Something that I think many people don’t take into consideration is that the connective tissue in the body – the fascia and the tendons especially – are so poorly vascularised that they adapt much slower (than muscles). In fact, there are a number of studies I’ve seen that say that they gain strength at about one-seventh the rate that the muscle improves in its strength.
So you go out and run, and yes, your muscles become fitter. But the things that are holding you together, the ligaments, tendons and fascia, that are connecting everything, they’re not gaining the strength anywhere near as fast as your muscles are gaining fitness.
So you feel good, so you think “Oh I’m just going to double my mileage this week, and then I’m going to double it again next week.” And then, on the third or fourth week, either your plantar fascia blows out or your Achilles tendon goes because they are not capable of handling the volume or the intensity that you’re putting into them. So it takes so long to increase the strength of the system that’s holding everything together.
Scott Johnston – How to Build an Unstoppable Aerobic Engine (Even If Starting From Zero) (with Floris Gierman)
Are you straining the connective tissue of your organisation by trying to increase capacity in a particular area too fast?
Can the interfaces between people and departments handle the increased load?
Can their relationships?