Archery on the Brain

February 14th 2018:

As someone who every year buys several vintage bows on eBay, I know what he is feeling all too well.

Fortunately I also sometimes sell vintage bows, so my collection of vintage archery equipment is in a constant flux from year to year.

In other news, Happy Valentines Day!

BTW, archery lessons for the wife makes a great gift! Maybe give your Valentines an archery theme?

 

How much does genetics effect weight and weight loss?

There are 4 major factors involved in determining a person's weight, and consequently their ability to lose weight when they want to.

1. Dietary Habits
2. Fitness Habits
3. Metabolic Rate
4. Genetics

Dietary and fitness habits basically comes down to the lifestyle of the individual.

• How much are they eating?
• How nutritious is the food they are eating?
• How much do they exercise?
• How intense is the exercises they are doing?

So the number of calories consumed daily, the nutrition value of the food being consumed, the amount of exercise they are doing, and hopefully the exercises being done are intense enough that they get the heart rate pumping harder (a higher heart rate on a regular basis increases metabolism).

Diet, nutrition, exercise and intensity all in turn effect a person's metabolic rate. The faster their metabolism, the more fat they burn.

Thus if a person wanted to they could harness specific foods and exercises that deliberately boost their metabolic rate.

Likewise, the metabolic rate effects hunger, sleeping, stress levels and a host of other factors.

But what about Genetics?

So genetics do effect your body quite a bit, but that doesn't mean you have zero control over your ability to lose weight if you so want to.

Lets look at 5 different genes that effect weight gain/loss, and how you can actually work around that specific gene to invoke weight loss. Note, there is no 1 "fat gene". There are many different genes which affect weight gain/loss, these are just 5 of them that play major roles.

#1. The FTO Gene

The FTO gene acts as a food and nutrient sensor, which affects appetite and hunger, the ability to regulate food intake and how "full" you feel while eating. Scientists have found that people with abnormal variations in this gene have a higher BMI, which effectively means the gene isn't working properly and causes them to overeat.

An abnormal FTO gene is often associated with inbreeding, which is why it is common amongst Amish / Mennonite people. However you may have noticed that the Amish and Mennonites don't have a big obesity epidemic, and this is because they are doing daily chores around their farms - thus they exercising daily.

So how do you fight an abnormal FTO gene? #1. Regulate how much you eat and #2, exercise daily. The recommended amount of exercise if 30 minutes per day, daily.

#2. The PPARG Gene

The PPARG gene affects fat metabolism, including a regulating a special protein responsible both the creation of new fat cells and metabolism the fat later to be used as energy. An overactive PPARG gene can cause too much of that protein, resulting in weight gain and increases the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

When people with an overactive PPARG eat more unsaturated fats than saturated fats, their body stores the unsaturated fats as fat tissue. By contrast, when they eat more saturated fats than unsaturated fats, the opposite is true - they lose weight and become leaner.

Solution? Eat more saturated fats. Avoid unsaturated fats.

#3. The ADRB2 Gene

The adrenergic beta-2 surface receptor gene (ADRB2) plays a major role for a protein that breaks down fat. An abnormal ADRB2 gene has also been found to affect your metabolic rate and increase your chance of being diabetic by a factor of 6 (as in you are 6 times more likely to be diabetic). Essentially the gene isn't doing its job, which results in difficulty breaking down fat cells.

How do you combat this? People with this gene abnormality have to workout even harder, so the recommended amount of exercise for people with this is to exercise 60 minutes daily.


#4 and #5. The PGC1-Alpha and Tfam Genes

So many scientists lump these two genes together because they both effect methylation.

Methylation is a chemical process effecting protein conversion, which in turn increases your metabolism. An unhealthy or low rate of methylation slows down your metabolism. The two genes PGC1-alpha and Tfam also effect the creation of mitochondria, which are the energy-creating part of cells. Low rates of methylation have been determined to cause various types of obesity.

Methylation is also affected by age, sex, race, exercise, and diet. So you cannot change your age, sex or rare, but your exercise levels and diet are certainly open to change.

How do you increase methylation and your metabolic rate? Healthy food and intense exercise certainly helps. Aim to be exercising at least 60 minutes daily.


Conclusions

You might think you have specific genes from the list above, but that is not a guarantee. You would need to have your genes tested to know for certain if there were any abnormalities. Also there are other thousands of other genes we did not discuss here, so it is possible you have an abnormality with a completely different gene not mentioned here.

