# shooting the most powerful sling shots



## neil

Ok guys & gals I have read alot of topics about the best band sets and formulas and also read about people stuggling to draw certain bands, so I thought I would start this one how to increase your draw weight for shooting with the bigger band sets. With exersise every one can increase there strength it may take a while but it can also be very rewarding I would like to hear what the other shooters think works for them and my reason is there are alot of shooters may not have this information so I hope you find this both helpful and interesting.

So lets get the band rolling here is some of my personal favourites.

Pushups increase the strength and sturdyness of your slingshot holding arm.
pullups increase the strength of your drawing arm 
both exersises can be done without equipment (but you will need something to pull yourself up on this could be a tree in your garden. a rope fixed to a hook, door frame have a look round your bound to find something)

Your already shooting with bands so while your watching tv hold your slingshot add a band holding it in your fist and to the handle of your slingshot then pull as far as you can as soon as you can do this more comfortably your ready to to add another when this becomes comfortable and trust me it will, presto your ready to fix them to your slingshot a more powerfull slingshot extra bands no expensive gym equipment needed








you can also just pull the bands after all thats what there for and why they come in diffrent (colours) resistances no slingshot needed.

I would like to Keep this simple and I myself like to work out in a proper gym, if your already going to a gym your already doing everything you can and you already know what works, but have started this thread for people struggling to pull the heavier band sets who may not so please keep this in mind

Most important thing ensure you take the proper saftey precautions and your slingshot is strong enough to cope with the extra load and if you suspect you may have medical problems check with your doctor before doing any exercise


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## ZDP-189

I think we covered this in 1Q2010. Jörg recommended reps with even heavier bands.

If you go about working with heavy bands, be sure your joints can keep up with your muscle power.


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## JoergS

Also, don't forget the lanyard (so the fork does not accidentially slip out of your hand and hit you in the face), and always wear safety glasses. A snapping rubber can be fatal for your eyeballs.


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## neil

ZDP-189 said:


> I think we covered this in 1Q2010. Jörg recommended reps with even heavier bands.
> 
> If you go about working with heavy bands, be sure your joints can keep up with your muscle power.


Sorry I,ve not come across Jorgs on this subject yet but I will have a look for it as it should be very interesting hes a very powerfull man as for the joints plenty of codliver oil usualy helps with joint problems thanks for the info


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## neil

JoergS said:


> Also, don't forget the lanyard (so the fork does not accidentially slip out of your hand and hit you in the face), and always wear safety glasses. A snapping rubber can be fatal for your eyeballs.


Thanks for the input Jorg and I will try not to loose an eye and as for anyone else reading this please take care and keep yourself safe


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

For me, the fore-arm needs the most strength; in martial arts we use basic grip strengthening exercises ... the simplest of which is to hold a weight (aynthing small) and to perform small circles or figure-8's. You could also get a tennis ball and spend some time squeezing it, only make sure you use all your fingers.


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## neil

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> For me, the fore-arm needs the most strength; in martial arts we use basic grip strengthening exercises ... the simplest of which is to hold a weight (aynthing small) and to perform small circles or figure-8's. You could also get a tennis ball and spend some time squeezing it, only make sure you use all your fingers.


I have to agree with you grip is very important thanks for your input


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

Pleasure.


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## Felicko

I think you should also exercise your fingers so that your grip on the pouch and slingshot are secure so you have a steady shot.


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## neil

Felicko said:


> I think you should also exercise your fingers so that your grip on the pouch and slingshot are secure so you have a steady shot.


your right exercising your fingers has got to help but has anyone got any suggestions? squeazing the tennis ball may help, Iam pretty lucky as my missus always makes me carry the shoping and I have to squeaze my wallet realy hard so she doesn't take all my money







pullups will strengthen your fingers to an extent as you have to grip pretty hard to pull yourself up and some people do pushups on there fingers, also you can buy some spring grips designed for strengthening grip or some people use the sping collars of the olimpic barbells both are pretty inexpesive,the more you do something the easier it becomes so don't rule out just practicing with your slingshot hope this helps and if anybody has better ideas please lets hear them


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## NoSugarRob

lol


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## Nest Buster

I sit and watch tv or my three year old shoot his sling at night, and use this about three nights a week. It has helped!


