Tendon Strength, Ligament Strength and Hand Strength

Tendon Strength, Ligament Strength, and Hand Strength
Many of the Oldtime Strength authors concentrated specifically of the tendon strength of their hands…
Here’s a great passage from one of the best known of the oldtime strength writers, George Jowett:

“…You may wonder how your wrist will become improved by any forearm practice , so before we go any further, lat me enlighten you upon the fact that the muscles all taper off into ligaments. The weaker the muscles, the more stringy and thin are these cables. The stronger and bulkier they build up, the thicker the ligaments become. As these ropes of connection taper off at the wrist, it is only a natural condition that the wrist size should be increased. When I commenced heavy exercise, I had only a seven inch wrist, just an average size as I have said, but to-day my wrist measures every bit of eight an a half inches… The sinews that have massed upon the wrist are very heavy…”

That was published back waaaaaaaay back in 1926. Here’s a more recent passage by an interesting fellow named Mike Brown:

“… [John Y] Smith’s hands looked like iron claws. Years of one handed deadlifting with thick handled barbells had so thickened Smith’s finger tendons in the palm of his hand that those same tendons stood out like the webbing on a duck’s feet… “


I can say from experience that both of these men speak the truth.

Years of exercising the way I do has thickened my wrist sinews as George F. Jowett talks about and I also have the “webbing” effect on the back of my hands that Mike Brown talks about. In my opinion, you can train your grip and ignore the ligament development …but not for long. At some point you don’t want the cable to be weaker than the crane. Know what I mean Vern?

Train hard,

John Wood