How to Build STRONGER Tendons at Home (5 Simple Holds) — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00What's up, guys? Welcome back to my
2. 0:01channel. Have you ever seen a skinny guy
3. 0:03turn out to be stronger than much bigger
4. 0:06guy? His arms don't look that big, but
5. 0:08try to getting him to loosen his grip.
6. 0:10People often describe that as having
7. 0:12strong ligaments. Connective tissue does
8. 0:15play a role, but tendons are the more
9. 0:18accurate term [music] here. They connect
10. 0:20your muscles to your bones and transmit
11. 0:23your force. Your strength also depends
12. 0:25on your muscles, your neural systems,
13. 0:29and your technique. Today, I will show
14. 0:31you five isometric exercise you can do
15. 0:34at home. You will need a wall, a towel,
16. 0:37and a little space. A pull-up bar will
17. 0:38help with one of them, but I will also
18. 0:40show you an alternative without one. We
19. 0:44will cover how to increase the load
20. 0:46gradually and why this kind of training
21. 0:48[music] can sometimes reduce the pain.
22. 0:50And at the end, there are two tests and
23. 0:53three levels. You can see how your
24. 0:55performance compares with how strong you
25. 0:58look. Let's start with your grip.
26. 1:00[music] Sometimes your back could keep
27. 1:02doing pull-ups, but your fingers end the
28. 1:04set for you. Take a normal grip on a
29. 1:07securely mounted pull-up bar and
30. 1:09gradually transfer your weight onto your
31. 1:11hands. Keep your elbows straight and
32. 1:14avoid swinging. Find a shoulder position
33. 1:16that feels comfortable and pain-free and
34. 1:18hold it. [music] If that's too hard,
35. 1:20keep your feet on a stable support and
36. 1:22use your legs to help. That lets you
37. 1:24adjust the load instead of dropping off
38. 1:26after 3 seconds. Start with 15 to 20
39. 1:30seconds. Gradually work up to 20 to 30
40. 1:33seconds with good control. No pull-up
41. 1:35bar? Pick up two sturdy bags filled with
42. 1:37books or water bottles. Stand tall, hold
43. 1:40them by your sides, and keep the handles
44. 1:42from slipping out of your hands. Choose
45. 1:44a weight that makes your grip work by
46. 1:46the end of the hold. This loads your
47. 1:48forearm muscles and the tendons that
48. 1:50transmit their force to your fingers.
49. 1:52[music] Add weight gradually. Your
50. 1:53connective tissues need time to get used
51. 1:56to the extra work, too. Remember your
52. 1:58regular bar hang time. You'll need it
53. 2:00for the test. Don't use the bag hold for
54. 2:03that scoring table because the load is
55. 2:05different. For this next hold, you won't
56. 2:08even need a towel. Get into a push-up
57. 2:10position, bend your elbows, and stop
58. 2:12about halfway down. Keep your body in a
59. 2:15straight line. Angle your elbows
60. 2:16slightly back rather than flaring them
61. 2:19straight out to the sides. Hold for
62. 2:21about 20 seconds and keep breathing
63. 2:23normally. If your lower back sags
64. 2:25[music] or you can only last a couple of
65. 2:27seconds, put your hands on a sturdy
66. 2:29elevated surface. The higher the
67. 2:31support, the easier the hold. Choose a
68. 2:33height that lets you maintain your
69. 2:35[music] position for the whole set. Your
70. 2:37chest, shoulders, triceps, and core are
71. 2:39working. Your tendons are transmitting
72. 2:42force even though there's almost no
73. 2:44visible movement. One useful thing about
74. 2:46isometrics is that you can choose a
75. 2:49particular position and control the
76. 2:51effort there, but the load can still be
77. 2:53substantial. Staying still doesn't
78. 2:55automatically make an exercise gentle.
79. 2:58Now, let's move down to your ankle. Your
80. 3:00Achilles tendon sits just above the back
81. 3:03of your heel. It transmits force from
82. 3:05your calf muscles to your foot when you
83. 3:07walk, push off, or rise onto your toes.
84. 3:10Stand [music] next to a wall, slowly
85. 3:12lift your heels, and hold a comfortable
86. 3:14position. Start on both feet. Keep your
87. 3:17knees almost straight and don't let your
88. 3:19feet roll outward. Hold for 20 to 30
89. 3:22seconds. Your hand helps with balance
90. 3:24while your legs carry most of the load.
