# Exercises to build up my descending quads



## outlierrn (May 15, 2006)

Title says it, long descents leave my quads burning, I expect motocrossers and downhill skiers have the same, but my old guy knees won't really tolerate high impact squat type exercises, so looking for alternatives, thanks.


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## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

Ride daily and work those quads.


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## mudflap (Feb 23, 2004)

Ride, ride, ride...


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## binrat (May 25, 2005)

Truly the only way is to repeat the type of riding as much as possible.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

"Don't buy upgrades. Ride up grades." E.M.

Do steep hill repeats where you stand the whole way up. This builds quad strength and endurance.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Ride singlespeed. Fixes everything.


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## outlierrn (May 15, 2006)

Oh, sorry if I won't clear in my OP, I was looking for suggestions for my gym routine; ride more is kind of obvious.

I work on flexibility and core strength at the gym, because I can target the work, I want to improve the 'shock absorber' aspect of my legs, not the spinning up.


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## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

Horse Stance ;-)

Start out w/ small time frames i.e. couple of minutes & work your way up to, say 15-20 mins ^^

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## dreednya (Mar 9, 2004)

Leg press and goblet squats. If your shoulders are fine then front and back squats are a goer as well


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## OwenM (Oct 17, 2012)

Deadlifts, even very light ones. Keep it strict; the weight will come. Probably still want some knee support/wraps.
Only exercise I've done that had an immediate and noticeable impact on my riding, and very specific to stability when maintaining position with a dropped saddle.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Hop on a spin bike at the gym, crank up the resistance and do simulated hill repeats.


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## binrat (May 25, 2005)

I guess you could call it a modified horse stance. I do a horse stance but with my back against a wall. Its great if you have any sort of hip injury.


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

I found switching to flats and having my feet more entered on the pedals really relieved my quads while descending. I moved the cleats back on my clips shoes by drilling the slots, and cutting away from sole. This mimics the flat pedal position and helps my quads on those long descents as well.


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

Walking lunges, Romanian squats.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

A lot of great info, horse stance, and dead lifts. Try light dead lifts with a short pause where you feel closest to riding. And as Tavis said foot position helps.


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

Also try smashing your pinkie on a tree, that will take your mind off the pain in the old quads.


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## outlierrn (May 15, 2006)

Excellent, it's been so long since my joints would tolerate karate that I'd forgotten about the horse stance. I suppose doing them on one of those mini trampolines would be the best, but I doubt if I can justify that.

Aslo, I'll pass on smashing anymore fingers than I already have, thankyouverymuch.


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## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

outlierrn said:


> Excellent, it's been so long since my joints would tolerate karate that I'd forgotten about the horse stance. I suppose doing them on one of those mini trampolines would be the best, but I doubt if I can justify that.
> 
> Aslo, I'll pass on smashing anymore fingers than I already have, thankyouverymuch.


Horse Stance :FTW: 

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