Average Wind in Toronto - Archery, Adjusting for Wind

August is the least windy month in Toronto - on average. In contrast January is the most windy month. Clearly this means doing archery in August will be more accurate due to less wind. But how do the other months stack up?

Average Wind Speeds in Toronto, Historical Averages

• January - 18 kmph
• February - 17 kmph
• March - 17 kmph
• April - 17 kmph
• May - 14 kmph
• June - 13 kmph
• July - 13 kmph
• August - 12 kmph
• September - 13 kmph
• October - 14 kmph
• November - 16 kmph
• December - 17 kmph

So as an archer if you want to avoid wind, August is a clear choice. However August is also the 2nd hottest time of year (#1 being July) in Toronto, so there may be other factors to consider.

eg. April, May, June, September and October are considered to be the best times of year temperature wise. Not too hot, not too cold.

Of course maybe you are one of those archers who love a challenge. Who embrace the wind and wnt to learn from it. In which case, you want to learn how to adjust for the wind conditions. It is definitely not impossible to maintain accuracy in these conditions however, you'll just have to modify your shooting patterns a little bit and understand the physics of what happens to your arrow in flight.

Regarding Equipment

Your equipment can have some serious effects, in addition to the wind. If you know you're going to be shooting on a heavier day there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Heavier arrows will always tend to fly better in the wind. This might seem counter-intuitive since they'll fly at a lower speed and thus are exposed to the wind's effect for longer but they'll maintain a truer course in windy situations thanks to their weight adding to their forward momentum. The heavier the arrow, the less wind can push it. You can plan ahead for this if you know you are going to be shooting on a windy day and bring your heaviest arrows.

Thinner arrows will naturally be less effected by the wind as well. This in theory makes a heavy, thin arrow the easiest to shoot in the wind, but good luck finding both of those qualities in an arrow.

Smaller fletching on your arrows also makes a difference. Larger fletch is more effected by the wind, smaller fletch is less effected. So having heavy arrows with tiny fletching is more accurate in wind.

Your bow's profile can also play an effect, particularly in heavier crosswinds. You'll have to compensate in the direction of the wind in order to stay on target. This can mean removing some accessories depending on your shooting style, but a heavier bow will also be less effected by the wind - and a bottom heavy bow will be more accurate.

Aiming with a Sight

If you use sights on your bow and do target shooting they can make things a bit easier on you as you can learn to shoot at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock on the target. If your arrows are dipping due to lost speed in windy conditions you might even aim at 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock.

Head Wind - Slightly higher, 12 o'clock.
Tail Wind - Slightly lower, 6 o'clock.
Cross Wind - 3 or 9 o'clock. (Or sometimes higher.)

And if the wind is coming from angles, a bit of head wind + cross wind for example, then you might find yourself aiming at 1, 2, 10 or 11 o'clock in order to have a more centered shot that is the correct height.

Cross winds will often slow your arrow down so you may find you have to aim closer to 9:30 or 2:30.

Traditional Aiming or Gap Shooting

If you are aiming off the arrow (Traditional Aiming) or Gap Shooting (similar to Traditional Aiming, but you are looking at the gap between the target and the side of the bow) then you will make similar adjustments just like you would with a sight, but you have to imagine and guess how much adjustment you need to do. eg. For gap shooting you might be shrinking or widening the gap, while aiming a bit higher depending on wind direction and power.

How The Wind Affects Your Arrows

• A wind blowing from 12 o'clock will not cause sideways drift, but will slow it down.
• A wind blowing 1 or 11 o'clock will cause a little sideways drift and slow it down.
• At 2 or 10 o'clock the sideways drift will be stronger, but the arrow will only slow down a more moderate amount.
• At 3 or 9 o'clock you're at a direct crosswind and the arrow will definitely have sideways drift, but it should only be slowed down marginally.
• At 4 or 8 o'clock you will see sideways drift, but the height should not be effected as much because the tailwind is giving it a bit of a push.
• At 5 or 7 o'clock most of what you will see it tailwind with a little sideways drift.
• At 6 o'clock you'll be at a tailwind, your arrows will go faster and slightly higher.

