With the Winter Olympics happening right now in Vancouver, it brings a broader appreciation to some of the sports that we do not get to see broadcasted too often and to get to see a few of these athletes that are usually forgotten in non-Olympic years. Some of the top competitors for Team USA are a pair of skiers, Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller and short track speed skater, Apolo Ohno. The thing that sets these 3 athletes apart from their competition is not only their ability to land on the podium after most of their events they compete in, but is how they do cross training in alternative ways to improve their overall strength and fitness. For example, Apolo Ohno likes to go mountain biking while Bode Miller spends a day of basketball shooting and basketball training as a training tool.
This article will focus on some of the off snow or ice training that these three Olympians do to make them better than their competitors that may only do ski or skate training. It has been shown that athletes that have better overall fitness, will suffer less stress induced injuries in addition to have more strength and flexibility which benefits them in whatever sport that they are doing.
Lindsay Vonn is the Vancouver Olympics it girl with an huge amount of talent in downhill skiing. Her story became enormous news when she suffered an injury to her shin only weeks before the Olympics and she wasn’t sure if she could even compete. So far, she is on track to competing and completed 3 of her 5 events winning medals in two of them. She says she is more fit this season than any other due to the intense cross training she has put in. She does a lot of circuit training alternating strength exercises with cardio training that challenges her stamina in addition to her strength.
Bode Miller had a great deal of pressure to bring win at the last Winter Olympics in Italy and did not succeed saying his nonchalant training methods were to blame. Since, then he has made it his mission to be in top physical shape and more prepared for this Olympics. He enjoys adding other sports to his training regimen to stay fresh and to constantly challenge his muscles in different methods. He plays full court basketball one day and then do interval sprinting and core work on other days. With 3 medals so far in Vancouver it seems to be benefitting Miller.
This is the 3rd Olympic games for short track skater Apolo Ohno and he has recently been named the most winning skater at the Olympic Games beating Bonnie Blair’s record of five Olympic medals. He is more confident than ever having lost 20 pounds in his comeback and to improve his physical state. He enjoys doing outdoor workouts like sprinting up a steep hill wearing a weighted vest or doing a long cycling ride to challenge his leg muscles the way they have to be for skating.
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February 28, 2010
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