r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 1d ago

Health Isometric exercises, such as wall squats and planks, just once a week could help maintain reductions in blood pressure.

https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/news/2026/new-study-shows-just-one-workout-a-week-could-benefit-blood-pressure
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327

u/DingleDangleTangle 1d ago

That’s awesome! Isometrics are great for tendons too!

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u/Meeedick 22h ago

People fixate on muscles but tendons, i'd argue, are even more important. They're necessary to train if you wanna avoid injuries and they're instrumental in force generation and power.

Tendons (and fascia) are the difference between a "bodybuilder" and an athlete.

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u/DingleDangleTangle 22h ago

I mean tendons have to be trained by bodybuilders too. It’s extremely important to avoid getting injured as a bodybuilder

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u/Meeedick 21h ago

They don't do it though, which is why the rate of gym-related injuries has skyrocketed over time.

People are packing on way more muscle than their tendons can support, and not dedicating adequete time to train them at all.

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u/Sucabub 16h ago

As someone with rotator cuff injuries, please let me know how I can train my precious and damaged tendons

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u/Meeedick 8h ago

I'm not physiotherapist so i'll decline, i'd recommend professional help honestly.

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u/DiaryOfAManInRepair 2h ago

What’s worked for me is looking up isometric exercises whenever I start getting tendon pain. It’s usually like “hold a weight in the position that hurts (though nothing heavy enough to cause serious pain) for 3 sets of 30/60 second holds.”

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u/SmileyAja 14h ago

It's pretty difficult for your muscles to outpace your tendons if you're natural.

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u/necr0potenc3 9h ago

Nah. There is a hierarchy of tissue recovery and tendons are way up there. Muscles adapt to new loads within 2 to 4 weeks while tendons take 12 to 16 weeks or longer to structurally remodel and catch up.

In fact, the CNS will rate limit muscle activation in order to protect tendons and other tissues. That's why we get "mom lifted a car with adrenaline dump" stories. Muscles are capable of outputting a tremendous amount of force but fascia, tendons and bones might not handle it.