Tendons NEED Load
By Coach Elise Perez
Tendon issues are extremely common among the fitness population; specifically in the CrossFit and functional fitness settings, due to the repetitive nature of the work and limited eccentrics (slow lowering portions of exercises).
There is also the ignoring of early onset symptoms. Have you ever done 300+ Wall Balls in a workout and felt your knees screaming at you soon after, only to go back into the gym the next day and perform at the same intensity? Most of us have done it and repeated the cycle again and again.
When we repeatedly train through pain, it causes tendons to no longer be able to return to their normal state.
For overall tendon health, we need to load strategically and understand the type of load we need.
Cyclic loading - This is when we load through repetitive activities, like running, jumping, cycling, gymnastics, fast body weight style movements etc. These activities cause a tendon breakdown metabolic response; think of this as withdrawals from your bank account.
Mechanical loading - External forces that stimulate tendon remodeling. Movements like squatting, deadlifting, pressing, high pulling, bicep curling. These cause tendon buildup mechanisms; deposits into your bank account.
We have to manage loads in order to not overdraw our accounts.
So how do we put this into practice? With degenerative tendon issues, excellent results have been seen with something called the Heavy Slow Resistance protocol (HSR):
3-4 sec eccentric (down), 3 sec concentric (up), per rep!
Rate of perceived exertion RPE: 8/10, meaning 2-3 reps left in the tank (heavy!)
Pain is allowed to go as high as 5/10. If it exceeds this, drop the weight
Load area 3x/week, usually 1 day of rest inbetween
Knee pain with squatting, struggling with patellar tendon issues? We don’t need to give up our heavy back squats we love!
Here’s an example of what HSR looks like written in a program:
Day 1, Week 1
Heavy Slow Resistance Barbell Box Squats - 3x15
-Perform each rep with a 4 sec eccentric (down)/ 3 sec concentric (up)
-High box, above parallel
-Your ideal RPE is 8/10, think 2-3 reps left in the tank
-Pain trumps RPE and should not exceed 5/10. If pain goes over 5/10, decrease load
This is simple and effective. We are managing loads and decreasing cyclic loading, hitting the tendons we are trying to change 3 times a week and getting on our way to feeling much better!
Have questions about training with tendon issues? Email us directly at info@brazenfitness.com, we’re always happy to help!
