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How Specific Strengthening Improves Downhill Running Ability and Helps Keep it Pain-Free

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August 18, 2025•3 min read

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How Specific Strengthening Improves Downhill Running Ability and Helps Keep it Pain-Free

Downhill running is quite an art. Some say it's painful, scary, or just too difficult for differing reasons.

There are a lot of reasons that impact downhill running ability but they can all essentially be bundled up into these two categories:

Form: A lot of people are nervous and pumping the brakes when going downhill. This leads to slowing down the cadence, becoming more bouncy, and leaning backwards.

Strength: A lot of people have knee pain when running downhill due to lack of muscular strength to control the motion. We have 2x or more the amount of force on the muscles when running downhill, therefore the muscular capacity required to perform the action of running downhill is much greater than flat ground running. If you don't have the capacity it will cause pain and extreme soreness from running downhill.

Why is downhill running a good idea?

Downhill running is a good idea when done properly and at the right time. It improves running form once corrections are made. It can increase the muscular capacity just like strength work does. When preparing for a race with a lot of elevation gain and descent it is important to utilize faster downhill running to improve your quad fatigue resistance.

Tips for better downhill running:

Think about being light on your feet and shortening your stride while leaning into the downhill instead of leaning backwards. Keeping your turnover high with good knee drive forward while leaning into the downhill will help you use gravity to your advantage. If running on a trail, focus on the trail ahead and the line that you want to follow. This will help to keep you from tripping and build your confidence to move quicker. If done efficiently you should be saving energy and the heart rate should drop in the downhill sections.

Specific strength exercises to help downhill running:

My favorite exercises for improving the strength needed to improve downhill running are lateral step ups on a step or box, posterior lunges or knee taps, squats, deadlifts, squat jumps, and scissor jumps. These are all exercises that work the quad muscle group eccentrically in the same way they have to work to run well.

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