Fluctuating Wind Directions and Power

Whenever possible try to pay attention to the following and adjust accordingly:

• Which way flags are going. Wind socks are also handy.
• Which way trees and/or grass are going.
• Gusts - either wait for a gust to stop or adjust more than normal. Being patient and waiting is your best bet for accuracy as a gust can end at any time.
• Stable wind from one solid direction is a good time to shoot.
• Fluctuating winds form different directions can really cause problems.
• Don't worry what the wind or flags are doing behind the target, worry what the wind is doing in front of the target - preferably at half the distance.

Don't Forget the Wind is also Pushing You

Depending on how much you physically weigh, the wind can also be pushing YOU sideways too, thus causing you to be less stable during a shot. The best solution for this problem is to tighten up your abdominal muscles that your core (belly and chest area of your torso) remains stable.

Alternatively it is also possible to try and shoot from a position where you are less effected by the wind, such as a bowhunter who is stalking and trying to shoot a deer might decide to shoot from a different angle where trees or a hill might give them more protection from the wind.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much wind is too much?

Honestly, I find 30 kmph or more is quite a bit. Definitely more challenging, but not impossible. 40 kmph or more is when you might as well not even bother. 50 kmph or more is basically a windstorm. Seek shelter.

Is there any equipment I can buy to compensate for the wind?

Asides from heavier arrows with smaller fletching, yes, buy flags! Flags will help you learn how to look at the wind and adjust for the wind accordingly. Or failing to get a flag, try to get a wind sock, weather vane, or something that tells you what the wind is doing.

Any Questions?

If I left anything out please leave any questions in the comments below and I will respond to your questions ASAP.

Also for fun, here is scene from Game of Thrones:

The Bear Takedown Recurve Vs the Samick Sage

Q

Hey Charles, this is the bow I'm thinking about getting I'm just wondering what configuration would work best for me?

http://www.bow-shop.com/secure/store/index.php?main_page=document_product_info&cPath=124_127_141&products_id=584

- Jon C.

A

Hey Jon!

Ooo fancy, the Bear Takedown. I have been wanting one of those for almost a decade. I will probably get one eventually, if I ever stop buying antiques / vintage bows - or maybe I will buy a vintage Takedown. We shall see.

See also http://www.beararchery.com/bows/traditional/takedown so you have a better idea of its stats.

The Takedown has two different riser lengths, 56 and 60 inches. I recommend the 60 as it is more forgiving of canting mistakes. (Shorter bows / shorter risers are less forgiving, so if you make a canting mistake it can be way off instead of a little off.)

The real problem is the poundage of the limbs - for which the minimum is 35 lbs. Ideally for someone who is still learning I recommend 20 to 25 lbs so that they can work on building their form while building strength, and then later get a 30 to 35 lb bow and work their way up to 40 to 45 lbs. Starting off at 35 lbs right away can cause a person to develop bad habits and I want my students to avoid that.

The analogy I like to use is dumbbells and weightlifting. You start off the smaller dumbbells, use them with good form in a variety of exercises, build up strength and eventually go to a bigger set of dumbbells when the old dumbbells start to feel too easy. This way a person progresses from one stage to the next, working on their form while simultaneously building strength/endurance.

Starting off with a bow that is too strong a person will often get exhausted easily, their endurance will lag, they will start making form mistakes / shooting too quickly / etc.

Here is one you might consider in the meantime:

Samick Sage - available with 25 lb limbs
http://www.bow-shop.com/secure/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=124_127_201&products_id=1558

Then after you build up strength and that bow feels easy you can get a 30 to 35 lb bow, eg. the Takedown, and progress from there.

