downhill legs way worse than uphill, normal?

Hatchling quietmorning · 2026.09.19 02:28 · Views 45 · Likes 0

My hiking buddy and I have been doing this every weekend for about 2 months now, since I retired.

Going up a trail my legs feel fine, like nothing’s changed from all those years on my feet at work. Coming down is a different story, though. By the last stretch they’re shaking and aching, and I end up grabbing onto whatever’s nearby just to stay steady.

I keep thinking I should start some kind of strength routine but at my age I don’t even know where to begin…

Is it normal for legs to hold up going up and fall apart on the way down, or does that usually mean something specific is weak?

Comment 2

ClearCareCircle09.29 04:08
this happened to me too once I started adding hills to my regular walks. going up is basically the same muscles you’ve already built from years on your feet, but the eccentric control needed going down is a totally different demand on the quads. I started doing slow step-downs off a curb, about 15 minutes twice a week, and after around 6 weeks the shakiness on the way down mostly went away.
HealthyHue10.12 22:12
I’d push back a little on the quad weakness angle, in my case it was more about rushing the pace downhill than strength, slowing each step down fixed most of the shakiness for me