Hi everyone,
Here's an article that will be published in Train Hard Fight Easy magazine soon. Thought you might like to read it.
Get stronger and faster without adding bulk by training your tendons!
The key to increasing speed and power without the excess bulk by Stephen Kirlew
Intro
The overwhelming focus for most guys in the gym is to train the muscles with the main goal of getting big and looking good. If that's all you want from your training then read no further. If you want to get up to 40% stronger and significantly faster without excess bulk then the following article will show you how it's possible by training the tendons. Five-time British champion, Stephen Kirlew is an expert on the subject and will tell us what he knows.
"The muscles make up approximately 60 -70% of your body's power" says Stephen, "the rest comes from the tendons which are often neglected when training. " Tendons are tough, flexible bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones and are extremely strong. "I weigh 176lbs and can lift more than guys double my size because my power comes from a combination of muscles and tendons and a lot of these huge guys don't realise that."
Half range and statics
"When I was 17 I read that Bruce Lee increased his speed and power by breaking the punch movement into 3. After a training session he would perform the 3 movements against a wall pushing his fist as hard as he could against a wall for 10 seconds. I decided to do this with the armwrestling movement and have been doing it at the end of every training session since. I attribute my explosivity and lean power to this method of training."
This simple principle of static training and breaking the exercise down can be applied to any exercise (bench press, pull ups, bicep curls etc). Here's an example of how to do it with a bench press:
Half motion (from top to half way point) - 3 sets of 6 reps
Position 1, 2 & 3 - 3 sets of 10 second holds for each position
Balance - muscles and tendons
When training, it's important to get a good balance between the muscles and tendons to get the biggest strength gains and to reduce the risk of injury. Here's an example of how Stephen combines muscle and tendon training with full range exercises for the muscles and half range and statics for the tendons.
Bicep curl - full range - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Bicep curl - half range (from 90 degrees to the top) - 3 sets of 8 reps
Bicep curl - static hold (hold at approximately 90 degrees) - 3 sets of 10 second holds
Stephen incorporates specific tendon training exercises into his muscle training routine rather than training the tendons exclusively to avoid injury and to make the most gains possible. "I start with the muscles and finish on the tendons to avoid injury because the tendons need to be well prepared and warm before they take the strain. If you start with heavy tendon training you can easily tear them", says Stephen. Injuries are relatively common in those who use anabolic steroids and increase muscle strength at a phenomenal rate but not tendon at the same rate.
Massive strength gains
When Stephen started doing bicep static holds, he started with 28kg and within a few months he was doing half curls with 60kg with one arm! "Anyone who sees me lift 60kg with one arm is totally shocked but tendon strength can be built quickly."
Warnings
Build up gradually - The tendons need a lot of strain to get stronger but be very careful not to get injured by building it up slowly. Tendons take a long time to heal due to a lack of blood supply.
Use a spotter - It's extremely important to use a spotter when doing half range or static training because if you drop the weight it can cause serious injury to you or someone else.
Make sure you're warm - Never start your training session with a tendon workout as the tendons need warming sufficiently before they are put under a lot of pressure.
Recovery and supplementation
Tendons are composed of collagen and elastin and due to the lack of blood supply to their lack of blood supply it's important to supplement after training them. To support recovery and growth, supplement with collagen and Vitamin C which helps the body's natural production of the two. Also, after a workout ice the tendon area to increase the blood flow to that area and decrease inflammation which will help them repair and build quicker.
