Are you looking to build strong tendons, ligaments and bones? This video and article will show you what this means and more importantly how to do it.
Make sure to avoid a big mistake that many bodybuilders (and the people who follow their training info) commonly do, and how this can lead to injuries of a ripped tendon. You must lockout your reps. This strengthens the joints and surrounding connective tissues. If you don’t do this, then one time when you’re handling a big weight and it forces you to lockout, your tendons can rip.
If you want strong ligaments, tendons, joints, and bones then you’ll want to follow these five ideas in your training.
1) Maximum strength – By working the strength at or near a max lots of stress will be place on these connective tissues. On exactly what, like the bones or ligaments, will depend on the specific exercise.
2) High repetitions – This is similar to max strength in that when you do an exercise for higher repetitions (and I’m talking about 50-100 and beyond) lots of the stress may be taken off the muscles and go to the tendons, ligaments and more.
3) Odd Objects and Odd Angles – The work more than just the stabilizer muscles, but all these connective tissues as well as they fight to stabilize your bones, joints and muscles. Again the specifics depend on the exercise.
4) Isometrics – There are many forms of these. In simplest terms a max effort against an immovable object. Steve Justa even had a theory that you build your energy through isometrics and it plays out in the connective tissue primarily.
5) Supports – A favorite of the oldtime strongmen that you don’t see often. These are the best builders of bone strength possible. Once again all your connective tissues and muscles will fight to keep everything in place but the majority of stress is place on the bones themselves.
If you incorporate these different training methods into your overall routine and follow the principles of progressive training over time, you can’t help but to increase the strength (and even size) of your tendons, ligaments and bones.
For more details check out the Strengthen Your Structure Course.
Comments
As someone who travels allot I switched to progressive calisthenics program but I often wonder what I’ll do besides reping out once I’ve achieved the advanced movements. So with calisthenics I’ve got the high reps covered and even the odd object factor in a since, (single limb exercise like feet together one arm pushups require a tremendous amount of stabilization and connective tissue adaptation). Now while exercises like one arm pullups/handstand pushups may be a lifetime endeavor other exercises like pistols will max out much faster. Thus in an attempt to continue growth in a highly mobile package I’ve often wondered if isometrics could be adapted in some way. For instance I travel with a suspension trainer and via this trainer and some creativity I should be able to strain against an immovable force. To use your bicep example I could loop one end around an immovable abject and complete static contractions. But what I lack are the protocols on how to integrate this idea into my training program. Could the isometric protocols from Buds isometrics DVD be adapted for my uses? If not a training protocol geared toward minimal/highly mobile equipment could be a product idea, I know I’d buy it.
Thanks for that response Logan,
over the years I have put this question to several “gurus” but received no reply (they asked for questions). It makes perfect sense. Thanks again.
All the best.
Isaac, you could definitely find some ideas you could apply in either Bud’s or Justa’s new DVD’s. Something as simple as a towel can be used for many different isometrics.
Anthony, thanks for asking the question that prompted this post.
Thanks for the advise about Bud’s and Justa’s books. You answered a question that I’ve been thinking about for along time.
Keep up the good work!
Logan, thanks for speaking to a very needed and neglected subject. I first read about tendion trainning in Brooks Kubiks Dinosaur training, and later in George Jowett’s writings. I enjoy training tendions and liagaments. I do combine with with full range movements, myself.