighter bow - any suggestions to build up to the current bow I have?

Try drawing and holding at anchor for 10 seconds 10 times also use mirror to watch your form and then increase till you can hold for 30 seconds,try for 30 days,results guaranteed.....

QuoteOriginally posted by arky714:
Try drawing and holding at anchor for 10 seconds 10 times also use mirror to watch your form and then increase till you can hold for 30 seconds,try for 30 days,results guaranteed.....

thanks Ark - will certainly give that a try.  

Arts recommendation is good. In additional, get your bow in position. Then pull back and hold for 5 seconds, let up (bow arm still up) and immediately draw again and hold for another 5 seconds. Do five sets of these with as many reps as you can handle. You'll eventually want 10 reps per set and 5 sets total.

Don't try to make increases too fast, you'll want near to perfect form when you do these. You could also face posible strains which could also set you back by trying to get where you want too fast. Slow but steady climb is what you want.

In addition make sure that you warm up and stretch for at least 10-15 minutes before and after the these excercises.

I'd also recommend shooting with a form master for a while instead of target practice.

All suggestion posted above are good and work but if you have the time and place you might even look into starting a workout routine to stregnthen your upper body. After awhile this weight will be no problem. This stregnth training will also help during hunting bigger game like elk and moose when packing out those big quarters or dragging heavy game out. Just a suggestion so those who don't like working out don't flame me here.

Be careful what form you use to draw the bow.  Being over bowed with a swing draw can blow your bow shoulder.  Just stick your bow arm straight out and pull the string back with a low and back bow shoulder.

I swithched to a bow that was only 4 lbs less in draw weight, and it made a huge difference in my shooting, if that helps.

It doesn't take long for you to get stronger for the bow. Besides, pulling heavier bows will allow you to pull lighter bows with more ease. After having trained with my 100# warbow a few times now, I can pull my 70# bows (and even overdraw them by several inches) with amazingly little effort. It's awesome!

Thank you all for the great advice.

Timothy Ray  i have 65# recurve  can it be cut down to less weight

It's mentioned above but my dad used to shoot a very heavy bow every few days so that his tournament bow would feel lighter and be easier to pull. You can't shoot the heavy bow until you are at muscle failure and your form goes or you will potentially develop bad habits. Just shoot it as long as you can and then stop or just do pulling exercises.

Whump Sez: There are no wrong answers above as far as I am concerned. You can also have your bow poundage lightened 5 lbs by a bow builder, if that is not an option here is a good exercise to strengthen your back muscles. Put one hand palm down on a chair or work out bench,bend over and  keep your back parallel to the floor . Grab a dumbbell and pull the weight straight back to your chest. Do this on each arm, concentrate on using your back muscles to lift the weight.20lbs is plenty weight to start with and you can do multiple reps to build your endurance.You can also use a cloth or burlap bag filled with weight and grab the material to do the lift and this will strengthen your grip. Just use your head and don't over do it to start. Good luck.  Hunt safe