How Mikaela Shiffrin Is Building Back Strength After Suffering A ‘Stab Wound’ During Competition

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Last November, Alpine ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin was on the hunt for her 100th World Cup victory (NBD!) when disaster struck: The two-time Olympic gold medalist crashed hard during her giant slalom run in Killington, Vermont, suffering a puncture wound to her abdomen and severe muscle trauma. Following surgery and two months of rest and rehabilitation, Mikaela was able to return to the slopes and clench that 100th World Cup in February of this year (the first Alpine skier to do so, we might add!).

While her feet are firmly clipped back into her skis, the 30-year-old knows recovery is an ongoing process—and her strength routine reflects that, she tells Women’s Health in the second episode of Strong Like, a fitness series that explores the many facets of both inner and outer strength.

“Now that we’re in the preparation period for next season, I feel like I can put a lot of focus on returning my strength and coordination back to top level,” she says. “When I think about bulletproofing my body, I think about working from the ground up, building a strong foundation. Then, the sky is the limit.”

For Mikaela, that strong foundation begins with foam rolling. She starts by rolling out her back, to help mobilize her thoracic spine, where she tends to feel particularly tight. Then she works down to the lumbar spine, where she also sometimes feels strain.

“I try to keep my whole spine, segment by segment, as mobile and free as possible, so I can take on load through the whole spine, not concentrated in one area,” she says. From there, she transitions into band-assisted cat-cow stretches, followed by core activation exercises.

Once warm, she’ll move onto strength-training work, which includes:

Crossover lateral step-up with weight
Hanging side oblique flexion work
Pull-ups

Mikaela says the oblique work has been especially key in her healing process. “This was really important for me after my injury—after the ‘stab wound’ in November—to get my core connection back and to work through the oblique muscle tearing,” she says. “This has been an ongoing process to work on my oblique strength again, which is hugely important in ski racing.”

Spoken like an athlete who can see that 102nd World Cup just off on the horizon.

Watch Mikaela’s full episode of Strong Like above for more on her approach to strength training, plus a glimpse into her gym bag full of workout essentials.