Photos by Mike Dawson, U.S. Ski & Snowboard & Courtesy of the Shiffrin Family
With 88 World Cup wins (and counting), two Olympic gold medals, and seven World Championship gold medals, Mikaela Shiffrin is the most successful ski racer ever. A large part of her achievement is due to healthy habits, which she cultivated from an early age. Whether you’re a competitive skier, snowboarder, or you just want to keep improving on the slopes, incorporating some or all of the practices Shiffrin lives by will help you reach your goals.
Eat This Way
“Everything in moderation. I make sure to eat something nutritious before any junk or sweets. At the very least, I’ll eat fewer sweet things. I have a big sweet tooth, so I could never cut them out completely, but I always fuel my body properly with good, nutritious foods before I reach for anything else.”
Train This Way
“I do a little bit of core work every day to strengthen my abs, back, and side muscles. It’s so important for skiing, but also as a fundamental building block for all other strength. As we get older, we all feel some kind of back pain at some point. Honestly, it’s only human—we all have a ton of wear and tear on our backs no matter what we do. So core strength is my go-to thing that I do every single day to help keep the rest of my body in shape.”
Sleep This Way
“Sleeping is the best form of recovery, because it’s the only time you can recover mentally, physically, and emotionally all at once. I’m a huge advocate of napping, but not everybody has time for it. Lately I don’t either, which makes the time I sleep at night even more important. I shoot for eight and a half hours every night. If I can get nine or even nine and a half, I know I’ll feel even better the next day.”
Chill This Way
“Music is basically my meditation. Unfortunately, lately I haven’t been able to play piano or guitar too much because I’ve been traveling constantly, and then when I’m back home I’m so busy. I need to start prioritizing music again, because it truly helps me chill out and kind of reflect on myself. Sometimes I’ll write songs or parts of songs; sometimes I’ll try to learn some of my favorites. I might play for five minutes before bed, or occasionally I’ll just get lost and play for hours. It’s a place for me to escape everything that weighs me down. When I race I always listen to music, and I often imagine what chords the artist is playing or how they construct the melody and add in a beat or bass. It’s really calming for me to think about music like that.”
Hydrate This Way
“I always have my Adidas water bottle with me. I don’t keep track of how much I drink, but I know my tendency is not to drink nearly enough, so I consciously start the day with a tall glass of water. And any time I’m drinking juice or anything like that, I always dilute it with water so it’s less sugar per serving. I also think it’s important to have some kind of electrolytes in my water, especially during workouts when I’m sweating a lot.”
Focus This Way
“When I’m training, one of the most important things—and maybe one of my greatest strengths—is my focus. I can nearly always keep my focus and intensity high for an entire training session, and if I feel I’m losing that mentality, I know I’m getting close to being done—or I need to find a way to refresh to finish the session strong. It’s fine to joke around with my teammates and coaches as long as I can get in my zone when the time comes to compete. I have the timing down to a science: when I need to start getting quiet and in my own zone before a run, sometimes everyone around me is still talking, and I just disappear from the conversation.”