UC Davis Health molecular exercise physiologist Keith Baar specializes in sports medicine. He studies the effects of exercise on bone, muscle and tendon health.
In this Q&A, he discusses how intensive exercising after injury or when overweight can cause damage to ligaments and tendons. He also talks about the importance of integrating isometric or static exercises into our fitness routines.
Baar is a professor in the Departments of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and Physiology and Membrane Biology.
Isometric or static exercises can enhance skeletal health.
Many people who are overweight may find it hard to start exercising. Why is this, according to your research?
People who have type 2 diabetes, and in many cases are overweight or obese, have metabolic problems. Society always says that if these people just ate better and exercised more, they would be fine. But data from Denmark shows that if they aggressively start exercising, they will actually rupture tendons. In fact, they are three times more likely to develop tendon problems if they do this, than if they were to decrease their weight slowly and then gradually increase their activity. Our research is starting to explain why.
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People with kidney disease, are older, on bad diets, or are overweight or obese make less collagen. Yet, we’re telling them all to go out and exercise more. But that is putting them at a pretty big risk for catastrophic injuries to their tendons. If they do get a serious tendon or ligament injury, this increases their risk for heart attacks and further metabolic diseases.
Aggressive exercising for people who are overweight or recovering from injuries might cause joint damage.
What is a safe way for people recovering from injuries or who are overweight to exercise?
Classically, most people think about running, walking and rhythmic exercises that are associated with impact forces on the ground. Those impact forces are basically absorbed by our tendons, cartilage and bones. If we go out and start running when we are not in the best shape, there is a greater risk that we will cause injuries to these tissues, even if we are not overweight.
For example, our data have shown that when a person who has had a leg in a cast for a while goes back to exercising and normal activities, the leg that was not in a cast gets stronger and better, and the previously casted leg does not improve nearly as much — about threefold less. We think that is a really big issue for how people recover after any injury.
If we’re going to start exercising, we can’t only go out and run or walk. Instead, our research shows that when we add long isometric holds, the tissues, like our tendons and muscles, improve better. Adding these exercises helps build muscular strength and endurance.
Watch VideoSports medicine expert Keith Baar shows three isometric exercises suitable for all ages and fitness levels
What are isometric exercises?
Isometric or static exercises are moves that involve contracting or tightening the muscles without changing their length. They are positions that hold the body or limbs in a fixed position for a period of time. They include planks, squats, lunges and many more positions.
We hear about walking 10,000 steps a day. Is there a golden number for how many times per week to do isometric exercises?
It is totally fine for people to go out and get their steps. When they finish their steps, we would have them do a couple of simple movements, like holding a lunge for 10-30 seconds. To do this, they simply put one foot in front of the other. Then, they bend down so their back knee is just above the ground. That’s a great movement because it will strengthen the Achilles tendon on one leg and the patellar and the quadriceps on the other leg. We would do that kind of exercise at the end of our walk or run or whatever best fits into the person’s routine.
And then you do two or three different moves like that. You hold them for 10-30 seconds each. That’s all you need to do to keep those tissues healthier in the long run.
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Lunges can help strengthen the tendons and joints.
In another study, we worked with a professional rock climber who helped us get over 500 people to participate in training using a hangboard. A hangboard or a fingerboard is a training tool to increase hand and finger strength. The study showed that when they do these 10-second isometric holds, where people put only part of their body weight on their fingers, their tendons get this long low-intensity isometric that actually increases the strength of those tendons as much as if they were to lift or hold as heavy a weight as possible.
What you want to do is add in those low-intensity, longer-hold isometrics (especially for the legs) to your walking, running or pickleball exercise. The two types of exercise have an additive effect that keeps you healthy and actually makes you stronger.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — 8News got a visit from two special guests Friday to learn about the benefits of Pilates and try out some beginner moves.
8News anchors Autumn Childress and Delaney Hall were joined by Laura Mae Harper and Angie Madison with Point and Flex Pilates. The studio, which opened on Sept. 3 last year, offers a variety of classes, ranging from beginner to intermediate and advanced.
“We went through years of teaching at other places and developed this beautiful studio for them and this community, and we’re super excited about it,” Harper said.
For more information, visit Point and Flex Pilates.
Like every piece of gear you wear on your body day in and day out, fitness trackers are incredibly personal. The right tracker for you should be comfortable, accurate, and tailored to your lifestyle, including your preferred workouts and health goals. Do you bike, row, or strength train? Do you run on trails for hours at a time, or do you just want a reminder to stand up every hour? Do you want to wear it on your wrist or your finger, or tuck it into your sports bra?
