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The muscle matrix workout to strengthen your connective tissue

Strengthen your tendons and ligaments with this total-body workout you can add to your existing routine.

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  • 45-60

  • 6

  • Yes

Exercise class doing lunges
Cecilie_Arcurs / Getty
Exercise class doing lunges
Cecilie_Arcurs / Getty

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. 

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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.

Routine

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The Muscle Matrix workout

Build your body's connective tissue

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 1 of 6

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
4
Reps
15 (each leg)
Rest
--
Exercise 2 of 6

Standing Calf Raise

Equipment
Box
Sets
4
Reps
15
Rest
--
Exercise 3 of 6

Lateral Band Walk

Equipment
Resistance Band
Sets
4
Reps
15 (each side)
Rest
--
Exercise 4 of 6

Reverse Lunge

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
4
Reps
15 (each leg)
Rest
--
Exercise 5 of 6

T-pushup

Equipment
Sets
4
Reps
15 (each side)
Rest
--
Exercise 6 of 6

Wrist Curl

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
4
Reps
15
Rest
--
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