Training Lindsay Vonn, Bode Miller and Apolo Ohno Do Away From the Snow and Ice to Win the Gold
With the Winter Olympics going on currently in Vancouver, it brings a broader appreciation to some of the sports that we do not get to see televised that often and to get to see a few of these athletes that are usually forgotten during non-Olympic years. Some of the best athletes 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 others is not only their ability to be 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 an alternative to cross training.
This article will mention a few of the training methods 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 are more fit in an all around way, will suffer less stress induced injuries as well as have more strength and flexibility that helps them in whatever sport that they are focusing on.
Lindsay Vonn is the Vancouver Olympics focal point with an huge amount of talent in downhill skiing. Her story became enormous news when she suffered an injury to her shin just weeks prior to the Olympics and she was uncertain if she could even compete. So far, she is on track to competing and finished 3 of her 5 events winning a gold and bronze in 2 of them. She says she is in better shape this season than any other due to the intense cross training she has done. She does a great deal of interval training alternating strength exercises with cardio training that works her stamina as well as her strength.
Bode Miller had a lot of pressure to bring home the gold at the last Winter Olympics in Italy and did not come through saying his nonchalant training methods were the reason. Since, then he has challenged himself to be in top physical shape and more prepared for this Olympics. He enjoys adding other activities to his training regimen to keep things new and to constantly challenge his muscles in new ways. He will play basketball one day and then does interval sprinting and core work on other days. With 3 medals to his name this time around it seems to be benefitting 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 fitness. He enjoys doing outdoor workouts such as sprinting up a steep hill wearing a weighted vest or going on a long cycling ride to challenge his leg muscles the way they need to be for skating.