The good news about both the Sage and the Takedown is that you get more powerful limbs as you progress too, allowing you to experiment with other poundages to see which one you like best. Obviously there will be a big price difference between those two bows.

Also it is handy to have an extra bow that is easier to pull in the future should you ever introduce a friend to archery, or perhaps even just have off-days when you want to relax and just shoot without it feeling like a weightlifting workout.

Pros and Cons

The Bear Takedown is one of the best traditional recurves you can get. It is powerful, durable and comes with a great warranty.

The Samick Sage in comparison is basically the Ford F-150 of bows - it does everything you need the bow to do, on a budget. (History Note - Decades ago the Damon Howatt X-200 / Martin X-150 used to fill that role, and was quite literally the F-150 of bows.)

Both bows have lots of great reviews, although Bear's warranty / craftsmanship / quality assurance certainly make it a fan favourite.

Both bows are attractive to look at. The Takedown is obviously prettier, but the Sage is certainly not ugly either.

There is the obvious price difference, however the price I don't think is the biggest issue here. It is the available poundages that matter.

The Samick Sage is available in 25 lbs. It is even possible to get 20 lb limbs that match it, but it is trickier to find those. This will make it easier to pull and work on quality form.

The Bear Takedown has a minimum of 35 lbs. It is not meant for someone who is still building up their strength and working on form. It was primarily designed to be used for bowhunting.

The Samick Sage does have a very good resale value. If you buy one for $175 CDN you can later sell it for about $140-$150 CDN. Thus if you decide to get one and later switch to the Bear Takedown, that is certainly an option. Or keep it as an extra bow for friends to try archery.

Conclusions

By now you have probably guessed that I feel strongly about this whole patience / proper form / building up strength issue. I have seen past students ignore my advice because I was not adamant enough about the whole being patient / working on proper form issue, and they bought a bow that was too powerful for them to properly practice with and they eventually stopped shooting because it was simply too hard - and now their bow is probably collecting dust in a closet.

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca

Taking a Break from Personal Training / Sports Training

July 22nd 2017.

On June 24th, 4 weeks ago today, my wife gave birth to our son Richard. I write this on my laptop while he sleeps (and farts) curled up next to me on a baby blanket.

On August 28th I will be officially retiring from being a personal trainer / sports trainer and I will begin devoting my time towards being a full time stay-at-home dad while my wife pursues her law career.

This means I only have 5 weeks and 1 day before my temporary retirement. Anyone in Toronto wishing to have archery lessons - which is my main thing this time of year - should contact me ASAP if they are seeking to have archery lessons.

This will therefore effect scheduling. As the Temporary Retirement Day approaches, I will be encouraging any new students to either choose a lesser number of lessons, or a very aggressive schedule to get the lessons done ASAP.

People seeking to have 10 archery lessons should be thinking of 2 or even 3 lessons per week, instead of the normal one lesson per week schedule. The goal being to get all the lessons done before August 28th.

Outstanding Lessons

Any outstanding lessons will either be refunded or conducted on weekends in September 2017. I am hoping to have all outstanding lessons done before the end of August, but there might be a few people who need to have their lessons on weekends in September or refunded.

The Archery Coach formally known as Charles, February 2017

Temporary Retirement???

After August 28th I will also be raising my rates and my availability will become extremely limited.

I am already the most expensive and most sought after archery instructor in Toronto - hence why I have been able to raise my rates multiple times over the years, due to the demand. However I may be raising my rates again to compensate for the fact that I will need to arrange babysitting for a newborn / toddler just to make it possible for me to teach people seeking archery lessons.

So that means I won't be retiring from personal training / sports training entirely, rather my availability and willingness to teach will be highly dependent on a variety of factors, such as the availability of a babysitter, my personal availability, etc.

Richard's first trip to the Toronto Archery Range

So what will I be doing in the future?

