Ways 3 Winter Olympic Athletes Cross Train For Their Events To Win the Gold

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 The American team are a pair of skiers, Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller and short track speed skater, Apolo Ohno. The thing that sets these three athletes apart from others is not only their ability to be on the podium after almost every event they compete in, but is how they do cross training in other sports 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 competition who may only do ski or skate training. It has been proven 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 focusing on.

Lindsay Vonn is the Vancouver Olympics focal point with an unbelievable amount of talent in alpine skiing. Her story became enormous news when she got an injury to her shin only weeks prior to the Olympics and she was uncertain if she could even compete. So far, she is on track to competing and completed 3 of her 5 events winning a gold and bronze in 2 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 great deal of interval training alternating strength exercises with cardio training that works her stamina in addition to her strength.

Bode Miller had a lot of pressure to bring win at the last Winter Olympics in Torino and did not succeed saying his easygoing training methods were the reason. Since, then he has made it his mission to be in top physical shape and more ready for this Olympics. He likes adding other activities to his training regimen to stay fresh and to constantly challenge his muscles in new ways. He will play basketball one day and then do interval sprinting and core work on other days. With 3 medals to his name this time around it seems to be working for Miller.

This is the 3rd Olympic games for short track skater Apolo Ohno and he has just became the most winning skater at the Olympic Games passing 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 likes doing outdoor workouts such as 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.