The SUPER Athlete Secret - Tendon Training (Part 2) “Qualities of Tension” & Short Range Applications
Manipulating tension beyond “length” to make specific gains and how do use short range exercises to boost your gains
Contents:
“Qualities of Tension”
Short Range Exercise Uses to Boost Gains in Strength, Power, and Recovery
Potentiation
Accessory Work
Recovery and Preparation
Drawbacks and “Balanced” Programming - “Hybrid Philosophy” vs the World
Summary and Next Topics in Series
Qualities of Tension
The last post began explaining “short versus long range” exercises and their governing difference being the amount of tension they place on a tendon.
Tendons are effectively trained through tension placed on them, just like muscles. However, because tendons aren’t innervated, and muscles are, we need to use particular muscle movements to place mechanical tension on tendons and other connective tissues.
In summation, “length“ is the quality that primarily was discussed and is used to facilitate connective tissue development. “Longer” range exercises place more length and “stretch” on a tendon and thus more “tension” - creating an adaptive stimulus to improve its ability to handle more load/tension in the future.
However, there is more than “length” that can place tension on a tendon.
A more complete list would be:
Length
Load
Speed
These 3 qualities are the qualities of an exercise repetition that can be manipulated to place various amounts and types of tension on a tendon to produce adaptations.
Obviously by now we understand “short versus long range” is a manipulation of the length of a repetition.
The second two qualities have actually been discussed on this substack before without being represented in this way. (Strength/muscle & plyometrics)
“Load“ is a fairly intuitive concept where the higher the weight that is placed on a muscle/tendon over time, as long as this is not exceeding the tendon's current capacity, Will facilitate greater adaptations to bear heavy resistance on the connective tissues (and skeletal system).
“Speed“ refers to the tempo of an exercise repetition performed where, just like load, The greater the speed of the contraction the more initial tension is placed on a tendon to resist. (Sprinting/jumping are “high” tension despite “low” length & load)
The more length, load (weight), and/or speed an exercise demand, the more a tendon is loaded as well as each quality emphasizing some different properties (tendon size, max strength, elasticity).
For maximum tendon development, each of these qualities should be gradually increased in your capacity to perform them.
Tendons are more gradually adapting then muscles and require more patience - as well as the fact that they simultaneously will require more rest time if you exceed their capacity temporarily.
The goal of connective tissue development is to increase the overall capacity of your connective tissues to bear length, weight, and speed (in that order) by progressing your performance in those areas without exceeding that capacity.
When you exceed that capacity, tendon inflammation (tendonitis) & possible ruptures occur. It can be very easy to perform exercises that the muscle can contract hard enough to handle but a joint cannot.
High tendon strength + weak muscles = muscle pull
High muscle strength + weak tendon = joint rupture/inhibited strength & power
By developing a tendon that can handle any type of tension you throw at it in *conjunction* with your muscle development you will prevent injury and remain athletic and maximally strong throughout your life. The tendons THEMSELVES will provide more speed and power to you joints on their own when you load them. Hence the “secret” to being a freak athlete. This is the goal of intelligently manipulating tension qualities in your long term training.
Short Range Exercises
Where a short-range exercise sits on this 3-way continuum is that the “length” of the movement/tension is short - but speed and load can be manipulated greatly to produce various positive effects for your strength & athletic ability.
While long range exercises are primary for your physical “hardware” development - short range exercises provide many positive intelligent uses that we will discuss below.