When it comes to supporting knees, hamstrings are more important than quads. This video by Dr. Megan Hersh answers the question "What does asking and squatting have to do with knees?" She holds a doctorate in physical therapy and was a competitive ski racer through college. At the end of the video, Dr. Megan shows her first ski instructor (in PA) a couple exercises to help his hamstrings. Her guest is a long time skier and coach. He was over 75 when they filmed at Vail in 2015.
Below what she says about squats. Highly recommend reading all her comments posted on YouTube with the video.
"If done properly, squatting can actually have the reverse affect on the knees from its rumored "being bad for the knees". Practicing proper slow and controlled squats can help train and strengthen the muscles used during the squatting nature of skiing. EMG studies show the majority of the prime mover muscles used in skiing actions contract eccentrically, just as they do in the lowering of a squat. Also, since the hip angle generally does not have significant change during a turn in skiing, the rate or speed of contraction during skiing is relatively slow.
This being said, the type of training that you should do to get ready to hit the slopes should involve predominately lower body exercises with a large eccentric bias and a relatively slow rate of contraction. This means that you should do the exercises slowly in a controlled fashion concentrating on technique to maximize the benefits of the exercise and transfer to skiing performance."
This being said, the type of training that you should do to get ready to hit the slopes should involve predominately lower body exercises with a large eccentric bias and a relatively slow rate of contraction. This means that you should do the exercises slowly in a controlled fashion concentrating on technique to maximize the benefits of the exercise and transfer to skiing performance."
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