Sculpting healthy, well-rounded muscles doesn’t only require that you bomb them with heavy weight. (Though that certainly helps, of course.) New science shows that light sets of low-impact exercises specifically target your connective tissue—tendons, ligaments, and the “extracellular matrix”—and allow for “improved energy transfer to the overall muscles” when you work them out, says Luke O’Brien, a physical therapist at Howard Head Sports Medicine in Vail, CO.
In other words: The stronger and more robust your connective tissue, the stronger your overall muscles. But remember: This collagen-building workout should be considered supplemental training. Do it independently of your normal routine.
DIRECTIONS
Perform this workout at least six hours before or after your normal training. For example, if you lift weights at night, complete this routine in the morning. Perform four sets of 15 reps for each exercise, moving slowly so that it takes five seconds to complete each repetition.
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1. SINGLE-LEG DEADLIFT (PAGE 1)
Raise your right leg slightly behind you so you’re standing on your left leg, and bend your hips back. Try to bend until your torso is parallel with the floor, or you’re about to lose your balance. Your lower back should be flat and your right leg in line with your torso. Squeeze your glutes to return to the starting position. Complete your reps, then repeat on the opposite leg. That’s one set.
2. CALF RAISE
Stand on a block or step (hold on to something for support if you need to). Bend your knees slightly and sink your heels toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your calves. Rise back up until you’re standing on the balls of your feet. Complete your next set with your knees locked the entire time; alternate sets of bent-knee calf raises and straight-leg calf raises until you’ve completed four total sets. If the reps feel too easy, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
3. LATERAL BAND WALK (ABOVE)
Loop a band around your shins and assume an athletic stance (hips and knees bent) so there’s tension on the band. Take a wide step to your left, then bring your right foot in to return to the athletic stance, keeping the band taut. Each step is one rep. Repeat in the opposite direction (that’s one set).
4. REVERSE LUNGE
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and step backward. Lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor and your front thigh is parallel with the floor. Complete your reps, then repeat on the opposite leg. That’s one set.
5. T PUSHUP
Grasp light dumbbells and get into pushup position with your body straight. Perform a pushup, then row the dumbbell on your right side. From there, rotate your torso to the right, raising your right hand overhead so your body faces 90 degrees to the right and forms a “T” shape. Repeat on your left side.
6. WRIST EXTENSION
Hold a light bar in both hands and sit on the edge of a chair. Rest your forearms on your thighs with palms facing down. Extend your wrists, raising them so your knuckles face the ceiling.