The first lifts are spinning in the Alps. Bansko opens within weeks. My inbox already has the same message in three different languages: "Anelia, my knee is twingey when I squat — should I worry before ski week?"
If you feel a dull ache just below the kneecap when you stand up from a chair, walk downstairs, or hold a deep squat, you may be dealing with quadriceps tendinopathy (or its close cousin, patellar tendinopathy). And skiing — with hours of sustained knee flexion, eccentric braking through every turn, and the bouncy chatter of icy moguls — is the worst possible discipline to walk into with an irritated tendon.
The good news: a tendon responds beautifully to load, as long as that load is the right kind, in the right order, at the right dose. Six weeks is enough time, if you start now, to take a grumpy knee into the season feeling sturdy. This is the progressive plan I give to my callanetics students and to friends who book ski holidays in February and remember their knees in January.
Why the quadriceps tendon hates the start of ski season
The quad tendon sits just above your kneecap. It transmits the enormous force of your thigh muscles into your shin, and it is the structure that suffers most when you ask a deconditioned leg to do something explosive, deep, or repetitive.
Three things make skiing especially demanding on this tendon:
- Sustained isometric load. A ski tuck, a long traverse, a moment of "edging" through a turn — your quads are working at length, holding tension, often for many seconds at a time.
- Eccentric braking. Every controlled turn is the quad lengthening under load. Every mogul absorbed through the legs is the same. Eccentric work is wonderful medicine for a tendon — but only if it has been trained for it.
- Cold and altitude. Tendons are less compliant in the cold. The first run of the morning is often when something goes pop.
A tendon that has been sitting at a desk for eleven months cannot suddenly do six hours of this on a Saturday morning.
The principles before the plan
Three rules I will not let you skip:
If you want the deeper rationale on tendon loading and have time to read further, my piece on patellar tendonitis home rehab sits beside this one — same principles, neighbouring tendon.
The 6-week progressive plan
Stage 1 (weeks 1–2): Isometrics to calm the tendon
The job here is to reduce pain and rebuild the basic capacity of the quad to produce force without irritating the tendon. Isometrics — holding a position under tension — are remarkably analgesic. Many people feel less pain immediately after a session.
Wall sit holds
Slide down a wall until your knees are at roughly 60 degrees of bend (not the full 90 — we are protecting, not provoking). Hold for 45 seconds. Rest 2 minutes. Repeat 5 times. Three sessions per week.
Spanish squats
Loop a sturdy band or a folded towel behind your knees and anchor it to a heavy table leg or door handle at knee height. Stand back so the band pulls your knees forward. Now squat — your shins will stay vertical and your torso will stay upright. The band takes the work into your quads in a way that bodyweight squats cannot. Hold the bottom position for 30 seconds, 5 reps, 3 sessions per week.
If 60 degrees hurts, go shallower. If 45 seconds is impossible, start at 20. We are not chasing numbers in week one. We are sending a steady, predictable signal to the tendon.
Stage 2 (weeks 3–4): Slow tempo loading
Once isometrics feel calm and controlled, we add movement — but slowly. Tendons love slow.
Slow tempo squats
Bodyweight or light dumbbells. Three seconds down, one second pause, three seconds up. Three sets of 8. The slow tempo is non-negotiable; speeding it up turns a tendon exercise into a leg-day exercise.
Bulgarian split squats (rear foot elevated)
Three sets of 8 per leg, same slow tempo. This is where you find out, often uncomfortably, that one leg is significantly weaker than the other. Skiers almost always have a stronger turn side. Address it now, not on the mountain.
Spanish squat holds — still in the programme. Drop to twice a week, but keep them. They are your pain manager throughout the whole six weeks.
Stage 3 (week 5): Decline and step-down work
Now we add the eccentric component that makes skiing what it is. The tendon needs to learn to lengthen under load before you ask it to do that on a black run.
Decline single-leg squats
Stand on a board or thick book angled so your heel is higher than your toes (roughly 20–25 degrees). Standing on one leg, squat down slowly — five seconds — to about 60 degrees, then stand back up. Three sets of 6 per leg.
This is the exercise that has the strongest evidence base for patellar and quad tendinopathy. It is also the exercise most likely to be uncomfortable at first. A little discomfort is acceptable; sharp pain is not.
