💪 Tendon Truth: How to Actually Heal Your Body

Here’s the big idea:
If you’ve got chronic pain, tendonitis, or just feel like your joints aren’t bouncing back, you’re not broken—your connective tissue just needs the right input. And Dr. Keith Baar is showing elite athletes and regular people alike how to actually heal.

👨‍🔬 Who Is Dr. Keith Baar?

• Professor of Molecular Exercise Physiology at UC Davis

• World authority on tendon and connective tissue biology

• Literally regrows human tendons in the lab

• Trusted by NBA teams, Olympic programs, and elite military forces

He doesn’t just study tendons—he rebuilds them.

🧠 Why Rehab Often Fails

Most programs focus on muscles. But your connective tissues (like tendons and ligaments) heal slower—and if you don’t load them right, they stay weak or never fully heal.

🧬 What He Discovered

To truly rebuild connective tissue, Dr. Baar found you need:

1. The raw material: collagen + vitamin C

2. The signal: isometric loading (the secret sauce)

3. The timing: deliver both at the right moment

🔁 Isometric Loading: The Key to Healing

What’s an isometric?
It’s when a muscle contracts without moving—think pushing against a wall or holding a plank. No movement, just tension.

Why it works:

• Boosts collagen synthesis

• Improves tendon stiffness (which reduces pain)

• Creates low-impact force without irritating the tissue

• Helps re-align the fibers inside your tendon like they were before injury

📋 The Protocol (Used by Pro Athletes)

Here’s what Dr. Baar recommends:

1. Supplement First

• Take 15g hydrolyzed collagen + 50mg vitamin C

• Wait 30–60 minutes for blood levels to rise

2. Do Isometric Loading

• Perform 5 minutes of isometric exercises for the target area

  • 🦶 Achilles? Try slow, loaded calf holds

  • 🦵 Patellar tendon? Wall sits or Spanish squats

  • 🧠 Elbow? Reverse wrist curls or static holds

Keep it localized, not a full workout. This targets the tendon and stimulates repair.

3. Repeat 1–2x Daily

• Healing takes time—6 to 12 weeks for full tissue adaptation

🧗 Proof in Practice: Emil Abrahamsson

Rock climber Emil Abrahamsson had severe finger tendon pain that held him back for years. After discovering Dr. Baar’s protocol, he committed to daily isometric loading plus collagen and C.

🔗 Watch Emil a skinny rock climber crush strongmen in a grip strength competition

Now he’s climbing harder than ever—with zero pain.

⚡ TAKEAWAYS

If you want to heal your body—or just bulletproof it for the long run:

✅ Take collagen + vitamin C 30–60 minutes before loading
✅ Do short, targeted isometric exercises
✅ Stay consistent (6–12 weeks to see change)
✅ Don’t rest tendons— load them right

🧠 Final Thought

Dr. Keith Baar’s research changes everything:
You don’t need more rest. You need the right kind of stress.

Listen to the full interview with Tim Ferriss.