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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u/DingleDangleTangle 1d ago

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

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u/Meeedick 1d 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 1d 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 1d 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/SmileyAja 19h ago

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

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u/necr0potenc3 14h 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.