BOW SAYS...

Reversals, or training with your bow at home, is the 'ultimate secret weapon' of improving recurve archery – and yet our research suggests that the average archer does few, if any of them. The GBR national team coach Richard Priestman has been quoted as saying most archers are not strong enough and prescribes a programme of functional and weight training to improve strength. For more on reversals, see Patrick Huston's detailed article in Bow 131.

Part of the problem is that reversals are not exactly what you might call fun. All elite archers do this kind of work, and they don't always enjoy them, either. Finding a distraction while completing them, like TV or music, is a good first step. Some archers use an interval timer app to help them know how long to hold for, but you could just count. Doing them is more important than how you do them.

If you don't want to set up the bow at home – or you have low ceilings, which might prevent you from drawing a recurve bow with a full setup cycle – you can buy a training device. The best known brand-names include Bow Trainer and Accubow, each of which offers a slightly different experiences. Even using a heavy stretchband is better than nothing. But nothing quite works as well as your bow for functional training. There is no real substitute if you want to move on further.

More advanced archers should at least try working with a Formaster type device, such as the Astra Archery trainer, reviewed in Bow issue 128. This is a more complex type of training which takes a little more getting used to, but can reap specific dividends.