Aged tendons?

On 16 Sep 2005 08:10:05 GMT, Chris Malcolm <[email hidden]>
wrote in misc.fitness.weights:

Quoted message said:

I'm 63, and after too many decades driving a desk, trying to improve
my general fitness. I was pleased to discover that despite being told
by lots of folk that old men find it very hard to gain strength, that
I can gain strength very rapidly if I try, e.g. by working a muscle to
failure twice a day for a few days, then resting for a few. For
example, in a few months I was able to progress from only being able to
twitch ineffectually while hanging on a pullup bar to being able to do
eight pullups, which was very encouraging.

The problem is that I then run into what I suspect is either a tendon
or a fascia problem -- I start getting persistent pains around the
muscle attachment points and tendon "hinges", as in golf or tennis
elbow, or carpal tunnel syndrome, and these require at least a few
months of rest to recover from. For example my pullup progress seems
to have been too much for elbows and wrists to take, and I had to stop
for a few months. After a few months they still hurt, although much
less, and seem to be capable of very brief heavy use.

My naive suspicion is that over the years my muscles and tendons and
joints all settled down (i.e atrophied) to the point where they all
matched the not very demanding use I gave them. Now, perhaps as a
result of age, I can grow strength in muscles much more quickly than I
can in tendons, joints, etc.. If so, what I need is a training regime,
and maybe a diet, which will build up the tendons and joints without
overstraining them. If so, the interesting question is whether I need
to hold back to the point of no tendon or joint pain, or whether, like
muscles, being pushed a little into pain is what gets them growing.

Am I on the right lines here?

Muscle will always increase in strength quicker than tendons due to
blood/nutrient flow. There is more blood flow in muscle tissue and
less in tendon. This has nothing to do with age and tendon pain is
common among all beginners regardless of age.

I would continue to train using lighter weights or, in the case of
pull ups, perhaps try assisted pull ups or just do fewer reps without
going to failure. This will help the tendons increase in strength
without putting undue stress on them. Oh, and, being "pushed a little
into pain" is not what gets tendons or muscles growing.

Chris Malcolm said:

I'm 63, and after too many decades driving a desk, trying to improve
my general fitness. I was pleased to discover that despite being told
by lots of folk that old men find it very hard to gain strength, that
I can gain strength very rapidly if I try, e.g. by working a muscle to
failure twice a day for a few days, then resting for a few. ..

Quoted message said:

The problem is that I then run into what I suspect is either a tendon
or a fascia problem -- I start getting persistent pains around the
muscle attachment points and tendon "hinges", as in golf or tennis
elbow, or carpal tunnel syndrome, and these require at least a few
months of rest to recover from.

Quoted message said:

My naive suspicion is that over the years my muscles and tendons and
joints all settled down (i.e atrophied) to the point where they all
matched the not very demanding use I gave them. Now, perhaps as a
result of age, I can grow strength in muscles much more quickly than I
can in tendons, joints, etc.. If so, what I need is a training regime,
and maybe a diet, which will build up the tendons and joints without
overstraining them.

Joints and connective tissues strengthen at a slower rate than muscles.
This is true at any age.

The progress you make is wasted is you get hurt and have to take time
off for injuries. Quit working to failure all the time and don't work
your muscle groups so often. Use a more regular schedule like a
full body workout 3 days a week or a split routine 4 days a week.

"Chris Malcolm" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm 63, and after too many decades driving a desk, trying to improve
my general fitness.

-snip-

Quoted message said:

the interesting question is whether I need
to hold back to the point of no tendon or joint pain, or whether, like
muscles, being pushed a little into pain is what gets them growing.

Am I on the right lines here?

Yes, I believe you are. I'm 50 with a bad back, if that matters to you.

There are things you can do that specifically target tendon strength and
joint health. The kettlebell swing is a move I do literally every day
and has been the best single thing I've ever found to strength
connective tissue. The ballistic nature of the movement provides the
type of short load that some research says strengthens connective tissue
better than plain lifting. See http://www.kbnj.com/rkc.htm for more
about kettlebells, or the link below.

Joint health movements have been practiced in many cultures for a long
time. Typically they involve trying to achieve the fullest range of
motion possible with little or no resistance and for high repetitions.
See http://www.kbnj.com/sj.htm for a Russian perspective, and see other
things on the site this links to for Qigong exercises that are also very
good for the joints.

I start each day, at least when time allows, with a combination of
Qigong and Russian-inspired joint health movements, followed by lifting,
and end with flexibility work.

Best of luck to you.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com