Historically, archery was an essential skill that people needed to possess so that they could survive. It was also considered a sport that people loved to watch for entertainment and fun. Over recent years, many people managed to earn a decent living and a global reputation as world-class archers. So, how hard is Olympic archery?
Becoming an Olympic archer allows you to participate in world-class competitions with other members of your team, where you can play in the name of your country. In addition to the financial gain, you can achieve emotional satisfaction when you become a participant or a winner. Keep on reading to learn more about this fantastic sport.
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How Hard is Olympic Archery?
People who practice Olympic archery think of it as a sport and a profession. Olympic archers consider this as their job, and it’s a good-paying job
with long-term contracts and sponsorships that allow them to live comfortably. At the same time, they enjoy their time doing something that they really like, a privilege not enjoyed by lots of people.
You need to focus on lots of things if you want to become an Olympic archer. Most people start from a young age when they first realize that they love to use the bow and arrow. However, some people become interested in Olympic archery after they sustain injuries, as it’s an inclusive sport that is suitable for people who suffer from different types of physical abilities.
To become a professional archer, you need to be dedicated and devoted to your training. If someone is training between two and three hours a day, three times a week, they can become qualified for competitions after six months. Nevertheless, they will have to take several rounds and work hard to establish their status as professional archers. In most cases, people can become professional archers after training for about six years.
There’s no quick fix or a magic recipe that can help you become a better archer, as it’s all related to the time you give it, how serious you regard your training, and how hard you train every time to improve your scores. After winning national competitions, you’ll be eligible for joining the Olympic team, where you can represent your country in the Olympic Games.
Archery isn’t just about shooting lots of arrows but also about sticking to a program that makes you fit and helps you improve your level of accuracy for better shots. The most important thing is to be sure that you really want to do this and handle all the physical, mental, and emotional burdens associated with training to become an Olympic archer.
How to Become an Olympic Archer
Learning how to become an archer is just like learning any skill. It’s not impossible but not necessarily easy, especially if you want to excel at it. You have to train your body and mind to work in coordination to achieve your goal of becoming a qualified archer.
Just like learning any new skill or game, consistency and devotion are the keys to success. Training every day for shorter periods is more important than training for hours for a week or two. When you train for weeks, you build muscle memory, so your movements become involuntary as your mind knows how to move and react.
But first, you should ask yourself if you really want to learn Olympic archery. You need to make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons.
People who get into professional archery need to understand the responsibilities that come with this life choice. Here are a few things that you need to consider.
Make Lifestyle Changes
Whether you’re practicing archery while you’re studying or working, you need to understand that a few adjustments are needed to make room for your everyday training. Students will have to rearrange their work schedules to make time for regular training and might end up needing private tutoring to make sure that they’re not falling behind with their lessons.
If you’re working, you might have to make arrangements to make sure that you’re available for national competitions as well as regular training sessions. When people become professional archers, they usually change careers to something more flexible that allows them to travel and train as much as they need to or think of archery as their sole career.
Set Goals and Plans
Becoming an Olympic champion might be your long-term goal, but to get there, you need to focus on the short-term goals that require making day to day changes that take you one step closer at a time to your ultimate dream.
Even with lots of enthusiasm, you need a well-detailed plan that helps you understand the steps necessary to achieve your goal.
- You should find a professional trainer who can help you improve your shooting skills.
- You must record details concerning your training, including the points of weakness and areas for further improvement that you need to focus on.
- You should find a suitable time and location for regular training.
- You should invest in high-quality archery tools that help you improve your skills.
- You need to understand the different factors that can affect your level of performance to better improve your skills. These include the changes in weather, your fatigue level, and your mental state.
Work According to the Plan
After setting up a good plan, it will be time to implement it. In some cases, the plan set can be too challenging to be followed, and you will deviate from the preset training routine. This is normal, as it will help you understand your limits, so you can work on improving your level.
The training plan can be complicated or straightforward, depending on your needs and abilities. Once your plan is complete, you should start shooting and making changes, depending on how your shooting level changes.
Include Checks and Milestones
The same training plan won’t work forever, so you should make milestones and checks where you can evaluate the plan you’ve followed for a period to see if you could attain your goals. For example, you can set a specific score and work accordingly to see how fast you can realize it.
However, scores shouldn’t be a mental barrier as you can still be achieving good progress even if you haven’t achieved 100% of your goals. For a 70-meter round, you can deviate a little from the set score of 500, and you would still be on track, as you can efficiently analyze the reason why you weren’t able to achieve your initial goal.
Set the Time
Every plan should have a time-frame, so you can measure your progress and make the necessary changes. For example, the progress of 50 points can take about two months of training, as long as you’re training for about two hours three times a week.
Work on Your Fitness Level
In addition to your shooting training, you should work on your overall fitness level. Carrying the weight of the bow can be a little challenging, especially for beginners. Walking around the round, and carrying the bow, in addition to the draw weight, can be a little difficult if you don’t work on strengthening your muscles.
Other fitness routines include cycling and walking, which help keep you in shape. You can also go up and down the stairs instead of taking the lift, as this will help increase your level of tolerance.
Follow a Healthy Diet
In addition to the regular training, you need to think about your diet and weight. Following a healthy diet and staying away from junk food, smoking, and alcohol is essential, so you can focus on building your muscles.
Make sure that your diet is full of proteins that help build stronger muscles. You should also stay hydrated and sleep properly to have the energy needed for your training.
Get your Brain Ready
Archery is an excellent sport that can help you relieve stress. For this reason, you shouldn’t let the training strain you mentally or emotionally.
Your subconscious brain should be ready for the challenges that you’re going to face. You should watch top archers shoot their arrows, so you can copy their behavior when it’s time to shoot yours. This way, you can get mentally ready for the overall pressure of training. Archery should be the main focus that you think about every day.