Well, asides from changing Richard's diapers, clothing him, bathing him, feeding him, burping him, letting him sleep on my chest, teaching him how to go potty, teaching him archery, baseball, fishing, how to read, how to write, how to do math, how to cheat at poker...

On my To Do List I will also be doing the following:

• Finishing my second book about archery and finally publish it.
• Perhaps write a few more articles for Archery Focus Magazine or other archery publications.
• Writing archery equipment reviews for archerytoronto.ca.
• Bowmaking. I have 2 pieces of cherry and 2 pieces of black walnut just waiting to be turned into pyramid bows / flatblows.
• Wooden arrow dowel making. (I started making a wooden arrow dowel jig two years ago and I would love to finish making the jig and start making arrows.)
• Arrow fletching.
• Making Bowstrings / Re-Serving Bowstrings.
• Repairing Compound Bows (a rare skill, but nevertheless).
• Working on my other website projectgriddless.ca, which is dedicated to off-the-grid living, survivalism, and bow-making.
• Teaching archery to actors and thespians - I got into this years ago and I plan to keep doing this.
• Doing trick shot videos.
• Fishing and Bowfishing.
• Working on my culinary skills.
• Working on my carpentry skills.
• Various fitness goals.
• Sleeping in more often.
• Camping.
• Travel.
• Raising my son to be a good person.

*Special Note* It is also theoretically possible that my wife's law career might take us outside of Toronto, possibly moving to a smaller city or town within Ontario, but I am very confident that even if that did happen, we would be back as both my wife and I have family here in Toronto and it is above all else, our home. If however we ended up living in a rural area that we could potentially get horses, lets add the following things to my To Do List:

• Buy horses.
• Breed horses.
• Horse maintenance.
• Pay expensive vet bills.
• Teach Richard how to ride.
• Get into equestrian archery.
• Opening an archery range / horse-riding school.

So yeah, plenty of possibilities in my future. My temporary retirement from being a personal trainer / sports trainer is simply a new step on a long road of adventures.

The future? We shall see.

How to Set Realistic Weightlifting Goals

If a person goes to the gym and sets for themselves an unrealistic goal of someday "bench pressing 400 lbs" they are basically just setting themselves up for failure.

What people should do instead is to first determine the following:

How much can I currently lift doing particular exercises?

So for example, if their chosen exercise is the bench press, and they can currently bench press 120 lbs, they should then set a new goal that is within range. Like bench pressing 125 by the end of the week, and later trying to bench press 150 within several months.

Those are realistic goals a person could set.

And the trick here is that such goals will vary with the person.

A much stronger person, who can already bench press 170 lbs might set a short term goal of 180, and a long term goal of 200.

Thus goal setting with respect to weightlifting should be to do the following:

One - Make a system / schedule whereby you are doing a variety of exercises geared towards achieving your weightlifting goal.

Two - Set a short term goal.

Three - Set a long term goal.

Four - When you achieve your short term goal, set a NEW short term goal that is slightly harder, but still below your long term goal.

Five - Keep setting and achieving your short term goals until you eventually achieve your long term goal.

Easy.

But the first trick is knowing how much you can already manage. Then you will have a better idea of how to set realistic short term and long term goals.

When setting such goals you should also be setting goals that are SAFE!

And if you know you are stretching the limits of safety, at least get yourself a spotter so you lower the chances of seriously hurting yourself.

Weightlifting Fails, Things Not To Do

Realizing That Was Stupid

GET A SPOTTER!

5 Slimming Foods for a High Protein Diet

Guest Post by Henry V.

Eating healthy foods can greatly help in losing weight painlessly. Sometimes it is just a no-brainer when it comes to picking foods that you just know are good for you. Check out the foods below and get to know the evidence.

Many people use to hold misconception with the foods and weight loss. They often starve themselves and rush to lose weight quickly. But, this is the injustice and the mistake you commit to the body.