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## Tex-Shooter

Although strengthening you grip will help some, the lack of muscle strength is not the main problem causing Carpel Syndrome, it is a tendon problem. The tendon gets to large to pass through the hole in the bone. It most commonly happens in the wrist or thumb. When this happens it becomes difficult or impossible to bend the affected joint. Even if one can bend the joint it becomes very painful. I have seen very strong men develop this problem from doing the same activity over and over. Some never develop the problem, but if one does it can be a depilating one. Most of the time surgery will correct it, but not always. The best way to guard against developing the problem is, when doing repetitive activities, such as slingshot shooting, use as light amount of pressure on the joints as possible. – Tex-Shooter


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## Dayhiker

Big tubes and evil flatband concoctions will eventually cause harm to you. That's my studied opinion.

In addition, I would like to restate my opinion that many of us are way overpowering. It only takes so much to kill a small animal. Everything else is unnecessary and harmful to your health in the long run.

Even Joerg is likely to run into trouble if he keeps it up (bless his innocent soul).

Finally: the way some of us in here judge the strength of our forks is absolutely ridiculous. They don't need to be that strong unless you are Joerg when he's messing around with cannonball-like ammo and superhuman bands. When you buy boards from hardware outlets, you need to reinforce them because they will probably break on fork hits and come back in your face. On the other hand, when you use naturally grown forks, almost any kind of wood will do. Natural forks are strong. Period. Unless you are dealing with long-dead and dry (or rotten) wood. You don't have to worry.

This is my opinion. So if you want to shoot power, be more careful. But you gotta be pretty powerful yourself in the first place.

(I've been drinking, so this may be one of my stupidest posts. Read between the lines.)


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## neil

Thanks again guys for your comments and words of wisdom and to all reading please take on board what these guys are saying, as they have probably learnt the hard way or lifes experiances and have your best intrests at heart so respect guys, I have had a few sporting injurys over the years and at times found it hard enough to pull on a pair of socks never mind pull a slingshot i can only blame my own stupidity for those times,if you are going to continue, look after your health and if you exercise do it in a safe way if your not sure how to get proper supervision, never over exert yourself or do anything that makes you feel sore, peoples opinions will always differ on this subject and diffrent people also react in diffrent ways to diffrent forms of exercice so allways consider which is right for you and take note of the words of the wise along your way there is a lot of information available in allsorts of ways internet,books etc so do some research


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## Sine mens rea

Using resistance bands is certainly one of (if not THE) best methods for increasing your slingshot pulling power.

The most relevant way to train your pouch gripping strength is to train your pinch grip strength. Take two ten pound weight plates and pinch them together between your thumb and four fingers. Now hold it as long as you can. Another option is to take some pouch grade leather and loop it around a dumbbell handle or (better yet) a kettlebell and lift it and hold it for time.

In both exercises, you want to use a weight that you can hold for thirty seconds and then build up over time to 60 seconds. Once you have achieved sixty seconds it is time to increase your weight, and start over, building up from thirty seconds back to sixty, and so on. You can also simple pinch the handle of a kettlebell or dumbbell between your fingers and lift it like this (don't wrap your fingers around it). Obviously you will have to use a much lower weight than you would if you were going to wrap your whole hand around it.

As for pullups and pushups, they definitely are good and will help somewhat, but they will not be the most transferable exercises you can do for slingshot shooting. For the slingshot stabilizing hand, however, single arm pushups, or even single arms planks will be a very good and transferable exercise to perform. For the pulling arm, one of the best exercises using bodyweight is not pullups, but rows. They are basically inverted pushups, where you have your feet on the ground and your hands grasp a bar or some ropes that are hanging just couple feet from the floor, and you pull yourself up. Since your feet are on the floor, you are not lifting as much of your weight as you would in a pullup, so progress to using one arm at a time (which is much more relevant to your shooting anyway).

