{"id":267693,"date":"2026-01-28T04:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267693\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T04:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:26:08","slug":"how-training-for-tendon-strength-can-help-to-improve-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267693\/","title":{"rendered":"How Training for Tendon Strength Can Help to Improve Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

DR. KEITH BAAR still remembers the question. It was several years ago, and Baar, a strength coach turned molecular physiologist at the University of California, Davis<\/a>, was asked by the English Institute of Sport: how could he make world-class cyclists stronger? <\/p>\n

The kicker: He had to do it without adding bulk. In most sports, the easy answer to increasing strength and power is to pack on more muscle; a bigger muscle can easily produce more force. But a heavier cyclist also has to move all that extra bulk during a race. Adding weight wouldn\u2019t make the cyclist better. Hence, Baar\u2019s challenge. <\/p>\n

Then Baar found his answer: Make your tendons work better. \u201cWe have the little motors in our muscles that produce force,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat force has to be transmitted from our muscle to our bone. And that goes through tendons.\u201d <\/p>\n

Meet the most underrated frontier for improving performance\u2014and one that\u2019s rapidly drawing attention. When many trainers and fitness enthusiasts ponder ways to improve their athleticism, they think of adding muscle, or improving their aerobic capacity, or playing their sport more. But your tendons and ligaments possess untold potential\u2014and strengthening these connective tissues has become Baar\u2019s obsession. <\/p>\n

What You Can Gain Through Tendon Training<\/p>\n

Training your tendons has some obvious benefits. Every active guy knows that certain injuries (think: ACL and Achilles tears) can spell doom. These injuries occur to connective tissues (or sinews\u2014tough, stringy bands of collagen fibers that link classic muscle to your bones and connect bones to bones), and strengthening those tissues can bulletproof you against injury. It can also make you more athletic and bouncy. <\/p>\n

We forget this often in our training, because it\u2019s much easier to focus on \u201cmuscles\u201d. You can \u201cfeel\u201d a muscle when you train it, after all. But if your muscles are a team of tug-of-war contestants, the tendon is the rope. <\/p>\n

Baar has focused on that rope. To determine how best to train sinew, he grew samples of human-derived connective tissue in petri dishes and strung each one between two bone-like calcium anchors. He and his team then pulled and stretched the tissues, mimicking different types of exercise. He bathed them in nutrients or blood samples to see how they responded.<\/p>\n

The research eventually led to protocols that forward-thinking coaches and athletes have implemented to both stay healthy and push performance. The Denver Broncos, Cirque de Soleil, and several NBA teams have adopted his methods. \u201cYou have contortionists who can put their feet on the back of their head\u2026And then there\u2019s the springy people,\u201d he says. \u201cThose individuals are gonna be prone to injuries.\u201d <\/p>\n

His techniques can help any athlete avoid injury\u2014and boost your strength and athleticism, too. <\/p>\n

Tendons Need More Than Stretching
<\/p>\n

Many gym bros believe maximal flexibility<\/a> is key to preventing injury. Legions of coaches believe this too, prescribing exercises like toe-touches and hamstring stretches as key warmups. <\/p>\n

Baar is just the latest trainer to dispute this. \u201cIf standard reach-and-stretch flexibility training were the best way to reduce injuries, ” he says, \u201cthen the lowest rate of injuries should be in women’s gymnastics.\u201d Gymnasts spend countless practice hours on stretching. Thing is, Baar says, female gymnasts have the highest rate of Achilles tendon ruptures among NCAA athletes. <\/p>\n

Passive stretching does more than just lengthen your connective tissue, Baar explains. It inhibits your muscles\u2019 ability to spring into action when a split-second contraction is necessary. It\u2019s that muscle contraction that\u2019s required whenever you land after a big jump. Without muscular tension to share the load, your tendons absorb most of the force of your landing. That can overload them, leading to injuries and ruptures. <\/p>\n

