The outdoor range is set, and that means it’s summer midterms in the School of Nock. Your homework this week comes in two parts. Set up your backyard range out in the sunlight, then step away from your bow for a full week.
I’m taking my own version of it. I’m hitting the road for a couple TAC stops, seeing dealers and friends and getting in a lot of shooting along the way. R&R was always part of how I trained, and now it’s the assignment for you too.
The EARN Principle
Performance comes down to a formula I keep coming back to: P = EARN. You get out what you put in.
The E covers execution and exercise, the shooting itself and the physical work behind it. The A is attitude, the mental side you bring to the line. The N is nutrition and nourishment, how you fuel the work.
The R is rest and recuperation. All of those are factors, and the R is the one I’m spotlighting this week.
When I competed, I learned this early. To be ready for an event, I needed three to four weeks of solid, undistracted training. So I always set R&R ahead of that block, so I’d come into it fresh and able to focus.
I just lived this myself. My injury forced me off the bow, not by choice, but it turned out to matter.
This weekend I came back out and set my range. I put 250 arrows through my setup for my numbers, and I feel good having had the break. That 12-ring on the cat target, dead center, came right off that time away from the bow.
Setting Up Your Summer Range
Before you take that week off, get your range set so you’ve got somewhere to come back to. You don’t need an elaborate setup. A backyard out in the sunlight and a spot to practice covers it.
The point is getting outside. We’ll spend the summer shooting outdoors, so set the range up where that work will happen.
Summer is also a good time for prep work on your bow. I run a QAD UltraRest HDX, and slow weeks like this one are when I look my gear over.
Handle whatever you’ve been putting off now. That way you’re not troubleshooting later when the itch to shoot comes back.
Taking the Week Off
Resting can feel wrong when you’d rather be shooting. It runs counter to what most of us believe about getting better, but a little of it does more than another grind session would. Get out, enjoy the summer, and get your head on straight.
Spend the time with the family. Get in a pool, get in a lake, go on a boat. Pack a YETI Hopper M30 and make a real day of it.
That’s the whole point of stepping back. When you come back to the bow, you’ll want to shoot so bad it’s hard to wait, and that hunger is exactly what you want heading into the summer.
What’s Coming This Summer
When you pick the bow back up, we’re changing the format for the season. I’m moving the School of Nock toward quick tips and small refinements: the tweaks I make to my accessories and the little tuning tricks I rely on.
These are the small adjustments I lean on, and I’ll hand them over a few at a time, week to week. You can put each one to work as it lands.
We’ll do most of it outside, in real conditions, from the field instead of the workbench. That’s where these tips earn their keep.
Your Homework
Here’s the assignment: Set your range this week, then take a full week off the bow.
Do your summer prep while you’re at it, then go enjoy yourself with the family. When you come back, you’ll be ready to make the most of what we’ve got planned for the summer.
Man, it’s awesome to be outside again.
