Archery is generally accepted as one of the safest sports out there. According to studies by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, or NEISS, archery is somewhat less dangerous than golf or fishing, but slightly more dangerous than bowling and diving. However, for serious athletes and competitive archers, overtraining poses a serious threat to their ability to continue competing. Here are 4 ways you can prevent archery training injuries.

1. Be kind to yourself

Many beginning archers, especially men, have a strong desire to get good at the sport right away. As a result, they often sacrifice proper technique for brute force or stamina. While this could allow you to make an impressive shot in the short term, in the long term it is a surefire way to injure your shoulder, arm, or back. Since a break is usually taken between each arrow, we may not feel a distended muscle in the days after.

Simply put, consistency and quality of training is far better than quantity. If you had to shoot 100 arrows in one day, you would probably see little improvement in your shooting. However, if you shoot 10 to 20 arrows a day for 3 months, you are giving your body the right amount of work, and especially rest, to improve your skill.

2. Get gear that fits

Another common way that beginning archers develop injuries is by wearing equipment that does not fit their body properly. This means using a bow that is too big, too small, or most importantly too heavy. For a bow hunter, it is important to use a heavy bow to ensure a clean kill, but practicing with a bow that is much heavier than you can comfortably draw is almost a guarantee of injury. Choose an arc that you can easily draw 20 times in a row.

3. Cross training

As you may have guessed, although archery is a great exercise for the mind and upper body, it is not meant to cover your total fitness platform. It is important that you do other types of exercise to improve your shooting ability and to avoid muscle imbalances if your shooting arm and shoulder are becoming much stronger than your bow shoulder.

Swimming, rowing, and other types of cardiovascular exercises help improve breathing and work both sides of the body evenly. Weight lifting, bodyweight resistance exercises, and yoga are also great additions to your full fitness routine.

4. Heat and cool

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is training with cold muscles. Not pumping blood to the muscles before training can lead to strains, tears, and inflammation of the connective tissue in the shoulder joint and spine. Use resistance bands and gentle stretches to warm up your body before training and cool down afterward.