So you may have noticed that people with an abnormal FTO gene only have to exercise half as much people with an abnormal ADRB2 gene or people with slower methylation. Lucky them! 30 minutes per day is only 1/48th of their day. Roughly 2% of their day.

The people with an abnormal ADRB2 gene or people with slower methylation meanwhile have to exercise for 4% of their day.

True, we do sleep 33.3% of the day, but is 2% or 4% of the day really that big of a deal? For the people with a genetic disorder, that 2% to 4% of their day can be the difference between leading a normal healthy life and being obese, so clearly it must be worth it.

Do genes effect your weight and weight loss? Absolutely. 100%.

But if it only takes 2% to 4% of your daily routine to rectify the problem, then clearly exercise and diet is more powerful than genetics. Like 25 to 50 times more powerful.

There are a lot of success stories out there of people who beat their genetics too. Lots of before and after photos too.

Do you know what is even more powerful?

Willpower.

Willpower and self control is the driving force behind eating well and exercising. You decide to make it happen. All you need is a good dose of stubbornness and then you just get it done. Perhaps you motivate yourself using music or you choose exercises which are more fun, which makes it easier to find that needed dose of willpower because you are enjoying the process of exercising.

You cannot change your genetics, but you can beat it into submission if you are stubborn enough.

How to do a Home Fitness Test, without a Personal Trainer

How to do a Home Fitness Test

Further below is a guide for how to do a home fitness test to determine your current cardiovascular, strength and flexibility levels. Doing the tests give you a record of what your fitness levels currently are and what things you need to work on to improve. As years go by you can repeat the test and then compare how well you did years earlier and how well you did now.

Having a certified personal trainer to help guide you through the following process is helpful, but not completely necessary. It is possible to do it without a personal trainer handy, but it is still helpful to have a friend or loved one to help you through the process and record things for you. The friend/loved one will also make certain you don't cheat on the test and are being honest with yourself. As a bonus, they might decide to take the test too because they want to see how well they do.

For example, when I first did these tests I was about 15 years old and in my high school gym class. It was the gym teacher who administered the test and recorded down the results for the whole class. It was how I first learned that I had the heart of a professional athlete because I scored so well on the cardiovascular test.

The test itself is composed of 3 parts and 6 smaller tests, which together give you a record of your current physical fitness.

The 3 parts are:

1. Cardiovascular
2. Strength
3. Flexibility

And the tests themselves are as follows:

#1. The Cardiovascular Step Test

You will need: A large 12 inch high step/chair and a stopwatch / smartphone with a stopwatch app. A clock with a second hand can also suffice.

What to do:

1. Step right foot up on to the step, then repeat with the left foot so you have both feet on the step. Then step right foot down first, and repeat left foot down. Repeat this process quickly over a period of 3 minutes, during which you want to maintain a pace of 24 repetitions per minute.
2. After 3 minutes, sit down on the step/chair and find your pulse. Do not record it yet.
3. After resting for 1 minute, start the stop watch and count your pulse for 15 seconds and then stop the stopwatch. Record your result.
4. Multiple your result by 4 to get your beats per minute.
5. Compare your beats per minute to the charge below.

So for example when I was 15 I scored a 76. That wasn't just excellent, it was the heart rate you might expect of a professional athlete who competes in a cardiovascular sport. I doubt I will score a similar result today since I will be 40 in only 2 months.

#2. The Push Up Test

Doing this test men should perform the standard pushup (hands and toes only) while for women it is recommended doing the knee pushup variant. See Girl Push Ups and More.

Your goal is to do as many push ups as you can while maintaining a steady pace and proper form. There is no time limit in this test, but you must maintain a steady pace doing the push ups / proper form. The moment you lose form or your pace slows, the test is over. (Some personal trainers allow the person to rest - you can only rest in the up position - but I consider this to be cheating as it is very easy for the individual to abuse this option. So if you are doing this at home, you should determine whether you are going to allow yourself a rest period after every 10 push ups or so. I think you get a more honest result if you don't allow yourself a rest.)

Mentally, if you just set a goal of "I am going to do 30 push ups!" even if you only maintain the steady pace part way, you should do fairly well. 30 isn't a big number, but the real challenge is to maintain the steady pace - so it is arguably better to go slowly at the beginning so you don't tire yourself out too quickly, and simply pace yourself.

For some young people doing 30 push ups will feel pretty easy. When I was a teenager I once used my hands to climb up a staircase backwards and upside-down. So basically decline push ups on stairs, but with the added challenge of climbing the stairs. I did it with an audience who thought it could not be done, but I wanted to prove them wrong as I had done it previously and so I knew I could do it.

