The Olympics have showcased some of the world's greatest athletic performances. The athletes' motivation in the off season is a crucial component to winning gold. Here are some of the physically grueling training schedules of some of the gold medalist Olympians representing the United States in 2010.
Shaun White (snowboarding): White’s score of a 48.4 in this season’s Winter Olympics earned him a prestigious gold medal, but his perfected moves took hours upon on hours of training. His sponsors, such as Red Bull, built a secluded half pipe located in the Colorado Mountains. There White spent day after day, creating new tricks and perfecting old routines. However, training’s not all work for White: when he’s not hitting the slopes, he skateboards, incorporating both training and leisure at once.
Lindsey Vonn(Alpine skiing): Vonn stays in incredible shape with the help of two personal trainers who moderate her diet and exercise year round. Her daily work outs consist of three hours of cardio (usually biking), plus core exercises using medicine balls, free weights, and hurdles. Vonn also commits to a six week training session in Austria, where her personal trainers have her bike through the Alps.
Hannah Kearney (freestyle skiing): Kearney begins everyday with a 7 a.m. workout including a strenuous ab workout, jumping on a trampoline for an hour, and then heads to a pool with skis on her feet for more jump practice. Afterward, she switches to a dry regimen, in which she mixes strength sessions with weights and running. During the winter competition season, Kearney trains for two hours on the courses for her upcoming races. She unwinds at the end of every day with an ice bath to relieve her muscles.
Evan Lysacek (figure skating): Along with a disciplined diet of protein and lots of vegetables, Lysacek heavily incorporates dance and yoga (on DVDs at his house) into his training regimen. He also meets with a professional ballerina and practices ballet to better his movement while on the ice. As it gets closer to competition time, Lysacek spends four to six hours straight on ice skating alone. He ends by practicing his routine forward and backwards, twice a day.
Shani Davis (speed skating): Davis trains by competing in races against other skaters in the off season, compared to racing against a clock in the Olympics. He prepares for the Olympics by running countless amounts of stairs, lifting weights, and running. After every workout, Davis spends an hour journaling and recording any progress he made or any flaws he can perfect.
Check out this link for Olympic results and statistics!
Image Courtesy of Google Images
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