How Difficult Is It to Become an Olympic Archer?
People spend years before they become Olympic archers, as they need to practice for years. Your salary as a professional archer and your ability to become an Olympian archer depends on your winnings. Starting early helps, but some people switch to archery when they give up other sports.
Determination is crucial because it will push you harder. You should also have the confidence to follow your dreams, no matter how challenging the obstacles are. If you have these two and the passion for archery, your dreams and goals will be attainable.
Olympic archers need to work with the Archery Trade Association to be aware of all the rules and information related to the sport. In most cases, they have their daily lives managed by professional coaches who help them organize their time, ensuring they’re training the way they should.
Once you’ve joined the Olympic Team, a group of experts will design a suitable training program aiming to elevate your shooting skills. This will include developing a nutrition program, helping you to stick to a healthy sleep schedule, and coming up with a good workout routine to keep you healthy.
Things You Need to Know About Archery
Archery has always been a crucial component in folk tales, movies, and historical events. You might be able to set an archery range in your backyard if you have adequate space, but if you want to be a professional archer, you should understand a few things about archery.
Archery Goes Way Back In Time
There are archeological pieces of evidence that show that people started practicing archery about 70,000 years ago. They used bows and arrows to hunt animals and defend their territories.
Arrowheads were found in archeological sites showing that people used arrows for hunting bears to protect themselves or feed on their meat. In the Mesolithic Age, people used arrows in wars, and cave paintings show that people used arrows to chase other archers.
There Are Different Types of Bow Styles
The most common types of bows are longbows and recurve bows. Recurve bows are fast and are suitable for beginners because they’re easier to control. Longbows are still easy to control, but they’re a bit more challenging than recurve bows, and the arrow doesn’t have as much power.
In the 1960s, the compound bow was invented. It uses a system of pulleys and cables to make the bow easier. Compound bows shoot arrows at higher speeds than recurve bows, but they require more maintenance due to more parts.
Olympic archers still use recurve bows, but they’re rather advanced with sights and stabilizers. These ensure consistent and accurate shots.
There Are Several Types of Archery
There are several types of archery that you can experiment with, depending on your skill level or your interests. Shooters can choose between 3D archery, field archery, traditional archery, or bowhunting. With enough practice, an archer will be able to participate in all types of archery.
Archery Is For Everyone
Archery is a sport for people of all ages, skill levels, and physical abilities. People who suffer from physical disabilities, including vision disabilities, can still shoot the arrow.
Olympic gold medalist Im Dong Hyun won Olympic competitions, although he is severely visually impaired. Archery is suitable for kids, from the age they’re tall enough to carry a bow until they’re 90 as long as they can stand steady.
Unlike other sports that people usually start practicing when they’re young, people can actually start practicing archery when they’re older. People can switch from other sports to archery after they stop practicing them. For example, people like Laura Bennett began shooting as an adult and became a professional archer who won several championships.
Archery is Safe
Although bows and arrows are considered weapons, archery is actually one of the safest sports. The risk of injuries is three times less than the risk associated with practicing golf. Most archery injuries occur when archers are bowhunting.
The main reason why archery is incredibly safe is related to the dedication of trained instructors who introduce archers to safety rules that should be followed on the range. Several safety rules should be followed in the archery range, and whistles are used to ensure that archers know when it’s safe to shoot and retrieve their arrows.
- An archer shouldn’t point a bow at another person.
- Wearing adequate clothing is mandatory to guarantee that no clothing or a piece of accessory will get caught in the bowstring.
- Before shooting, the archer should check his or her equipment.
- An archer shouldn’t shoot at a target without a safe backstop.
Getting Started Doesn’t Need Much Equipment
Archery isn’t an expensive sport, and you don’t need anything but proper training and the bow and appropriate arrows. Most people start with recurve bows and only use some arrows with fletching and points.
You will also need sights, an armguard, a thumb ring, and a quiver. If you’re using a compound bow, you will use sights, a release aid, and an arrow rest.
Trainer bows are not that expensive, and you can use them until you’re ready to advance to the next level. If you’re training at an archery club, the club might lend you the equipment until you’re ready to buy your own. High-quality bows and arrows will last for years.
Archery Is Good For Your Health
Archery can strengthen your mental and physical skills. It’s not a high-impact sport, but it builds core muscles and muscles in the arms and shoulders. It also improves posture and mental focus.
When you practice archery, you walk a lot to burn calories and become too fit. During medal runs in the Olympics, an average archer burns about 1084 calories.
Getting Started is Easy
To begin your journey as a professional archer, you can start by taking a few lessons to see if you like it. Training with a real pro will help you understand if archery is the right sport for you.
Because it’s not a competitive team sport, archery allows you to advance at your own pace. You can be too serious or too flexible with your training, depending on how fast your level improves.
Even if you’re not physically strong, you can start your training with a low-poundage trainer bow. As you progress, you will be able to handle a heavier bow to propel a faster arrow.
If you’ve been practicing archery for quite some time, you should consult a professional archery coach to train for Olympic archery. They will advise you with the equipment you should buy and the training regimen you need to follow to become a better archer.
Wrap Up
Becoming an Olympic archer is a long-time process that requires regular training and lots of discipline. Anyone can start practicing archery as it’s one of the most inclusive sports. Since it’s not a team sport, you can advance at your own pace.
Once you have won several national competitions, you should think about joining the Olympic Team to represent your country in world-class competitions. Most professional archers view this sport as their career and financial income because they dedicate all their time to regular practice and competitions.
The good news is that you can become a professional archer. There are lots of training options available, so you can work on improving your level.