#3. The Bent Leg Curl Up Test

You will need: It is more comfortable to do this test on a yoga mat, a rug, a carpet or some kind of padding.

1. Lay down on the floor, feet together and flat on the ground, with your hands at your sides. Your legs should be slightly bent.
2. Tighten your abdomen to lift your shoulders off the ground, while moving your hands forward about 3 inches.
3. Return to starting position.
4. Repeat as many as you can while maintaining a steady pace.

Note - This is not a sit up! Observe the video below so you understand what this looks like.


So again, maintaining your pace is the important part.

#4. The Wall Sit Test

You will need: A stopwatch and a wall.

1. Stand about two feet away from the wall, facing away from it with your feet about shoulder or hip distance apart.
2. Bend your knees and press your back into the wall as if sitting on a chair.
3. Aim to get a perfect 90° angle with your legs.
4. Keep your upper body relaxed and shoulders raised so you are not using your shoulder muscles to cheat.
5. Use the stopwatch to time yourself and hold the position as long as you can. Record your result.

Aim to make it to 2 minutes if you can. 2 and a half minutes would be even better.

#5. The Reach Past Your Toes Test

Easy. Lay down on your back on the floor with your legs fully extended, then sit up and then try to reach past your toes.

Lower Body / Torso Flexibility Results

• Excellent - Fingers reach 1 inch or more past the toes
• Average - Fingers reach or almost reach toes
• Poor - Fingers are more than five inches from toes

Note - This test isn't solely a measurement of your lower body's flexibility, it is also a measurement of your torso's flexibility. An overweight person with a large belly for example would be guaranteed to do poorly in this test, even if their lower body was otherwise flexible, simply because their belly is in the way and hinders their movement.

#6. The Shoulder Flexion Test

Standing up, reach one hand towards the ceiling and then bend your elbow to reach down behind your back as if you want to scratch your back. With your other hand, bend the elbow behind your back and try to reach upwards to have both hands meet in the middle. Try to get the fingers to touch or even grip each other.

Repeat the test with the other shoulder.

Shoulder Flexion Results

• Excellent - Fingers grip and interlock
• Average - Fingers touch
• Poor - Fingers are more than three inches apart

Remember to repeat this test for both your left and your right shoulders, taking note of the results of both.

For example, when I did this test today I scored an Excellent with my left shoulder, but only a Poor with my right shoulder. My right shoulder is the one I use for drawing the bow when doing archery, so it is stronger in comparison - and unfortunately also less flexible because the extra muscle tissue interferes with my flexibility. Sometimes a loss of flexibility is a trade-off when it comes to having more muscle.


What to do Afterwards

If you are looking to improve specific areas you could do exercises that focus on building muscle, building endurance, or building flexibility.

So for example if you wanted to score better on the push ups test, a simple exercise to do would be doing 30 push ups every day. And for extra challenge as you get better, increase the number, do decline push ups, incline push ups, headstand pushups, etc.

Then as you progress you can repeat the tests once every 3 to 6 months and record the progress results in a journal or notepad or chart. Whichever you prefer.

The whole point of doing this series of tests is to get an idea of where you are right now and what things you should possibly improve. If you do the tests and then are happy with the results, just keep doing what you are doing. Or for extra challenge, try to improve yourself. Why not?

At what temperature does archery equipment become brittle?

Q

"At what cold temperature does archery equipment become more brittle and more likely to break?"

A

Depends on the material used in the construction of the archery equipment.

Fiberglass (commonly used in bow limbs) becomes brittle and increasingly brittle at a temperature of 0° C. For this reason my personal preference is to never do archery if the temperature is -5° C or colder. (That and I don't like freezing outside when it is super cold conditions.)

Carbon Fibre (commonly used to make arrows) becomes brittle at -60° C. So not as much of a concern.

Aluminum actually becomes stronger at colder temperatures. It is at high temperatures (above 100° C) that aluminum becomes increasingly weaker.

Leather, Feather Fletching, Glues, etc - Honestly, I don't know, but I am going to guess certain glues and epoxies do become brittle at low temperatures and that it varies on the type of glue or epoxy. Leather and feathers I would not worry about. Same goes with plastic fletching, I am going to assume that is pretty durable.

Wood is more resistant but not indestructible. It also varies on the type of wood being used, but the rule of thumb is that the harder a wood is, the more brittle it becomes at lower temperatures. So the problem here is that many longbows (and some other styles of bows) use various kinds of hardwood - and that typically the best hardwoods make really good bows.