91. 3:27Once both legs can handle that
92. 3:29comfortably, gradually shift more weight
93. 3:31onto one leg. The [music] next step is a
94. 3:33single leg hold with your hand on the
95. 3:36wall for support. Add external weight
96. 3:38after you've built up to that. In one
97. 3:40study, the Achilles tendon showed clear
98. 3:43adaptations [music]
99. 3:44to higher loading while the lower load
100. 3:46condition did not produce the [music]
101. 3:48same changes. So, as you get used to the
102. 3:50exercise, gradually make it more
103. 3:52challenging. [music] Start on a flat
104. 3:54floor. You don't need to lower your heel
105. 3:56deeply off the edge of a step for this
106. 3:58exercise. For the next exercise, you'll
107. 4:01create the resistance yourself. Sit on
108. 4:03the floor, bend your knees slightly, and
109. 4:06loop the middle of a sturdy towel around
110. 4:08the middle of your feet. Hold the ends,
111. 4:10sit tall, and bend your elbows. Adjust
112. 4:13your leg position until the towel is
113. 4:15already under tension. Now, pull your
114. 4:17hands toward you while your feet push
115. 4:20against that effort. Keep your arms,
116. 4:22[music] legs, and torso in the same
117. 4:24position. Build the tension gradually.
118. 4:26Start with moderate effort, then work up
119. 4:28to around seven out of 10 on your own
120. 4:30effort scale. Hold for 20 seconds, then
121. 4:33ease off slowly. You should feel your
122. 4:35arms and back [music] working. If you
123. 4:37have to round your lower back or lean
124. 4:39your whole body backward, reduce the
125. 4:40effort. Here, the load depends on how
126. 4:43hard you pull. So, a time record doesn't
127. 4:45tell you much. You could simply pull
128. 4:47less [music] and sit there longer. Keep
129. 4:49your position and your effort consistent
130. 4:51from one set to the next. Most people
131. 4:53know this last exercise. Let's see how
132. 4:54well. Place your back against a wall,
133. 4:56step your feet forward, and slowly lower
134. 4:58yourself. For the test version, your
135. 5:00thighs should be roughly parallel to the
136. 5:02floor with your shins close to vertical.
137. 5:05Cross your arms over your chest. Hold
138. 5:07that position. Don't push down on your
139. 5:08thighs with your hands or gradually
140. 5:10slide upward. That changes the result.
141. 5:13For regular training, start at a depth
142. 5:15that feels comfortable. If the deeper
143. 5:17position causes pain, don't [music]
144. 5:19force yourself to complete the test.
145. 5:21During the hold, the muscles at the
146. 5:22front of your thighs create force,
147. 5:24[music] which is transmitted through the
148. 5:25tendons around your knee. Your muscles
149. 5:27get a training stimulus, [music] too.
150. 5:29You can't separate their work from the
151. 5:31tendons here. In a small study involving
152. 5:33eight men, 12 weeks of isometric
153. 5:35training increased knee extension
154. 5:37strength by about a third, while the
155. 5:39volume of the trained muscles increased
156. 5:41by about 8%. The tendon structures also
157. 5:44changed their mechanical [music]
158. 5:45properties. It shows that muscle size
159. 5:47and strength can improve by different
160. 5:49amounts. It doesn't mean this home
161. 5:51routine will give you the same
162. 5:52percentages. Once 20 to 30 seconds feels
163. 5:55controlled, you can gradually add a
164. 5:57little weight, for example, in a
165. 5:58securely positioned [music] backpack
166. 6:00worn on the front of your body. Change
167. 6:02one thing at a time, the duration or the
168. 6:04load. Now, let's talk about pain. You
169. 6:06may have heard that isometrics can
170. 6:08relieve knee or elbow pain. There is
171. 6:10some research behind that, but a lot
172. 6:12depends on what's causing the pain. For
173. 6:14example, in a small study of six
174. 6:16volleyball players with pain in the
175. 6:18tendon below the kneecap, isometric
176. 6:20exercise reduced pain and the effect
177. 6:22lasted for at least 45 [music]
178. 6:24minutes. A later study found a smaller
179. 6:26effect with no advantage for isometric
180. 6:28exercise over exercises involving
181. 6:31movement. So, a hold may help some
182. 6:32people feel better, but you shouldn't
183. 6:34expect the same response from everyone.
184. 6:36Also, pain near a joint can come from a
185. 6:39tendon. Feeling better after an exercise
186. 6:42doesn't mean you've repaired your
187. 6:44cartilage or meniscus in one set. The
188. 6:47practical value of isometrics is that
189. 6:49you can choose a position and gradually
190. 6:52reintroduce a tolerable load. For some
191. 6:55tendon conditions, this kind of work can
192. 6:57form part of rehabilitation. The
193. 6:59exercises need to match the specific
194. 7:01problem. So, distinguish muscle effort
195. 7:04from sharp or increasing pain. Stop the
196. 7:06exercise if that kind of pain appears.
