BowCast Blog

I probably get to train a half of dozen athletes everyday in the off-season and I have zero complaints.  I love it!  Athletes are typically very motivated and show up everyday ready for work and are very hungry to gain insight towards their performance goals.  I know some bowhunters feel that they're far from an athlete, but rest assured bowhunting requires many components of athleticism.

The reason why I feel compelled to convince bowhunters that in a sense they are athletes, is some of the questioning I receive from time to time on articles I've written, etc.  Much of our sport requires dedication, continuity, persistance, and physical capabilities that often make or a break a successful venture.  One question I received lately, was why on earth would I recommend deadlifts to anyone at a novice level of strength training, let alone encourage the use of high risk low benefit exercise...Here is my response to this type of questioning...

Simply put, deadlifts should be a staple in most bowhunter's regimen.  You would be hard pressed to find a qualified strength coach that didn’t  encourage the deadlift.  This movement is unrivaled in its simplicity and impact while unique in its capacity for increasing total body strength.  Regardless of whether your fitness goals are to spike your metabolism, decrease body tissue, rehabilitate your back, improve athletic performance, add lean tissue, or maintain functional independence as a senior citizen, the deadlift is a marked component to all those destinations. To the detriment of millions, the deadlift is infrequently used and seldom seen by many of the exercising public and athletes.  The deadlift, being no more than picking an object off the ground keeps company with sitting, standing, jogging, jumping, and hiking for functionality, but imparts quick and prominent athletic advantage like no other exercise!  Have you ever deadlifted a moose, elk, or deer quarter off the ground?  Have you lifted up an awkward heavy backpack,  drug a deer back to the truck, or picked up a growing grandchild?  You won't find many other movements that are as useful for improving general physical ability.  Scalability and applicability should always be addressed, but rest assured that I incorporate the deadlift exercise into older and deconditioned or detrained populations equally.  The needs of a bowhunter, and our grandparents differ by degree not kind.  One is looking for functional dominance the other for functional competence.  Competence and dominance manifest through identical physiological mechanisms.  I've used the same routines for individuals with heart disease, NFL combine athletes, and MMA fighters one month out from a bout.  I would never change my recommendation of the deadlift, I would emphasize scaling load and intensity based upon fitness status...Go Deadlift!