Our body needs to be fueled up with the nutritious food items to stay healthy and fit. So, eating sufficient food and consuming certain nutrients is not only essential for the better functioning of the body but also it promotes weight loss.

In the same way, protein is one of the most beneficial nutrients in the body. It is used for repairing muscle tissue and many of the other tissues in our body that suffer wear and tear.

How can Protein help you to lose weight?

Incorporating protein-rich food items to the diet eliminates the hunger pangs and makes you feel fuller for a longer period of time. When you are satiated, there are little chances that you crave for the junk foods and intake unnecessary calories.

Protein gives energy to the body, that ultimately helps in burning calories and growing muscles. This is the reason why protein supplements are consumed by the people going the gym.

Now that we have learned the benefits of protein in losing weight, let us check 5 protein-rich foods that would be helpful for being into toned shape.

Eggs

1 or 2 eggs a day would add a good amount of protein to your diet. Apart from the protein, eggs are a good source of vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin A, iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium.

This is the main reason behind the title awarded to the eggs as the healthiest food.

Legumes and Beans

Consuming legumes and beans are considered to be the best substitute to that of lean chicken. This is the main reason, why these foods are considered to be the richest source of protein for the vegetarians.

A half cup of cooked beans serves 7-10 grams of protein. Therefore, beans are considered as the superfood. Apart from being high in proteins, it has several other benefits that keep brain, heart, muscles and intestines healthy.

Pan Fried Lake Trout

Fish

Be it lean chicken, salmon, turkey, cod or tuna; they are the richest source of proteins. Every 100 grams of these food items contains approx. 40-55% of the protein which is quite more. This is not it! They are a prominent source of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, omega 3 fatty acids, and iron. Moreover, it has capability make you satisfied for protracted.

For obvious reasons you should try to avoid deep fried fish covered in batter, and also avoid fish that has a high mercury content. Lake fish (freshwater trout/salmon/catfish/crab/etc) is generally safer than oceanic fish (halibut/tuna/saltwater bass/shark/etc) when it comes to mercury content.

Low-fat Dairy (Milk, Yogurt)

Yes, your favorite food items are healthy in order to maintain a fit body.

A glass of low-fat milk a day feeds sufficient amount of protein that has fewest calories and highest amount of calcium in it. Whereas the appropriate proportion of cheese and cottage cheese would fuse additional protein to the body. (Avoid cheeses that have higher fat / higher salt content.)

Consuming 4 ounces of Greek yogurt feeds 6 grams of protein and brings in oodles of nutrients and healthy bacteria. It improves the digestion process. For added flavour / nutrition toss some berries in with the yogurt too.

Whey protein powder is technically made from milk whey, so it also falls into this category. Whey is a byproduct of making cheese. In its powder form it is usually used by bodybuilders, weightlifters and athletes - but their goals are not to lose weight, it is to bulk up in muscle. As such whey protein powder is handy if that is a person's goal, but if they want to slim down they would probably be better off avoiding the whey powder completely. Thus please use a dose of discretion.

Healthy Nuts

Almonds, cashews, and pistachios are considered to be some of the healthiest nuts as they are lowest in calories. Additionally, it contains 40% of the protein among all other nutrients. Dietary fibers, magnesium, and calcium in it, proves to be the companion nutrients that helps to maintain a flat belly.

In terms of protein content almonds, pistachios and cashews also have the highest protein content (in that order). Almonds have 21 grams of protein per 100 grams, whereas pistachios have 20, and cashews 18 grams respectively.

If you don't enjoy almonds, cashews, and pistachios, not to worry. Many other nuts are also pretty healthy to eat too, even though they will have slightly higher calories.

Conclusions

As everything in excess can be harmful, it is necessary to intake sufficient quantity of protein. If taken in the correct proportion with vegetables/fruits, then it would definitely promote the weight loss and help you in keeping your body in toned shape.

Considering above slimming foods that are high in protein won't bring any side effects. This is because they are natural sources of protein.