Merry Christmas 2020!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we wish you a safe and joyous holiday season.

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat & Family
CardioTrek.ca

PS. And a Happy New Year in 2021!






And for your amusement:

Easy Ways to Exercise in Front of Your Screen

Whether you’re someone who uses phone apps to simplify your schedule, a parent who juggles tablet time with your kids, or newly working-from-home, modern life has much of our daily life centered around a computer screen. Finding ways to stay active while at home can be hard but with the right posture and practices getting that exercise at home is easier than you think. In fact, the best adjustments you can make will be while sitting right in front of your screen!

Remember to always consult your doctor before introducing any new exercises to your routine or if you’re experiencing any pain or discomfort. All of the exercises and recommendations mentioned here should be low-effort and easy to modify, so you shouldn’t experience any pain while performing them. If you do, stop immediately and seek the opinion of a medical professional.

Proper Posture

First things first, consider how you’re sitting right now. If you’re sitting at a desk, how’s your posture? Are your shoulders rolled forward or are they situated over your hips? Is your back hunched or are you sitting up straight? If you’re using your phone and standing or sitting in a recliner, is your neck crooked or are you giving it enough support?

These kinds of positions can cause tension to accumulate in your body throughout the day, especially if you spend long hours sitting in one spot. Take short breaks every hour or so to think about how you’re positioned and do some of these quick exercises to give your muscles a break and reset your posture.

Neck and Shoulders

Stretching your neck and shoulder muscles will help relieve tension that can cause headaches. Start by very gently dropping your chin down and rolling your head from shoulder to shoulder, keeping your chin against your chest. Try and keep your shoulders relaxed and down while you do this. Don’t over-extend or roll your head past the half-circle of your shoulders otherwise, you could put too much strain on your cervical spine.

Sit up straight and shrug your shoulders up and down, extending the top of your shoulders straight up towards your ears. Pull your shoulder blades together behind your back before relaxing them again.

Eyes

Your eyes are a muscle just like your neck and your shoulders, so make sure to give them a stretch when you take a break too. Spend time focusing on something other than a screen for at least five minutes every hour. Try focusing your eyes together, first to the left and then the right. Then up and down, and finally in a clockwise circle and then a counterclockwise circle.

Wrists

When you think about posture your hands might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it’s important to remember to stretch your wrists too if you use the computer a lot. Loosen your wrists and shake your hands out very lightly to release the tension. Raise your arms, lifting your hands so your palms are facing each other, and gently press your palms together. Press and release several times to give your wrists a light stretch.

Picking up the Pace

Stretching and maintaining posture will help with long-term wellness, but you can also get your heart rate going in front of your desk or while sitting on the couch. Taking cardio breaks will keep your blood circulating and the exercise could even help with productivity. The best part is you can do most of these while waiting for a screen to load, listening in on a conference call, or even while watching a favourite movie again and again.

Seated Exercise

While sitting upright, lift one leg until it is parallel with the floor and hold it for ten seconds before gently lowering it back down. Then do the same with the other leg. You can increase the number of repetitions as you build your strength, and if you need a challenge you can even add an ankle weight or loop a bag on your foot for some added heft.

Doing this same exercise but with no weights, a bent knee, and a little extra speed will help get your heart rate going. Make sure to keep your spine straight so you’re targeting your abdominal and leg muscles and not straining your back.

Standing Exercise

Using the edge of a desk or the back of a chair (not a rolling one!) to brace yourself, you can do a standing push-up to give your upper body a workout. Put your arms about shoulder-width apart and move your feet back until you’re at an incline, palms firmly on the desk. Breathe out and gently lower yourself as far as you can towards the desk before pushing yourself back up. Don’t lock your elbows or lower yourself further than is comfortable--you don’t want any unnecessary strain on your joints.

The “invisible” jump rope is a great low-impact cardio exercise since all you’ll need is yourself and a small space to be able to run in place. Imagine that you’re holding a jump rope--yes, this is also a thought exercise--and skip rope. It’s that simple. Try alternating footwork, jumping on only your left or only your right foot, or changing your pace. However you do it, it’ll get you up and out of your chair and you don’t have to worry about accidentally flinging a jump rope at your computer.

The Extras

Some gadgets that can encourage you to be active in front of your screen and that may genuinely help, like standing desks, pedal machines, and yoga balls. But before you throw money at a solution you’re not sure you’ll like, try making some of these simple adjustments first. The hardest part of starting a routine is making something a habit, so the most important thing to do is stick to it. You don’t have to do it perfectly every time, you just have to do it.

 

 

Where to Buy Bows Online

Q

"Hey fellow archer! I saw your post and was wondering if you had any advice. I'm looking to get a new recurve but not sure where to buy them. Do you know any good online places or do you get them in person? 

I'm looking to replace my 60" recurve. I got two of mine from an antique store and one is still going but barely.  I ordered a horsebow for my wife but I really want something closer to what I saw in your post.  Not a huge fan of take downs.  Sorry, I don't know a lot of archers I can ask."

Jarin H.

A

I usually buy my bows in person from stores in Toronto, but I also buy vintage bows off eBay.

• Basically Bows Archery
• Canada Archery Online
  

Both of those locations accept online orders.