Even if you only ever shoot right handed (or left handed), always remember to train both sides of the body evenly, in order to avoid developing muscular imbalances that can lead to injuries, poor posture and a host of other health problems.

And every good strength program should include some elements of warm up, stretching, and on the off days, conditioning, for optimal progress, health and injury prevention.

Cheers.


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## JoergS

Dayhiker said:


> Even Joerg is likely to run into trouble if he keeps it up (bless his innocent soul).


I hope not. I have been lifting very heavy weights all my live, and I am genetically ready for such activities. My wrists are so thick that I can't wear off-the-shelf wristwatches, I have to get longer bands. My tendons are really thick and solid. I never broke a bone, even though I had some nasty motorcycle accidents when I was younger.

I don't hunt, but I really enjoy shooting strong bands and big ammo. I just love that sound of a big dia ball hitting the catch box with authority.

If you build up strength, you have to take the slow, steady road. Then injuries are not a big threat. If you want to grow fast, then it becomes dangerous.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny

Basic stretches before and after shooting helps.


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## John McKean

A basic slingshot type band pull with Jumpstretch (www.jumpstretch.com) flex bands is the most activity-specific exercise you can do. Jumpstretch offers their individual flex bands from about 25# pound pull up to their MONSTER band that has a 200# pound resistance near the end of its draw (these used for leg work,as in heavy squats & deadlifts,of course!!). As a longtime competitive weightlifter (8 times IAWA world champ), I'd also like to refer interested slingshotters to articles I've written on combining band training to barbell lifts at www.usawa.com . This can be a very quick, easy home training system to enhance your favorite activity (I often shoot in between exercises!!).


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## PandaMan

hmmm... this seems to be a good thread to ask advice on. I can't seem to do many push ups. My arms are certainly strong enough, but whenever I start doing push ups, my shoulders start to hurt a bit. I usually can't do more than 5 because of it.


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## John McKean

Pandaman, The shoulders are quick to "wear out" as we age (or even while we're still young,at times). Pushups can be bad on the delts-if they hurt, don't do them ! Instead, I've found that "bands" can come to the rescue!! You can exercise the triceps of the arms and even the sore deltoids by obtaining some loops of round surgical tubing (from a medical supply store -these are the same as we often slingshot with,but heavier) ,hold them behind your back and press out to the sides,or slightly forward. Do these slowly at first & with minimal resistance. You can see various other exercises & applications from free videos at www.jumpstretch.com


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## neil

PandaMan said:


> hmmm... this seems to be a good thread to ask advice on. I can't seem to do many push ups. My arms are certainly strong enough, but whenever I start doing push ups, my shoulders start to hurt a bit. I usually can't do more than 5 because of it.


Hi some people struggle with pressups, if its not a medical problem stoping you (if it is ask advice of a doctor first) if your fairly new to exercise you can get a few pains here and there, until your body becomes use to the exercise its usualy best to avoid these pains so start lighter and do some warm ups first,so after you warm up you can do a sort of incline pushup on a good solid table (or anything similar) thats not going to slip so if its against a wall its a plus, hold it with your hands firmly in a pushup position with your feet on the floor, your body will be at about 45 degrees to the floor this takes a lot of weight off, as your body becomes more use to them and you can do more you can use something lower. Just make shure that you or the object your using are not going to slip. If your doing 5 pressups on the floor you will find this way easier, remember you have to stick with something to get better at it and be carefull not to over train every other day is ok for most people but if your new to it all try 2 days a week, for a couple of weeks then slowly increase it to 3 or 4, your muscles need to repair after exercise and they only do that while you rest
hope this helps Neil


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## Jaybird

Or you can do what I call old man push ups.Lean against a wall with your feet as far back as you can and spread your arms wide against the wall.All your weight will be on your arms.Do push ups against the wall.Do them slow and do as many as you can and increase the number as you get stronger.


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## Bill Hays

Guys, if you want "go-really" strong hands, wrists, arms and shoulders... make or buy a simple device like below. It is really good for all your stability muscles and will hit your grip all the way through to your back. I made the first ones about 10 years ago... All like the big ugly one on the bottom (still in use at our Karate school). David Horne in England started making a version a few years ago as well. Provides one of the best "pumps" you can get in the shortest period of time... and is relatively safe to use as well.

You can buy one (the Orbigrip, top right) from David Horne in England... or if you have any welding skills at all, it's simple enough to make:









Another interesting device is the gripper and pinch attachment for specifically strengthening your grip and pinch:








Used like:









David Horne's online store is: http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/shop.html


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## Sine mens rea

John McKean said:


> Pandaman, The shoulders are quick to "wear out" as we age (or even while we're still young,at times). Pushups can be bad on the delts-if they hurt, don't do them ! Instead, I've found that "bands" can come to the rescue!! You can exercise the triceps of the arms and even the sore deltoids by obtaining some loops of round surgical tubing (from a medical supply store -these are the same as we often slingshot with,but heavier) ,hold them behind your back and press out to the sides,or slightly forward. Do these slowly at first & with minimal resistance. You can see various other exercises & applications from free videos at www.jumpstretch.com


John!!! The resistance band tricpeps press is my ABSOLUTE favourite triceps exercise, bar none!

Cheers!


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## Sine mens rea

Bill, from the look of those devices, I suspect you have done your fair share of sledgehammer levering too. Am I right?

Also, Pandaman, I think you need to be working on your shoulders. Do you experience pain when trying to put your arms overhead? If so, working your way through some good re/pre-hab exercises like Divebomber pushups, windmills, bent presses or turkish get ups would be a must for you. These exercises are well known for rehabbing shoulders that have been abused under the bar, and making them stronger than ever. Start light and build. You will find that these exercises feel very good. If you are unfamiliar with them, then I recommend tackling them gradually and in the order I listed them in above.

All the best.


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## Sine mens rea

You could also make a wrist rocker out of steel pipe. In fact, thanks Bill, I now know what I am going to do with my drawer full of pipe!


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## Sine mens rea

Welcome to the ghetto. Haha. Clunk clunk!

I have to spin it with a piece of rag to reduce friction, but it works. Nice burn too. Total cost, about 12-15 bucks, including the two 2.5 pound plates - although I had all this stuff lying around already.






Thanks again Bill Hays.


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## Bill Hays

Ha ha, yeah that's pretty ghetto... looks like it'll work to some degree though!
When I make mine, I use a bearing on there to make it rotate smoothly.
Actually the middle one shown doesn't really require any welding at all. The handle could have been smaller in diameter. It's larger like that so that it's more close to the size of a man's wrist (mma exercise).... and it costs maybe $10 in all to make.


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## Sine mens rea

Yeah, bearings are on my shopping list. Right after rent and food.


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## Jaybird

Does that do the same as a wrist roller.I make one with a piece of sledg hammer handle with a hole in it for a rope that reaches the ground and is hooked to weights.You hold your elbows close to your side and grab the stick with both hands and wind the rope up and down with your hands and wrists.As you get stronger add more weight.


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## Bill Hays

No Jay, the way it works is quite different and is a much better workout and pump....

Sine mens rea, one thing though, try less weight, a little longer arm and spin it faster. When I use these devices my goal is to go about 150 rpm for a whole minute... If I can do 150 reps in a minute or more then I add a little more weight, a dock washer. You want to be strong AND fast!
Also, as an alternative to a pillow block bearing, you could just use a metal sleeve that fits around the handle instead of cloth... it might work better.


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## Sine mens rea

Thanks for the ideas.


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