Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
You know how to build muscle strength, but how do you build tendon strength?
Tendons require 3 things:
1️⃣ Time: ~10-30 second isometric or slow controlled exercises
2️⃣ Tension: ~60-80% of maximum force production
3️⃣ Volume: A minimum of ~2-3 sessions per week and up to 6-7 sessions per week. Most importantly done consistently for several months.
🔬 This single case study "Stress Relaxation and Targeted Nutrition to Treat Patellar Tendinopathy" PMID 30299199 by Keith Baar gets a lot of attention because it provides athletes with a visual and biological plausibility for how their tendon can heal.
However it's important to note that larger studies have shown a lot of the real key principles of tendon rehab (loading threshold ~60-70% of max force production, long timeline of tendon rehab ~3 months or more, relatively low daily volume requirements ~3-6 sets directly targeting the tendon, benefits of slow and controlled vs fast loading, etc.)
You know how to build muscle strength, but how do you build tendon strength?
Tendons require 3 things:
1️⃣ Time: ~10-30 second isometric or slow controlled exercises
2️⃣ Tension: ~60-80% of maximum force production
3️⃣ Volume: A minimum of ~2-3 sessions per week and up to 6-7 sessions per week. Most importantly done consistently for several months.
🔬 This single case study "Stress Relaxation and Targeted Nutrition to Treat Patellar Tendinopathy" PMID 30299199 by Keith Baar gets a lot of attention because it provides athletes with a visual and biological plausibility for how their tendon can heal.
However it's important to note that larger studies have shown a lot of the real key principles of tendon rehab (loading threshold ~60-70% of max force production, long timeline of tendon rehab ~3 months or more, relatively low daily volume requirements ~3-6 sets directly targeting the tendon, benefits of slow and controlled vs fast loading, etc.)
