Vitality
ONE GOAL IN MIND:
WINNING U.S. Olympic Hopeful, Skeleton Racer Shares Tips For Training Safely And Avoiding Injuries BY MEGHANN FINN SEPULVEDA
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s a skeleton athlete with Team USA, Samantha Culiver spends most of her days training to prepare for the upcoming season. Competing for the fifth time in her professional career, the 29-year-old Scottsdale resident is hoping to make the international skeleton circuit and ultimately bring home the gold in the February 2018 Winter Olympics. She balances out her intense training regimens with active recovery techniques to enhance her performance and circumvent injury.
Effective Training From October to April, Culiver spends six days a week running and weight lifting in order to effectively condition her body for skeleton racing. Skeleton racers push a small bobsled on ice,
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Healthstyle Magazine • Fall 2016
gaining speed after a running start, before they race head first down a frozen track going approximately 70 to 90 miles per hour. “The start can be so crucial,” Culiver said. “There is such a strain on our bodies when we are bent over and running.” It’s extremely important that athletes like Culiver prepare and train for their specific sport. “Each sport will place different demands on certain muscles and ligaments,” said Aaron DeGroot, D.O., a family practice provider at Arrowhead Health Centers. “Unfortunately, most injuries we bring on ourselves because we are not properly conditioned for the activity.” DeGroot says that ligament and tendon strains and overuse are by far the most common types of injuries. Other sports injuries include fractures and dislocations.