Working out goes beyond strengthening muscles. It's as important to take care of your tendons, ligaments and joints.

• Why it matters: Think of these body parts as the supporting cast, The New York Times' Amanda Loudin writes.

🩼 Neglecting these essential connectors causes stiffness and injuries as we age.

Zoom in: Tendons connect muscles to bones, ligaments connect bones to each other and joints are where bones connect. All three of these come together in knees, which are involved in 40% of all sports injuries, The Guardian reports.

1. To work tendons, train them with weights. For example, your quad tendon gets a workout when you squat with dumbbells, and your bicep tendon will get healthier with bicep curls. As always, it's key to start slow and light with weightlifting to avoid injuries.
2. To strengthen ligaments, work the muscles around them with low intensity but high repetitions. For example, one way to strengthen your ankles if you're prone to sprains is to practice balancing on one leg at a time, every day. For your knees, simple step-ups on any set of stairs might help.
3. To safeguard joints, move them in different ways. Spending too much time on one activity that moves the joints in the same way — like running or biking — wears them down, The Times notes. Move your wrists, knees, hips and elbows in a variety of ways to keep them healthy.

The bottom line: We're living longer, and working these body parts will help us stay active longer.

A duck swims in a pond that reflects the changing colors of the leaves in Garfield Park Reservation in Garfield Heights, Ohio, yesterday.