No matter what your needs are, there’s never been a better time to find a powerful, sophisticated tool to help optimize your workouts or jump-start your routine. We test dozens of fitness trackers every year while running, climbing, hiking, or just doing workout videos on our iPads at night, to bring you these picks.
Our top choice for most people is the Garmin Vivoactive 6 ($300), which works well with Android and iOS, but we also vouch for the latest Oura Ring 5 ($399) and the budget-friendly Google Fitbit Air ($100). For more wearables, check out our guides to the Best Smartwatches, Best Smart Rings, and Best Sleep Trackers.
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Best Fitness Tracker Overall
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Garmin makes some of the most accurate fitness trackers on the market, and the Vivoactive 6 is the best midrange option for most people. It strikes a solid balance between smartwatch features and fitness tracking, with support for both iPhone and Android users.
Why WIRED recommends: The Vivoactive 6 is accurate, comfortable, and packed with useful wellness features without feeling overwhelming. It uses Garmin’s proprietary algorithms to power features like Morning Report and Body Battery, which provide daily insights into your sleep, recovery, and readiness. It also has built-in satellite connectivity and GPS, so you can track outdoor workouts without bringing your phone along. There’s also incident detection, which alerts emergency contacts if it detects a serious fall.
Garmin’s biggest advantage remains its free Connect platform, which enables health and fitness tracking without requiring a subscription. The company also continues to add new software features through regular updates without putting them behind a paywall.
The trade-offs: Garmin launched Connect+, a $70-per-year subscription with extras like live tracking and access to Garmin’s AI-powered Active Intelligence. Former editor Adrienne So doesn’t think most people need it, but it’s worth noting if you’re looking for a completely subscription-free experience. The Vivoactive 6 may also feel like overkill for casual users who only want basic activity and sleep tracking.
When it comes to building strong, defined arms, traditional fitness advice will usually point you toward endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions. But according to Dr Stacy Sims, a leading women’s exercise physiologist specialising in perimenopause and menopause, isolation movements like these aren’t necessarily the most effective. Instead, she advocates for one functional compound movement: the farmer’s carry.
Speaking on podcast A Life of Greatness, when host Sarah Grynberg asks how to get arm muscles like Dr Sims, the 51-year-old explained: ‘In order to get shoulders like this, heavy farmer’s carries. I’ve been travelling so much this year, and I haven’t been in the gym being consistent with all the push presses and Olympic lifts that I love to do, but what I have been consistent in doing is heavy farmer’s carries.
‘It’s good for grip strength, learning how to walk properly, core strength, shoulders – so if there’s one move everyone should do, it’s heavy farmer’s carries.’
The magic of the move lies in its ability to engage your biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms and hands all at once. And because your arms are working continuously to stabilise heavy loads against gravity, the exercise activates the deep muscle fibres that don’t fire up as efficiently in single-joint arm movements, like bicep curls. Here’s how to do it with proper form, plus how heavy to lift and a workout to try, straight from Dr Sims.
How to do a farmer’s carry
Standing with feet hip-width apart and weights at the outside of the ankles, hinge your hips back and bend the knees, keeping your back flat.
Tighten up your lower back and abdominals before reaching down to grab the weights.
After gripping the weights, begin to stand tall by driving your heels into the ground, maintaining a tight form. Once you reach full standing position, tighten your armpits and make sure your shoulders are pulled back to activate the muscles in the rotator cuff area.
Finally, begin to take small steps forward, maintaining a strong grip and form. If you’re returning in opposite direction, set the weights down, turn around, and then grab the weights again before walking in the opposite direction.
Set/reps for results: Aim for three sets. Try timing your farmer’s carry for 25 to 30 seconds or go for 10 steps forward and back.
Form tips: Start out with a light weight to ensure you don’t end up leaning too far forward or towards one side. Make sure to keep your back straight for safety. When it comes to moving, small strides will do. They’ll keep you balanced as you increase your weights.
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How heavy to lift
As for what “heavy” means to Dr Sims, she says: ‘How many people have heard that you should be able to farmer carry 75% of your body weight for a minute? That is made up from bro science. It’s a good metric but there’s no science behind it. So, a heavy farmer’s carry is you have two very heavy dumbbells by your side and you’re walking back and forth.’
Here’s a weight guide to follow:
Beginners: 2x 4-6kg
Intermediate: 2x 8-12kg
Advanced: 2x 12-20kg
Farmer’s carry workout
Dr Sims shares a descending ladder workout to try.
500m ski
500m heavy farmer’s carry
400m ski
400m heavy farmer’s carry
300m ski
300m heavy farmer’s carry
200m ski
200m heavy farmer’s carry
100m ski
100m heavy farmer’s carry
‘If you really have anything left in the tank after this workout, you go back up in 100m,’ she adds.
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
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Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
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