To be anOlympic athletemeans youre one of the best in your sportin your country and in the world.
Obviously, getting to that level is no easy feat.
But these athletes are also training in ways weve never seen before.
Courtesy of the author
I recently had a chance to visit theU.S.
Ski and Snowboard Associations Center of Excellencein Park City, Utah, where Team USAski and snowboard athletestrain.
Ski and Snowboard teams, tells SELF.
The oxygen tanks along the sides help athletes train to compete at a specific elevation.
Its not exactly skiing, but it helps.
For example, the belt vibrates in a certain way to mimic the stability-challenging effect of icy conditions.
Schiller also explains that this is a great machine for those returning after an injury.
It all requires a ton of leg strength.
This unique leg press machine helps them train to endure that force.
The focus is on strengthening the leg muscles during the lowering, oreccentric, portion of the movement.
They can work on quickly pushing up, while slowly resisting the lowering, Schiller says.
That can be hard to train off the mountainbut this machine helps them do just that.
Then, they step under the bar and place it across their shoulders and back.
Alpine or snowboard cross athletes use this machine the most, says Schiller.
So how does it work, exactly?
Sometimes Ill add it to the end of a circuit workout to burn out the legs, says Schiller.
After the platform raises, the athlete steps onto it and stands with their feet about shoulder-width apart.