Instead of endless stretching, work on your muscles\u2019 ability to jump to attention when necessary, by adding plyometrics<\/a>, which are hopping, jumping, or bounding moves. A great example of this: the pogo jump. <\/p>\n

Pogo Jump<\/p>\n

How to Do It:<\/p>\n

Stand upright, feet about hip width apart. Keeping your body stiff, jump a few inches off the floor.Bounce repeatedly, trying to jump high, minimizing your ground-contact time. <\/p>\n

Repeat for 20 to 30 seconds. Do three sets. You can do this as a daily workout warmup\u2014or do it 2 to 3 days a week as a part of your workout. <\/p>\n

Stretch (and Resist) for True Flexibility Gains<\/p>\n

Not that flexibility has no purpose. To hear Baar tell it, healthy tendons strike a balance between tendon compliance (stretchiness), stiffness (resistance to stretch), and elasticity (capacity to recoil after stretching). <\/p>\n

Think about any landing from a jump. You need that quick contraction (springiness), but that occurs as the tendon is stretching. So an overly tight tendon can\u2019t absorb the forces a muscle puts on it: instead of stretching like a bungee cord, it frays or snaps like a dried-out rubber band. \u201cWe get muscle pulls when the tendon is stiffer than the muscle is strong,\u201d says Baar. <\/p>\n

On the microscopic level, tendons consist of bundles of fibers running parallel, like hair in a ponytail. In a healthy tendon with high elasticity, Baar explains, groups of fibers glide by each other as the muscle contracts and lengthens. In too-stiff tendons, they clump together like dreadlocks, vulnerable to pulls and tears. \u201cThat’s kind of what we get with the older athlete,\u201d says Baar. \u201cIt becomes gummed up.\u201d <\/p>\n

Prevent that with long-hold isometrics: \u201cGo into position where you’re a little bit lengthened,\u201d he says. (Think of a hamstring stretch on your back or a pec stretch against a door jamb.) Then resist the stretch by contracting the stretching muscle (it will feel weird at first because you\u2019re used to going with the stretch). \u201cHold that position isometrically, then relax.\u201d You\u2019ll be able to stretch a little further for the next reps. Repeat two to three times. <\/p>\n

Doorway Pec Stretch<\/p>\n

How to Do It:<\/p>\n

Stand in a doorway and place your elbows against the jamb, upper arms horizontal, forearms vertical.Lean forward until you feel a stretch across your pecs.Without moving, press your elbows and forearms against the jamb, as if performing a pec-deck exercise. Hold 15 seconds. You don\u2019t have to push too hard: as little as 30 to 40 percent effort\u2014just feeling tension across the muscle\u2014is all you need.Release the tension, take a minute or two, and stretch again: you should be able to stretch a little further. <\/p>\n

Repeat up to three times. Aim to do this two times weekly. <\/p>\n

Isometrics for Real Tendon Strength<\/p>\n

Most lifters assume that when you lift, your tendons get stronger right along with your muscles. After testing scores of engineered tendons in his lab\u2013and subsequently testing his theories IRL, Baar concluded that, while connective tissues can get stronger with slow, heavy lifting, they respond best to isometric training<\/a>\u2014 or tensing a muscle without changing its length. (Think: wall sits.) <\/p>\n

Tendons don\u2019t need much tension to grow stronger: in one case study based on Baar\u2019s work, (viewable on YouTube), elite climber Emil Abrahamsson saw increases of up to 2,400 percent in grip strength testing after four weeks of mildly-challenging, ten-second hangs from a chin-up apparatus. \u201dIt’s not necessarily about how many repetitions, or how heavy the repetitions are,\u201d says Baar. \u201cIf we just put contractile force across the tendon for a longer time\u201310 to 30 seconds\u2013we get a really nice adaptation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Baar\u2019s research has shown that putting this brand of mild strain on the connective tissue repeatedly over a ten-minute period has almost shocking results. Try it between sets of non-competing exercises: a grip movement between sets of squats, for example, or an ankle move between sets of curls. <\/p>\n