197. 7:09[music]
198. 7:09If pain persists, there's swelling, or
199. 7:12it started after an injury, get the
200. 7:14cause assessed first. Start with two
201. 7:16sessions a week with at least a day
202. 7:18between them. If you're recovering well
203. 7:20and your pain isn't worse the next day,
204. 7:23you can build up to three. Before you
205. 7:25begin, spend a few minutes doing [music]
206. 7:27easy movements, followed by one easier
207. 7:30practice hold for each exercise. Start
208. 7:33with two working sets of each exercise.
209. 7:35Usually, that's 20 to 30 seconds,
210. 7:38although you can start your bar hangs at
211. 7:4015. Rest for 45 [music]
212. 7:42to 90 seconds between sets. If you're
213. 7:45doing single-leg calf holds, complete
214. 7:47the sets on each side. With shorter rest
215. 7:50periods, this starting routine should
216. 7:52take around 15 [music] to 20 minutes. If
217. 7:54you need more rest, allow more time. By
218. 7:57the end of the hold, it should feel
219. 7:59challenging, but you should still be
220. 8:01able to maintain your position and keep
221. 8:03breathing. Leave yourself more room in
222. 8:05your first few sessions. [music]
223. 8:07Once you can hold your chosen time
224. 8:09comfortably in every set, make the
225. 8:11exercise a little harder, then start
226. 8:14again with a shorter hold. 20 seconds is
227. 8:17a useful starting point. Your tendon
228. 8:19isn't waiting for a particular number on
229. 8:21the timer before it begins adapting. The
230. 8:24load, consistency, and recovery all
231. 8:27matter. Regular strength exercises load
232. 8:30your tendons, too. If you already train,
233. 8:32start by adding one or two holds to your
234. 8:35program and see how you recover. Over
235. 8:38time, you can increase to three sets.
236. 8:41Some early improvements may come from
237. 8:43learning the position and getting better
238. 8:45at producing force in it. 8 to 12 weeks
239. 8:48is a more useful longer-term window for
240. 8:51reviewing your progress. Even if your
241. 8:53hold times improve quickly, take your
242. 8:56time adding [music] weight. Now, test
243. 8:58yourself. Do these tests on a separate
244. 9:01day
245. 9:01>> [music]
246. 9:01>> when you're fresh after warming up. Rest
247. 9:04for 3 to 5 minutes between them. One
248. 9:06attempt at each is enough. The first
249. 9:09test is a regular two-handed bar hang
250. 9:12with no help from your feet. The second
251. 9:14is a wall sit with your [music] thighs
252. 9:16roughly parallel to the floor, arms
253. 9:18crossed over your chest, and no sliding
254. 9:21upward. Stop the timer when you lose the
255. 9:23position. If you feel pain, stop the
256. 9:25test and leave that result out of the
257. 9:27scoring. For the bar hang, under 20
258. 9:30seconds earns zero points. 20 to 39
259. 9:33seconds earns one point. [music] 40
260. 9:35seconds or longer earns two. For the
261. 9:38wall sit, under 30 seconds earns zero
262. 9:41points. 30 to 59 seconds earns one
263. 9:44point. 60 seconds or longer earns two.
264. 9:48Add your points together. Zero or one,
265. 9:50power [music] saving mode. Start with
266. 9:52the easier versions and build up your
267. 9:54first solid seconds. Two or three,
268. 9:57workhorse. You've already built a base
269. 10:00in at least one of the tests. Check
270. 10:02where you scored fewer points and start
271. 10:04with that exercise. Four, [music]
272. 10:06quietly strong. You're already
273. 10:08comfortable with these holds. You can
274. 10:10gradually increase the difficulty. This
275. 10:13is our challenge scale. Your body
276. 10:15weight, experience, and technique all
277. 10:17affect your score. These times don't
278. 10:19measure joint health or tendon strength.
279. 10:22No pull-up bar, record just your wall
280. 10:24sit time and skip the combined score for
281. 10:26now. Leave two numbers in the comments.
282. 10:29Your bar hang time and [music]
283. 10:31wall sit time. And tell me which
284. 10:33exercise you will work on first. Repeat
285. 10:36the test under the same conditions in 4
286. 10:38weeks. Then reply into your own
287. 10:40comments. For now, choose your right
288. 10:42difficulty and get your first session
289. 10:44done. You have already got a wall and a
290. 10:47towel. If this video was helpful, please
291. 10:49leave a like and subscribe to my
292. 10:50channel. And if you want training with
293. 10:52me, you can send me a message on my
294. 10:54Gmail.
295. 10:55See you in the next one.