💥 Stiffness vs Compliance: Understanding the Muscle-Tendon Complex in Plyometric Training

By Richard Burnett, MS, SCCC, CSCS, APCC, CAFS

Intro:

In sports performance, there are few topics more misunderstood — or more impactful — than stiffness. Coaches often hear the word and assume it’s a bad thing. But in reality, stiffness is a performance amplifier, especially when we understand how it works in the muscle-tendon complex (MTC) and how to apply it to different types of plyometric training.

Let’s break it down.

🧠 What Is Stiffness?

Stiffness is the ability of a tissue or system to resist deformation when force is applied.

The more stiff a structure, the less it will stretch under a given force — and the faster it can recoil. In physics terms, we refer to Hooke’s Law:

F = kx

Where F is the applied force, x is displacement, and k is the stiffness constant.

In biomechanics, we care about three main types of stiffness:

·       Vertical stiffness (Kvert) — important in jumping and hopping

·       Leg stiffness (Kleg) — relevant in sprinting and acceleration

·       Joint stiffness (Kjoint) — measured at the ankle, knee, or hip

Each tells us something about how athletes store and return elastic energy.

🔁 What Is Compliance?

Compliance is the inverse of stiffness. A compliant muscle-tendon unit deforms more under the same force.

While stiffness helps with fast, explosive transitions, compliance is valuable when you need:

·       Greater joint range of motion

·       Slower, more forceful contractions

·       Lower ground reaction forces (softer landings, for example)

 

The real magic happens when athletes have the right amount of stiffness or compliance for the task at hand.

 

⚙️ The Muscle-Tendon Complex (MTC): Hardware vs Software

Think of the muscle-tendon complex as a two-part system:

Hardware	Software
Muscle architecture, fascicle length, tendon length, CSA	Motor unit recruitment, firing rate, reflexes, co-contraction, inhibition

 

From a structural standpoint, the MTC consists of:

• Contractile Element (CE) – sarcomeres (muscle fibers)
• Series Elastic Component (SEC) – tendons
• Parallel Elastic Component (PEC) – fascia

 

And the SEC — the tendon — is where most elastic energy storage and recoil occurs.

🧬 How It All Works in Plyometric Movements

✅  Drop Jump

• High stiffness task
• Ground contact time: <250ms (Fast SSC)
• Tendon stores and returns up to 66% of elastic energy
• Muscles act quasi-isometrically — holding tension while tendons stretch

 

Best for:

• Training stiffness, RSI
• Explosive vertical power
• Evaluating reactivity

✅  Countermovement Jump (CMJ)

• More compliant movement
• Ground contact: >250ms (Slow SSC)
• More contribution from muscle fibers (CE)
• Less tendon recoil, more fascicle shortening

Best for:

• Assessing power output
• Reflecting longer-duration athletic efforts
• RSI-modified assessments (RSImod)

✅  Squat Jump (SJ)

• No stretch-shortening cycle (static start)
• Purely contractile (no elastic energy benefit)
• Good for measuring baseline concentric force

Best for:

• Strength profiling
• Comparing elastic vs non-elastic contributions

⚖️ Why Balance Matters: Stiffness and Compliance Are Both Good

🔹 Too much stiffness → bone stress injuries, poor deceleration control

🔹 Too much compliance → reduced force transfer, injury in high-load tasks

 

Instead of chasing stiffness blindly, athletes need:

• Sport-specific adaptations (e.g., stiff for sprinters, compliant for decelerators)
• Task-specific qualities (jumping, cutting, landing, rebounding)
• Tunable systems that can alternate between stiffness and compliance

📈 How Stiffness Is Improved

Research from Kubo, Burgess, and others shows:

Training Method	Affects Muscle	Affects Tendon
Strength training	✅ Yes	⚠️ Only if very heavy or isometric
Plyometric training	✅ Yes	❌ Minimal tendon adaptation
Sprints / bounds	✅ Yes	❌ Only moderate effects
Static stretching	❌ Decreases stiffness temporarily	❌
Core training / balance	✅ Indirectly improves control	❌

 

Note: Tendons only adapt with heavy isometrics or long durations under tension — not from jumping alone.

📊 How We Measure Stiffness Today

 

Old school tools like the Just Jump Mat gave us raw jump height, but lacked insight into ground contact time — a critical part of assessing reactive strength.

 

That’s where RSI and tools like Plyomat come in:

• RSI = Jump Height / Contact Time (usually drop jump)
• RSI-modified = Jump Height / Time to Takeoff (CMJ)
• GCT thresholds tell athletes whether they’re hitting the right zone for each drill
• Color feedback (Green/Red) gives real-time performance cues

🏁 Wrap-Up: What Coaches Should Know

• Stiffness is not bad. It’s essential for performance — when managed correctly.
• Compliance isn’t weak. It’s essential for absorbing force and preventing injury.
• You train and assess both through contextual plyometric tasks.
• Plyomat gives you a simple way to track these traits in every session — with numbers that matter: contact time, jump height, RSI.

💬 Want More?

We’re building a research-backed database of everything you need to know about:

• Reactive Strength Index (RSI)
• Muscle-tendon mechanics
• Plyometric profiling
• Stiffness training protocols

👉 Follow us @plyomat_aat on Instagram or reach out if you want to bring this science to your program.