Partial-Weight Chinup Bar Hang<\/p>\n

How to Do It:<\/p>\n

Stand under a chin-up bar set about a foot above your head (at the gym, you may need to place a box under a chinup station). Take any grip you like on the bar. Bend your legs a few inches and hang from the bar with your feet on the floor. You\u2019re trying to get 40 to 60 percent of your body weight\u2013enough to feel tension in your hands and forearms, but not enough to seriously challenge them. Hold for 10 seconds. Rest about 20 seconds (you can superset the move with another exercise that doesn\u2019t require grip strength), and repeat. Perform about 10 sets. The 10-Minute Rule of Tendon Training<\/p>\n

Got an injured tendon, or an area you really want to strengthen? Baar suggests incorporating a \u201cconnective tissue health\u201d session into your training: \u201cThis type of session would involve less than ten minutes of activity targeted to a tendon or ligament that is prone to injury.\u201d <\/p>\n

Runners might target their hamstrings, knees, and ankles, whereas baseball or tennis players might target their shoulders, elbows, or forearms. Baar recommends using a light weight, limiting the range of motion, and performing the moves on an off day or six hours before or after other training. <\/p>\n

The Recovery Circuit Workout<\/p>\n

Perform the following moves in circuit fashion as part of an off-day recovery workout or anytime drill at least six hours before or after any other training. Do 1 to 3 rounds. <\/p>\n

Pushup Hold<\/p>\n

Assume a pushup position. Lower yourself about halfway down under control. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. <\/p>\n

TRX Row Hold<\/p>\n

Hold the handles of a TRX or lie beneath a sturdy desk or table and hold onto the edges. Keeping your chest lifted and your shoulder blades pulled together, pull yourself about halfway up into the row position. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. <\/p>\n

Lunge Hold<\/p>\n

Stand upright with your right foot forward. Lower yourself into the lunge position, left knee hovering about four inches off the floor. Hold the position for 10 to 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. How Collagen Helps Your Training<\/p>\n

Yes, Baar makes money off the sale of some supplements (and he\u2019s upfront about this). But he still makes a compelling case for collagen. His research suggests that collagen (or gelatin, effectively identical) has benefit to tendon and ligament health \u2013 especially when combined with tendon-focused training protocols. <\/p>\n

In one<\/a> of his studies, a group of exercising men who took 15 grams of a gelatin and Vitamin C supplement one hour prior to a six-minute jump rope workout showed increased collagen synthesis compared to those who took less of the supplement or none at all.<\/p>\n

According to Baar, normal protein supplements like whey (the go-to protein for a guy seeking muscle and strength) lack one primary ingredient, the amino acid glycine. Collagen is rich in that amino. \u201cOne-third of the protein in collagen is glycine,\u201d Baar says. Post-training, he says, glycine levels in the bloodstream decrease, which suggests that a lack of this amino may limit the gains we can get in our connective tissue. Baar\u2019s solution: Blending whey and collagen, which, he says, will \u201callow you to get both a stimulus for muscle and for connective tissue protein synthesis.\u201d <\/p>\n

Others see potential in this too. Bespoke Physical Therapy<\/a>\u2019s Dan Giordano, DPT<\/a> recognizes there could be benefits of adding another layer to your supplement stack. \u201cCollagen supplementation appears to support tendon health, when combined with resistance or tendon-loading exercise,\u201d he says. \u201cHowever, more high-quality, large-scale studies are needed to confirm optimal dosing, timing, and long-term effects on tendon performance and injury prevention.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Andrew Heffernan, CSCS is a health, fitness, and Feldenkrais coach, and an award-winning health and fitness writer. His writing has been featured in\u00a0Men’s Health, Experience Life, Onnit.com<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Openfit,\u00a0among other outlets.\u00a0An\u00a0omnivorous athlete, Andrew is black belt in karate, a devoted weight lifter, and a frequent high finisher in triathlon and Spartan races. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.\u00a0<\/p>\n