Other factors effect how brittle wood is, like the following:

Moisture Content - Because wood contains water, when the water turns into ice it expands - thus damaging the wood itself. The higher the moisture content in wood, the more brittle it can become.

Type of Wood - Certain types of wood, like pine or spruce, are excellent for making structures outdoors because they are more resistant to water and ice damage. However pine and spruce is horrible for making bows. In contrast oak, hard maple, and other hardwoods are great for making bows - but are very vulnerable to water and ice damage.

Oils and Finishes - This protects the wood from gaining additional water content. A well oiled bow is more protected from water damage and mildew, but that doesn't mean it cannot be effected by ice damage from the preexisting moisture content.

Kiln Dried Wood vs Acclimating Moisture - Kiln dried wood has its moisture content reduces and if then sealed with oil and finishes, it will be more resistant to ice damage. However there is a problem... if the wood after it was kiln dried was given time to acclimate to the surrounding moisture content in the air before being sealed - or worse, it was never sealed - then it will have the same moisture content as regular wood anyway.

Treated Woods and Specialty Woods - Some woods are treated with resin to create brandname woods like "DiamondWood" and "FutureWood", like those used by the Bear Archery Co. The resins make the wood more durable and water resistant - and thus more likely to be able to take extreme colds. There is also woods like Accoya®* wood, which is treated with acetic anhydride, which increases the wood's durability, "dimensional stability" (whatever that means), resistant to rot, and makes very resistant to both water and cold damage.

* Apparently adding ® is more or less a requirement when talking about Accoya® wood. It is mostly used for outdoor purposes. To my knowledge nobody has ever made a bow out of it. It would probably be good for making arrows however. If anyone does make arrows out of Accoya®, please email me some photos and let me know how well they work.

Note - Nobody really asked the question, but I felt the topic needed to be discussed and that other people would benefit from learning everything above.

How to become a professional archer faster and more efficiently

Q

"Hello Charles!

I saw you answer archery questions and I have one I am hoping you can answer.

I have been thinking of getting into competitive archery and I was wondering if there was any training techniques you would recommend in order to become a better archer that would allow me to progress faster than the Average Joe (or Jane in my case). Basically I want to stand out and I am looking for ways to do that via training.

Regards,
Angie B., North Dakota"

A

Hello Angie!

Actually there is many different ways to get a competitive edge through training, but what I am going to recommend is a comprehensive approach because your fellow competitors, if they are remotely serious, are probably doing at least 1 or 2 of these techniques.

My impression from what you are asking is that you want to really stand out from the other competitors, and that means doing a lot more than just a few techniques, but instead doing all of them in a more comprehensive manner.

The two most common things competitors do are:

#1. Practice Archery Regularly

Usually 3 to 4 times per week. For some archers this is often the only thing they do.

#2. Regular Non-Archery Exercise

This could be weightlifting, cardio, resistance exercises, yoga and a variety of other methods of improving strength, endurance, balance, posture and so forth. The problem with getting regular exercise is that many people in North America are loath to do it, so it makes sense that a country like South Korea (where regular exercise is more popular and people routinely go hiking in the mountains for the fun of it) wins roughly 75% of all medals at international competitions.

So right there, you can see that South Korea and similar countries where regular exercise is popular already has a distinct advantage that allows them to stand out.

Another problem with archers is that they often think "Practicing archery counts as exercise, so I don't need to do other kinds of exercise."

Thus many archers don't exercise outside of doing archery itself. Unfortunately a lack of comprehensive exercises results in muscle imbalances which actually hinder the archer's endurance and strength. So this idea that professional archers "only need archery to exercise" is a myth.

---

And now we get into the topics that most archers do NOT do, including so-called professionals.

#3. Comprehensive Exercises

So Regular Exercise and Comprehensive Exercises are two different things. One just means regular repetition adding up to a quantity of exercise. Comprehensive means that the exercises you are doing cover a broad range of topics for different purposes.

Above I mentioned the following types of exercises:

Cardio - Specifically things like jogging or swimming, your goal here is to boost endurance and your heart's strength. Your heart controls the blood flow to your lungs, your muscles, your brain... this increases endurance, strength, and reduces mental fatigue. You want to avoid exercises that focus too much on speed, like sprinting short distances. Jogging is more effective because it builds the heart muscles more.