Step-downs
Stand on a step of roughly 20 cm height. On one leg, lower the other heel slowly to tap the floor — three seconds down — then drive back up. Three sets of 10 per side. Keep the kneecap tracking over the second toe.
Stage 4 (week 6): Sport-specific — making the knee ski-ready
Now we make it look like skiing.
Ski tucks
Get into a tuck position — hips back, torso forward, knees flexed to roughly 90 degrees, arms forward as if holding poles. Hold for 30 seconds. Build up over the week to 60 seconds. Five reps.
Lateral tuck shifts
Same tuck position, but shift your weight side to side as if carving turns. Slow at first, building rhythm. Three sets of 45 seconds.
Downhill hike simulation
If you have access to a hill, walk downhill for 10–15 minutes, focused on absorbing each step softly through the knee. No hills nearby? Walk down a long staircase, two steps at a time, with control. Twice this week.
Box drops (carefully)
Step off a low box (15–20 cm), land softly on both feet, hold the landing position for two seconds. Three sets of 6. This introduces a small impact element — what your tendon will meet on the first icy mogul.
By the end of week six, you should be able to hold a ski tuck for a full minute without your knee complaining, do a decline single-leg squat smoothly, and walk down stairs without thinking about it.
What to do on the mountain itself
A few things I tell every client heading into a ski week:
Warm up before the first chair. Ten squats, ten lunges, thirty seconds of tucks. Cold tendons are brittle tendons.
The last run of the day is when people get hurt. Fatigue, ego, "one more". A tired quad means the tendon takes the load instead. Ski one less run than you want to.
Hydrate and refuel mid-morning. Tendon tissue is not magic — it is biology, and biology runs on water and glycogen.
A supportive sleeve on early outings can help. Especially if you are coming back from a flare-up, a knee sleeve gives a feeling of confidence and warmth around the joint that genuinely helps people commit to their turns rather than guarding. Nothing fancy, just a snug compressive layer. We make the HYKLE Octo Knee Brace for exactly that purpose — light support, no bulk under ski pants. Use it for the first few days back, then wean off as confidence returns. The HYKLE Infinity Knee Brace is the slightly more substantial option if your knee has any history of instability rather than just tendon grumpiness.
A short story about ignoring my own advice
Two seasons ago, I had a winter orienteering camp in Slovakia followed three weeks later by a family ski trip. I trained for the orienteering — endless climbs in the snow, technical descents — and assumed my legs would translate. They did not. My quads were strong in a runner's way, not in a skier's way. By the third afternoon on the slopes, my left quad tendon was barking every time I stood up from the chairlift. I spent the rest of the week skiing one notch below what I wanted, which was annoying but not catastrophic.
Now I do the six weeks. Every season. Even in years when I do not think I need it.
Who especially should not skip the prep
- Anyone over 40 returning to skiing after a year-or-more gap. Tendon stiffness increases with age and decreases dramatically with regular loading. The gap is the risk.
- Desk-bound skiers. If your weekday consists of seven hours seated and a forty-minute commute, your quads are sleeping. Wake them up gradually.
- Anyone who finishes a ski day with a familiar dull ache below the kneecap. That is not "just getting older". That is a tendon asking for attention before something bigger happens.
- Post-ACL skiers. If you have had an ACL reconstruction, the quad never quite comes back to baseline on its own. My article on restoring full knee extension after ACL surgery covers the why.
What progress should feel like
By week six, three signs that you are ready:
If any of these are still rough, take an extra week at the stage that feels weakest. There is no prize for finishing the programme on schedule. The prize is a full ski week without your knee writing you a letter on day three.
A final word from someone who skis with two boys
The best ski memories I have with my children are not the steepest runs. They are the long, mellow blue groomers where we can talk, laugh, and stop for hot chocolate without anyone limping. That kind of skiing requires a knee that works quietly in the background — which requires a tendon that has been prepared.
Six weeks. Three sessions a week. Twenty-five minutes per session. That is roughly nine hours of work to protect a holiday that probably costs you a month's salary and a year's anticipation.
Start the wall sits today. Your knees will thank you on the first chairlift.