I’m assuming the surrounding tissues are providing much of the support but still, I have a hard time understanding it. How does the spine of that Olympic lifter who just busted a world record not accordion in on itself when he lifts that 1000+ lbs? Or his knees?
In: Biology
You build up to it. Tiny piece by tiny piece, over the course of *years*. Heck, decades.
But this is critical: **lifting weights is about stressing muscle, NOT joints**. In fact, you do everything in your power to avoid using the “frame” of your body. You won’t get bigger muscles if you take the stress off those muscles. That means avoiding locking out your joints, using proper technique, and a specific range of motion.
Also, your bones do get significantly denser with weight training. In fact, I hate the fact that women are not taught lifting as children. Literally 51% of women over fifty suffer from a degenerative bone disease in America, and that number could be decimated if only we had more women lifting heavy weights early. Drives me nuts it isn’t culturally emphasized.
For ligaments, well, those don’t really grow much. You have got to avoid damaging those at all costs, because they heal like shit.
Latest Answers