Weightlifting and Resistance Exercises - Your goals here are to increase overall physical strength and endurance. This will have some effect on heart strength, but not in the same way that cardio does. This is why you need to do both. The weightlifting/resistance exercises need to be done slowly so that you can build endurance more efficiently. The beauty of this is that you can target specific muscles or muscle groups, but you also need to building the "whole set" so to speak. If you focus too much on building a single muscle, you won't achieve much results. That is why targeting muscle groups is more efficient, so that all the muscles build up cooperatively. Thus, you also need to be comprehensive in your approach and target all the muscle groups.

Imagine for a moment an archer who only targets their upper back muscles, and does nothing for their chest, shoulders, arms, lower back - clearly will get a few benefits from building up their back, but their back muscles eventually reach a point where it starts compensating for a lack of strength in other areas. This leads to other muscles becoming weaker and eventually a muscle imbalance develops. This can also lead to bad posture and a host of other problems.

Yoga - If you have never done yoga you will never know how tiring it is and how much it uses your own body weight to increase your strength, endurance, balance and posture. Think of the simple push up, which is a common old school exercise for building the muscles in, arms, shoulders, pectorals and upper back. It uses your body weight to create resistance. Yoga follows the same principle, but applies it to a multitude of other muscle groups. In my experience, people who do yoga regularly tend to do remarkably well at archery. (Yoga also has the added effect of boosting mental endurance. There are also Yogic breathing exercises which are handy for archers who want to learn to control their breathing while executing a shot.)

#4. Healthy Diet Habits

This is another thing many archers in North America don't take seriously (and another reason why countries like South Korea have a distinct advantage competitively).

Imagine two archers who do the same training regimen, but the only difference is that one archer has a typical North American diet and the other archer has a healthy diet which focuses on protein, vegetables, calcium, vitamins and nutrients. Which one do you think will have more strength, more endurance and a healthier balance of chemicals in their brain (which effects mental conditioning)?

The obvious answer is the archer with the healthy diet. And because many archers don't embrace a healthy diet, this is one definite way to get a competitive edge over the 90% of other archers who frankly probably have horrible dieting habits.

#5. Reading Books

Honestly, this is very important and I am going to recommend you read the first book most of all.

• Precision Archery by Steve Ruis and Claudia Stevenson. Read the whole book, even the chapters you don't think will effect you. Just read it all.
• The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho. This is a good introduction to mental conditioning. The book is actually a series of letters from a Buddhist monk to samurais of the time, and while he talks about swords the same advice also applies to mental conditioning for archers. (Do not read "Zen in the Art of Archery". That book is horrid.)

I have a book titled "High Performance Sports Conditioning", edited by Bill Foran, but I don't think it is still available. Instead I recommend finding a newer book on the same topic of Sports Conditioning. The book I have is basically a big 366 page textbook for athletes who want to do sports conditioning, so you need to be looking for the equivalent.

#6. Sports Conditioning and Training with a Coach

This is unfortunately where money comes into the equation.

Having a coach that can advise the athlete on training techniques, exercises, diet, mental preparedness for competitions... this gives the archer a distinct advantage. A good coach will challenge the archer in new ways that will keep their training regimen interesting, interactive and ever changing.

#7. Start Competing and Learning from the Competitive Experience

You probably won't do so well in the first so many competitions, but your goal here is not to win. It is to learn how to compete and start learning how your mind is effected by the challenges of competition.

I know first hand from competing that you can be winning and suddenly flub a shot or two close to the end because I was not mentally prepared for what to do if the wind suddenly picks up and I am getting tired of holding shots while trying to time the wind conditions. That really messes with your head, trying to time a shot in-between wind gusts while you are tired and you grow anxious... and before you know it, you are stressing out and mess up a shot or two because you are basically having an anxiety attack.

And that is what makes the difference between coming in first and coming in second. Stress and mental conditioning can make that tiny bit of difference on the score card.

The trick I think is to try and remember "It doesn't really matter. Just relax and shoot. Even if you miss, will it really make a big difference to the grand scheme of things?" Because it doesn't matter. Nobody ten years, a hundred years or a thousand years is going to care that you missed a shot.

But competing and learning how to accept that defeat when you almost won, and then learning from the experience will make you a stronger and more mentally prepared competitor in the long term.

#8. Practice in all Weather Conditions

If you practice even on the days when it is cold and rainy, the day will come when it rains during a competition and you will be mentally ready for it. The other archers might not be ready because maybe they never practiced in the rain. But you have, so that makes you the better archer when it comes to shooting in the slop.

Best of luck to you in your competitive career!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca