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If one doesn't have much opportunity to go shoot over the winter, how can they maintain their muscles? Which exercises are suitable? What equipment might be handy?

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Sit-ups won't work, archery is all about the shoulders, not abs. Also it's a bad idea to dry aim a bow, it is generally frowned upon.

There are exercise tools you can buy such as a bow training exerciser:

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Another option is a training band, such as this:

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Failing that you can get yourself a press exerciser, I have one and it is very useful:

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Naturally another option is to find a club with a hall. The ones that I belonged to had a hall for bad weather and the field for when it cleared up.

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  • Why is it a bad idea to dry aim a bow, assuming I do not care about what the general view on it is? – imsodin Dec 11 '15 at 15:52
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    Bows are made to be released at full draw, not slowly relaxed. It can cause undue stress in certain areas. That said never release a bow without an arrow in either. The energy that should be transferred to the arrow will instead reverberate through the limbs which can cause them to shatter. – Dynadin Dec 11 '15 at 16:00
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    Abs are used every time another muscle group is used. Maintaining your abs will improve you stability. – Escoce Dec 11 '15 at 16:26
  • Slowly releasing a bow will not add stress, pulling the bow back at all is what stresses the bow. It's all wear and tear no matter how you look at it. – Escoce Dec 11 '15 at 16:27
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    Bows are not heavy enough to require an ab workout. Even with stabilisers they weigh less than 5kg. After a full day of archery from sun up to sun down you will feel it arms and shoulders. – Dynadin Dec 11 '15 at 16:31
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Push-ups, sit-ups, dry aiming you bow (do not do this with compound bow, you can derail your strings), one of those stretchy surgical tubing pull exercise gizmos.

Yoga is good exercise for all muscle groups and keeps you limber and supple, not bunched up.

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Dumbbells

How about weight training such as bent-over dumbbell rows and similar exercises?

Video examples - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYcpY20QaE8 or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LktGPg-AkvY

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