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Training For Hiking: How To Stop Jelly Legs On Descents

3/24/2019

8 Comments

 
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Descents can be tough. Shooting pain in the knees... crushed toes... slips, stumbles and falls... some serious amount of mental drain... and all too often, uncontrollable jelly legs.

And if this always seems to be happening to you while hiking, there might be one thing which is missing in your preparation...

Eccentric Muscle Contractions

When you are hiking downhill, every time your foot lands the quadriceps muscles will do something which is called an eccentric muscle contraction.

Which basically means it contracts, while it is lengthening.

Now understanding this is quite important.

Because it is this 'eccentric strength' which is essential for controlling your descent and stabilising your knees.

And if you develop this in your training...

You can greatly reduce the difficulty of downhill walking, reduce the chance of knee pain and stop those jelly legs!

How to develop eccentric strength


Developing eccentric strength is an incredibly simple thing to do. But unfortunately, of people training seem to miss it...

An eccentric muscle contraction happens anytime your muscle is contracting while it is lengthening.

And this happens every single time you do the 'lowering' portion of a repetition in the gym!

BUT this issue is most people tend to rush this part of the exercise..and if this is you, you are missing out on a huge amount of the benefits of your training!

So here is a challenge for you...

Next time you are in the gym, whether you are doing squats, lunges, steps ups, leg press or any other strength exercise.

Focus on taking 3-5 seconds to lower the weight, every single repetition.

It will take a lot of concentration...

It will make you a bit sore the next day...

But it is incredibly important!

Apply this strategy to your training in the gym and you can greatly reduce the difficulty of downhill walking, prevent knee pain and stop those jelly legs while hiking!

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8 Comments
Paul Wagner
10/18/2020 02:26:34 pm

Thank you! Just what I wanted to know!

Reply
Rowan
10/18/2020 03:40:50 pm

Glad you liked it! Hope it helps!

Reply
Denise Howell
5/1/2021 11:57:35 am

Thank you. I got jelly legs on the descent on Mt Kilimanjaro. It was terrible and I felt helpless. I reached the point that I could barely stand on my own. I did train carefully and wanted to learn why this happened and how I can prevent it. I knew it was more than just fatigue. Thanks again.

Reply
Rowan
5/1/2021 04:37:40 pm

Really great this helped give you some clarity on that. I know the feeling, and it is never much fun at all.. but hopefully you have some ideas to help in the future :)

Reply
Jason
10/19/2021 03:49:19 am

This happened to me to descending Kilimanjaro to. I thought it was just altitude and exhaustion which in part was correct. Now I understand why my legs went wobbly. It was a tough hike to the summit.

Reply
Rowan
10/19/2021 02:31:47 pm

Yes absolutely, most likely a combination of all of those things. The decent of Kili is pretty notorious for getting those jelly legs...

Maria Anderson
8/25/2021 07:21:35 pm

Thank you so much!!!! Last two hikes I could barely get myself down. I am adding this to my workout!!

Reply
Rowan Smith
8/26/2021 12:00:31 am

Really hope it helps!

Reply



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    Rowan is a personal trainer who specialises in training for hiking, trekkers and mountaineers for their bucket list adventures.

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