![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/02/01/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image1/mag-olympics-images-slide-65JM-master180.jpg)
‘‘I usually do balance at the end of my workouts, when I’m the most tired, which forces me to concentrate more.’’ To improve her balance and give her upper body and core a light workout, she stands on an unsteady surface while simultaneously working two weighted ropes. (It’s ‘‘similar to skiing,’’ she says — ‘‘you have a lot of forces pulling you in different directions.’’) Because Vonn’s house sits at 9,500 feet, where the air is thin, the heavy ropes also provide cardio training. Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
Lindsey Vonn is the most decorated World Cup ski racer in United States history, but Olympic glory has been more elusive. Her three Winter Games, going back to 2002, have yielded just one gold medal and one bronze, both in Vancouver in 2010; she missed the Sochi Games in 2014 because of injury. Now 33, following more years of wear and tear that included multiple ruptured knee ligaments, a fractured right humerus, a concussion and an acute facet spinal-joint dysfunction, Vonn will still be among the favorites in Pyeongchang, where she will race in at least the downhill, super-G and Alpine combined events. Just last month, she won her 79th World Cup race, becoming the oldest woman to win in downhill.
Success on the snow requires Vonn to spend untold hours in the gym with her fitness trainer, Alex Bunt. “She never lets a session go,” he says. “Every single set and every rep matters. There’s no fluff.” On Dec. 22, the photographer Dina Litovsky captured Vonn’s workout in her home gym in Vail, Colo. The focus was upper-body and overall strength training. “It was,” Vonn says, “kind of a light day.”
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Vonn holds about 30 pounds of resistance for 30 to 60 seconds twice on each side of her body. ‘‘We call it ‘anti-rotation,’ ’’ Bunt says. ‘‘The core is preventing rotation, so when she pushes that pulley out, it wants to pull her into the machine.’’ Vonn’s core has to work hard to stabilize against that pull. ‘‘I like this one a lot because I feel my obliques,’’ Vonn says. ‘‘Vainly, if I can do something that makes my abs look better that also helps me skiing, I’m all about it.’’ Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
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Using a 45-pound bar and a 25-pound plate, and performing two sets of eight to 12 reps on each side, Vonn trains her core to stabilize against upper rotational forces. Especially in the super-G, she says, ‘‘we get a lot of rotation and have a lot of forces pulling on our back and our core. Being able to resist that and then explode out of it is really important.’’ The scar on Vonn’s right arm is from a crash that resulted in a spiral fracture of her humerus. ‘‘I have a huge metal rod in the whole length of my arm,’’ she says. ‘‘I lost feeling in my hand for several weeks. It was lifeless.’’ Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image9/mag-olympics-images-slide-N0Y9-master180.jpg)
Performing a squat on a balance board while holding the 15-pound medicine ball out in front of her, Vonn is ‘‘emulating a tuck position and the stresses that are on my body,’’ she says. ‘‘If I’m holding a position, it will be two minutes, because that’s about the time that most downhill courses take.’’ Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image6/mag-olympics-images-slide-EBL1-master180.jpg)
Increasing the body’s muscle temperature, which helps with muscle contraction, requires between 10 and 15 minutes of aerobic exercise. ‘‘I don’t really like sweating,’ ’Vonn says. So even in the winter — including when she spends three to five hours a week exercising on her stationary bike — she opens the door to her second-floor gym over the garage. ‘‘I like nice mountain air, and my dogs like to sit out there and patrol.’’ Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image3/mag-olympics-images-slide-VM3Y-master180.jpg)
Keeping her 10-pound weights overhead and legs straight, which makes the exercise safer for her back, Vonn sits on the ground and slowly lowers her torso toward the floor 15 to 20 times for two sets. “The farther away the weight is from my torso,” Vonn says, “the harder it is to control.” Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image7/mag-olympics-images-slide-O1DW-master180.jpg)
Holding a plank for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, Vonn trains core stability by keeping her trunk, hips and shoulders in alignment. This is one of many core exercises in Vonn’s quiver for which she has to display the kind of postural control that translates to the control she needs while skiing. “I never have a problem motivating myself,” Vonn says. “I’m always going until failure.” Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image8/mag-olympics-images-slide-P3CI-master180.jpg)
“I’m catching my breath and resting for a second, happy to be done with the hard part of my workout,” Vonn says. Normally Vonn rests between 90 seconds and two minutes between sets. By February, Vonn generally loses 10 to 12 pounds, so part of her focus during training is to maintain what she calls her fighting weight. ‘‘In downhilling you need to have some mass,’' she says. ‘‘In summer my weight is 160, but my fighting weight is more than that. I need to have as much weight as I can quickly carry.’' Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image5/mag-olympics-images-slide-LSON-master180.jpg)
“I have to ice my right knee after every workout for 20 minutes,” Vonn says. Bunt and her nutrition consultant ensure that the whey protein powder in her shake, which is mixed with bananas and other ingredients — sometimes peanut butter, cocoa powder, etc. — has been tested for banned substances. “A lot of times there will be extra stuff in there,” Vonn says. “You have to be really careful.” Vonn has three dogs, Lucy, Leo and Bear. Lucy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, pictured here, travels everywhere with her. “Lucy brings home with me wherever I am.” Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/magazine/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image10/04mag-olympics-alpine-skiing-image10-master180-v2.jpg)
“Showers are a time for me to relax,” Vonn says. “It’s a good place for me to reflect and be alone for a minute.” Vonn describes her house as a “revolving door,” for her siblings, Dylan, Reed, Laura and Karin Kildow; her father, Alan Kildow, and her mother, Linda Krohn, who are divorced; and a host of cousins. “Sometimes my house can get a little hectic with everyone there. It’s nice to shut the door and relax for a minute.” Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times
Dina Litovsky is a photographer whose work focuses on social performances and group interactions in both public and private spaces. She was born in Ukraine and in 1991 moved to New York, where she is currently based. Stephanie Pearson is a contributing editor for Outside magazine. This is her first article for The Times Magazine.
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WinterOlympics2018
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Dynamic Balance Exercise
‘‘I usually do balance at the end of my workouts, when I’m the most tired, which forces me to concentrate more.’’ To improve her balance and give her upper body and core a light workout, she stands on an unsteady surface while simultaneously working two weighted ropes. (It’s ‘‘similar to skiing,’’ she says — ‘‘you have a lot of forces pulling you in different directions.’’) Because Vonn’s house sits at 9,500 feet, where the air is thin, the heavy ropes also provide cardio training. Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York TimesThe Workout That Saves Lindsey Vonn From Wipeouts
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