New Equipment...again

I randomly bought a Kaya riser on eBay. It's a K3 and she shoots so smoothly. She makes shots with my yellow infinitec (brand?) riser feel all clumsy and heavy. There's something about the Kaya riser, since it's all carbon, that makes it shoot very quietly with more of a dead feeling in your hand. The arrows seem to fly rather than act like a shotput throw. Honestly it's probably all in my technique and the "magical" feeling of new equipment but I had one of my best practices ever yesterday.

Let me back up. On Sunday my informal coach helped me tune the riser a bit and he moved everything that he had already tuned on my old riser. The only thing missing from the riser is the clicker. Shooting without it is a lot more fun. My coach says the clicker is really a mental thing and that I am drawing back as far as I need to without it. I'll take that with the clicker! But this wasn't the best practice though. I'm still missing a few of my arrows argh. 

I went back by myself yesterday to shoot. It was a picturesque fall day and windy (which didn't turn out to be a big problem.) The range is surrounded by trees turning colors and the weather was cool but not too cold to numb my fingers. I put together my new rig and walked over to the public targets for some more practice. Apart from a bit of sight adjustment since I was practicing so close to the targets, i was shooting better than I ever have. I really focused on keeping my bow arm up and keeping my grip light on the bow so I could let it fall forward. And it made a huge difference! Everything seemed to flow better. Before long, I had been shooting almost 2 hours and i wasn't shaking at all. I attribute this to using the right muscle groups and all the workouts I do with my trainer. We're already a month in but I feel stronger already. Perhaps having a chest workout the day before helped me pull back farther? I am worried that I really only shoot my best when I am alone. I love being alone at a range and focusing only on shooting but I also need to show improvement when I'm with my coach. And after my coach left on Sunday there was this other guy who wanted analyze every single freaking shot I made. I should've told him to shut up because he was sucking all the joy out of it for me but after awhile he stopped talking to me and i was so ready for it. I'm a chatty kathy but when it comes to shooting I am very selective with whom I listen to for advice.

So I am ready for more practices like that one. Here's looking forward to my next day off and at the range with my new riser.

The Clicker Struggles

Granted, I have only had the clicker on my bow for a few weeks and have not been able to practice every week, but every time I get out the bow to practice, I remember-dang this is hard.

I'm gauging the safest place downstairs in my basement to shoot. Then I need to build a target that I can stand at and shoot all winter. Because I won't get better until I shoot every day. It's a fine balance that needs to be controlled by strength and I simply don't have either yet.

I workout twice a week with my personal trainer and once on my own. I am not sure if it's really the right strength training program for my sport but maybe it's too early to tell? I want to add pilates to the  mix to build core strength and maintain lean muscle. I think my PT thinks I know more than I actually do, since I told her I am taking an online course to become a CPT. Nothing like heading to the range to practice after a back workout with aching chest muscles from a previous workout. I am so much hungrier than before. And it's fall and I want all the fall desserts-boo. I have to get a grip on my diet to build muscle and strength. It's very easy to simply build frustration but I tell myself take my time, be patient and it's okay to get a hooked nose from repeated string pressure during my anchor point ;)