Photo: Joe Klamar/Getty Images

How Elite US Ski Team Athletes Train During the Summer

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 9:01 AM ET

As much as we hate to admit it, there's not a ton going on in skiing in the northern hemisphere right now, but that doesn't mean world-class skiers aren't preparing for next season.

For professional skiers, summer is really just time to train harder and prepare for when the flakes start to fall.

Specifically for US Ski Team athletes, who have the 2026 Winter Olympic Games looming ahead, off-season prep is more important than ever. Summer gym time allows these athletes to rehab injuries, build muscle, and train more without worrying about saving any for the slopes.

US Ski Team alpine racers Lauren Macuga, Keely Cashman, and Tricia Mangan, along with coach Kip Spangler, posted a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout to the 'gram so you can see just how hard these athletes are training. HIIT is a type of workout that alternates between short bursts of high-intensity movement and short rest periods.

Tap below to watch the workout, or keep reading for a breakdown.

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US Ski Team Offseason HIIT Workout

Macuga, Cashman, and Mangan completed the following workout in their video and you can watch them do each exercise below.Mangan says the workout is 'extremely hard,' and there's 'absolutely nothing left in the tank' after, but if you want to give it a go, here's the full thing.

Warmup:

3 sets of the following 3 exercises
30 seconds on, 30 second rest
Repeated 3 times, with 3 minute break in between exercises and 5 minute break between each series.

Series 1:

Straddle bench jumps
SEGR ISO Press (kinda like a leg press)
Skier Shuttle

Series 2:

Single-leg leg press throws
Matt jump tucks
Double-leg lateral box jumps

Series 3:

All out spin bike
Axel rotations
Pneubounder

Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Macuga is currently a favorite going into the 2025/26 World Cup season following her first WC win in Super-G in St. Anton last winter. Macuga joins skiers like Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Breezy Johnson on the US Ski Alpine A team.

All three athletes can be seen training at the ski team's 85,000 square foot building in Park City that houses a high-performance athletic facility, gymnasium, ski and snowboard ramps, trampolines, a nutrition center, and recovery and rehab facilities.

The Center of Excellence also has a full sports science lab and acts as a home base for all ten facets of the US Ski and Snowboard Team.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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