3 Take it Slow
Both your tendons and your ligaments are what we call connective tissue. Their job is to help the muscles to exert force against hinges in the joints, in order to enable free movement.
The problem is that the connective tissue receives significantly less blood and nutrients as compared with muscle. That’s because tendon and ligament have a much lower comparative blood supply.
So, whereas it will take just eight days to begin seeing structural changes to muscle, it can actually take 2 months to see the same changes occur to the tendons and ligaments.
One of the worst things you can do then is to accelerate in strength very quickly and start lifting extremely heavyweights. Take it slow!
Similarly important, is making sure that you take ample time in-between workouts. While your muscles might have overcome the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and feel ready to go to town again, you may find that your tendons and ligaments need a bit longer. Generally, it is advised that you keep 48 hours between workouts for the connective tissue to fully recover. Training other body parts are fair game though!