Sarah Boyd/USA Archery; BI
Casey Kaufhold comes from a long line of archers — four generations of her family have shot competitively. But she's the first to go for gold at the Olympics.
Kaufhold shot her first arrow when she was 3 and has been competing since she was 8.
The 20-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is preparing for her second Olympic Games, now as the world's top female archer.
"Archery is something that's super unique," she told Business Insider. "I just know that I really enjoy it. To be able to do this and have it be the thing I love and still pay the bills is amazing."
Sarah Boyd/USA Archery
But being an Olympic athlete has its pros and cons. She's traveled the world for competitions and made friends, and she's spent lots of time with her Team USA "sisters."
But she hasn't been home for longer than nine days since March, and she gave up studying at Texas A&M University to train full time after she found it difficult to balance the two.
With Paris in her sights, Kaufhold shared how she stays physically and mentally fit.
In competitions, archers shoot at a target 70 meters away and aim to get the most points. Arrows that land closer to the center of the target gain more points.
Sarah Boyd/USA Archery
"Archery is a very repetitive sport," she said. "You kind of just do the same thing over and over again." For Kaufhold, this means shooting 250 to 300 arrows in six hours, six days a week. She shoots 150 arrows on light days.
Kaufhold also stretches before and after each practice.
"It's such specific muscles being used over and over again, so stretching is really important," Kaufhold said. She also tries to pull arrows out of the target with her right arm, since she shoots with her left, to try to balance out the number of drawing-back motions she does on each side.
In addition, she does low-impact cardio, such as walking or swimming, three times a week. It's "super important to have the stamina to be able to go through days and days and days of competition," she said.
Most of her strength training involves pulling back her 40-pound bow, but she also does upper-body exercises in the gym if she wants to increase her bow's weight. (The heavier the bow, the faster the arrow goes, and the more accurate it shoots.)
Sarah Boyd/USA archery
In addition to physical training, Kaufhold works with a sports psychologist on her mindset.
She's working on calming her mind and not letting the pressure get to her. Ultimately, she wants to ensure that her form and technique are the same in competitions as they are in practice.
She says mantras in her head before every shot, including words to describe how she's feeling, to help her increase her awareness of her body and drown out what's going on around her. She also tries to slow her breathing to calm and center herself under pressure.
Going into the games as the world No. 1 could be a huge source of pressure, but she's decided not to focus on that.
Sarah Boyd/USA Archery
"Of course I feel pressure because this is something that's very important to me," she said, "but I'm going to focus on the feelings of excitement, because a lot of times they're the same thing — it's just how you perceive it."
Kaufhold said she eats a "pretty balanced diet" and never misses a meal.
"Protein is super important for building muscle or muscle recovery," she said. "I usually have 20 to 30 grams of protein for breakfast, then 50 grams for lunch and 50 grams for dinner."
Around competitions, she eats even more protein and adds carbohydrates for an energy boost. In the morning before a competition, Kaufhold might eat an extra bowl of oatmeal or have an extra portion of pasta with her lunch.
