Jacked Athlete Podcast Patellar and Quadriceps Tendons with Jonas Riess
Nov 21, 2025
Jonas Riess, a strength and conditioning coach and tendon expert, shares his journey from battling patellar tendinopathy to helping professional beach volleyball athletes. He discusses innovative treatment approaches, including the Berlin Method and decline squats, highlighting the importance of managing tendon load. Jonas emphasizes the role of warm-ups for pain relief, and explores the impact of deep knee angles on tendon health. Unique challenges in beach volleyball are also examined, along with practical rehabilitation techniques and adjunct treatments.
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From Concrete Sprint To Tendon Specialist
- Jonas developed patellar tendinopathy playing American football on concrete and self-rehabbed while working as a strength coach.
- He turned that experience into a career treating tendons in German-speaking countries and pro beach volleyball.
High Strain Over Time Drives Tendon Loading
- The Berlin/Potsdam research clarified that high strain over time is required to load tendons effectively.
- Long isometrics, slow eccentrics and decline squats became the cornerstone approaches.
Use Long Isometrics As A Pain Tool Only
- Use 45s isometrics mainly to reduce pain, not as the definitive tendon-loading solution.
- Follow pain reduction with structured loading (e.g., decline squats, Berlin method) to build tendon adaptation.