Buying vintage bows on eBay is trickier because you're taking a risk, but you can mitigate the risks by only looking at bows where they have 12 to 20 photos of the bow from every angle so you know if the bow has any damage.

I would NEVER buy an eBay bow if it has very few photos of it (or the photos are of low quality) and you cannot tell if the bow limbs are straight / undamaged.

I also sometimes buy archery equipment (but never bows) off of Amazon. The problem with Amazon is I don't exactly trust the third party sellers on Amazon, whereas with eBay I know that I am deliberately buying a vintage bow and that it is used, and it comes with the territory. Amazon in contrast doesn't sell used/vintage bows.

Other websites to consider:

• 3riversarchery.com
• lancasterarchery.com
  

I have browsed those websites many times, but never actually ordered from them. Given the choices I usually buy locally as much as possible. Due to COVID/Coronavirus I get that many people these days might prefer to order online, but it is important to note that both Basically Bows Archery and Canada Archery Online do accept online orders. (BBA basically ONLY accepts online orders and pickups currently. The owner Gary doesn't allow people to come in the store and browse any more.)

So it is still possible to shop locally and order online.

Happy Shooting!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca

Below is a circa 1974 Shakespeare Sierra Model X18 which I recently shot on November 7th.

I got the vintage recurve bow for xmas in 2018, but it sat on the shelf for almost 2 years because I kept delaying getting a new bowstring for it. I finally got a new fleming twist bowstring and a new arrow rest (from CAO) for it recently and took it to the range to do some shooting. Despite being a vintage bow it shoots beautifully, and it looks like it is practically brand new.

 

 

Xmas 2018

Fun Halloween Archery Ideas that won't make a Mess

 Every year some silly person brings a pumpkin to the archery range, makes a mess shooting at the pumpkin, and then leaves their stinky mess behind.

Also they make a huge mess on their arrows and then have to clean their arrows with rubbing alcohol, otherwise their arrows will smell like rotting pumpkins.

There is a better however!

And it is reasonably frugal...

#1. Halloween Skull from the Dollar Store

Your local dollar store sells a wide variety of Halloween items which makes for a fun (and less messy) archery target. It doesn't have to be a skull, but that is certainly an option. It could even be a glow in the dark skeleton suitable for night shooting.

#2. Zombie Archery Target

Sometimes your local archery stores sell a variety of zombie themed archery targets. Below is a zombie pizza man. They're pretty inexpensive too.

#3. Old Halloween Decorations

Chances are likely you have some old Halloween decorations you should throw out. But before you throw them out, why not reuse them as an archery target?

#4. Halloween Archery Target

Print out the following Halloween Archery Target using your printer or take it to Staples / Kinkos to print out a larger poster.

Or make/decorate your own archery target.

4 More Ways to Improve Your Archery Form

 Want to improve your archery form and accuracy? Pay attention to these 4 tips that will help to improve your form/accuracy.

Also see my old post from March titled "4 Ways to Improve Your Archery Form". If you read both then that is 8 tips on how to improve your form / accuracy.

1. Align your Torso / Bellybutton to 90 Degrees

It may sound weird, but when you begin pulling back you want your bellybutton to be aligned so it is 90 degrees away from the target. Doing this aligns your torso and allows you to use your upper back muscles (rhomboids) more efficiently, and it allows you to relax your shoulders more.

If you don't do this it results in your shoulders being more stressed and that extra strain on your bow shoulder will often result in a midshot "arm jerk" that will cause your arrow to go to the side. This is obviously bad for accuracy.

Likewise if your drawing shoulder isn't relaxed you are more likely to get a backwards pluck when you release, which will typically make your arrow go higher to the side.

Lastly, if you're not aligned then you aren't using consistent back power. You want to be using consistent back power with your rhomboids so that your arrows are shot with the same amount of power each time.

2. Keep your Drawing Fingers Perpendicular

Avoid drawing back the bowstring with your fingers on a diagonal angle. What you want is to keep them perpendicular so that they release evenly. If they're on a diagonal angle then you will release the bowstring unevenly, often resulting in the arrow flying in a "whale tailing" or "porpoising" manner, which reduces accuracy. The bowstring during the release will also make a more "snappy" sound and will sound weird.

3. Pull your Fingers Evenly

Often beginners will put less power on their third finger on their drawing hand. This likewise effects having an even release. What you need to do is pay attention to giving the third finger and little extra power so it matches the other two fingers.

Beginners aren't used to using the third finger so much and it is weaker compared to the other two fingers, but there is an exercise you can do to increase the strength in your third finger: Snap your third finger 50 times per day on days you are not doing archery. (Hand grips don't work to build muscle in your fingers, that is more for forearm strength. You want to target building muscle in your third finger.)

4. Three Fingers is Stronger than Two

Beginners sometimes try to shoot with just two fingers, because that is what little kids do... Or maybe they saw it in a poorly made movie... What you want to do is use three fingers and half your fingertips. Do not pull to the joints because that will result in more plucking during your releases and can also lead to joint pain in your fingers.

Bonus Tip

Also doesn't hurt to get archery lessons. Get archery lessons in Toronto from Cardio Trek.

In somewhat related news... I have started giving my 3-year-old son archery lessons. He is really enjoying it.

Also in somewhat related news, check out the cover of the September issue of Archery Focus Magazine.