Developing The Tendon & Ligament Strength Of Ancient Humans :
I tell him I train in long sleeves because “not the joints, but my bones on a low level hurt”.
That’s the simplified version, it’s not entirely accurate.
I’m describing it like that to make my point easily understood.
While doing pushups a night or two later the word “ossification” popped into mind, and I was struck by a eureka moment.
I am definitely feeling something in/on my bone, the ones between shoulders and elbows, like there’s a light bruise on the bone itself.
Something is causing this…
Up to that point I hadn’t given it much thought.
Now the bone itself could be thickening, then I realized what is going on :
It’s “bone strength”, more accurately the tendons and ligaments growing in thickness and strength.
That’s the primary, the bone itself may be thickening as a side effect of their respective pulls.
See they studied the bones of legionaries, gladiators, trireme rowers.
These well fed soldiers, fighters, and sailors of the ancient mediterranean were looked at as if they were practically a different species of human by modern scientists.
Though the roman legionary averaged at about 5’8″ 150lbs (an interesting correlation), not only were their centurions documented as larger, 6′ 235lbs, but the centurion also as capable of holding their own with today’s professional strongmen of 7′ 400lbs in physical strength.
The average legionnaire himself was far more rugged than his modern size would suggest.
And too olympic level athletes have failed to match the capability of the trireme rowers for one day, while the ancients were documented to perform day after day.
How?
The skeletal remains show that far more thickly developed tendons and ligaments were pulling on the bones and at more advantageous to strength insertion points.
The roman legionary, his centurion, the gladiator, the trireme rower – the hardships of their ancient lifestyles gave them far more muscular power through sheer magnitude of their greater physical hardships than ours in this soft modern age.
With this information I put 2+2 together.
I’ve long known years of consistent training to effectively change your genetics and somatotype.
What I’m experiencing right now is my bones adapting to the growth of tendons and ligaments more resembling those of the roman legionaries than modern physically inactive humans.
This is a huge argument in favor of heavy physical labor while in youth.
Listen to Bill Kazmaier speak of tree service work in high school, and you’ll understand the implications here.
I’m doing lots of handstands, regularly hitting pullups, doing anywhere from 15 to 50 weighted pushups at a bench equivalent of around 330lbs without warming up, and have another 2000 vanilla pushups on top of that each week.
It’s enough to cause this positive, thought to be impossible, adaptation!
The tendons and ligaments are growing thicker, more powerful, and I just keep doing the work – having my buddy standing in my back, ignoring whether he’s positioned perfectly nor allowing his struggle to hold his own balance atop me stop me.
Without stopping to think I’ve been training rugged grizzly bear viking berserker type strength, and continue to do so.
Strong enough to not consider the details.
Be so strong everything else is minutia.
I just shrug when other’s make this realization, my inner thoughts like conan the barbarian.
They say a detail, I shrug, my inner instinct going “hmn – inconsequential, no concern”.
The tendons and ligaments are getting stronger, more like the ancients, and this development is the way of freakish strength.
There is no such thing as physical hardship. I love doing the work.
Persistence & Tenacity