Forums >Racing>Technique: Racing downhill (training)
I've found leg extensions (with a weight bench), squats (weighed and not), wall squats, and step-ups to help and made them part of my routine.
I also like "reverse hill repeats." Hard down, recover up. Repeated bout is great for making your DOMS-threshold higher. Fellrnr has some good stuff on DOMS here.
Other than pounding down hills (which I assume is a "quads for knees" trade-off) are there any recommended exercises to help with quad strength specific to the abuse they get in running downhill?
"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." Emil Zatopek
I don't know if I'm doing it "right," but on a steep downhill I feel like I'm basically sprinting: fast turnover, high knees, toe/forefoot landing.
From what you're saying, your problem is probably psychological -- you're probably afraid of face-planting so you back off and brake. Which takes you back to Mikey and Cecil's advice.